Testing Farm Seeds. 379 



Orchard grass seed is adulterated by the use of English rye-grass 

 seed, meadow fescue seed and orchard grass chaff. The seeds of meadow 

 fescue (fig. 10, b) and of English rye-grass (fig. 10, c) are very similar. 

 They are about the same length as the orchard grass seeds, but are flat- 

 tened and broader, not curved nor slender pointed. When seen under 

 a magnifier the tw^o kinds may be distinguished by the difference between 

 the rachilla segments, that of meadow fescue being slender, cylindrical 

 and distinctly expanded at the apex; that of English rye-grass usually 

 wedge-shaped, flattened and scarcely expanded at the apex (fig. 11, b and 

 c). Both of these kinds of seed often appear as adulterants of the same 

 lot of orchard grass seed. Orchard grass chaff may be distinguished by 

 its light weight, sometimes to some extent by its light color and by the 

 absence of a grain as observed by .pressure. 



If, in making a practical test of orchard grass seed, the empty, 

 chaffy seeds freed from other chaffy material are separated from among 

 the grain-bearing seeds the labor is greatly increased. Such chaffy seeds 

 may better be left with the grain-bearing seeds and indiscriminately 

 counted for the germination test, in which the true value will appear. 

 This test requires fourteen days. New, well-cleaned seed should germi- 

 nate 95 to 98 per cent. The purity should be 98 or 99 per cent. 



The noxious weed seeds found in orcliard grass include: (Fig. 17) wild 

 oat (b), chess (c), dock (f), including the chaffy covering, black bindweed (g), 

 bladder campion (k), field peppergrass (o); (fig. 18) tumbling mustard (c), rat- 

 tail plantain (1), buckhorn (m), oxeye daisy (q). 



Other weed seeds commonly found in orchard grass seed include: (Fig. ig) 

 crab-grass (a), witch-grass (b), velvet grass (e), soft chess (f), sedge (g), 

 sorrel (h), lamb's-quarters (1), rough amaranth (n) ; (fig. 20) creeping butter- 

 cup (a), peppergra'ss (b), wild geranium (i) ; (fig 21) field madder (g), cleavers 

 (h), scentless camomile (o), cat's-ear (q). 



TESTING MEADOW FESCUE SEED. 



Individual meadow fescue seeds are boat -shaped, three-eighths inch 

 to one-half inch long, flattened ; the lemma rounded, its apex rather 

 bluntly pointed. The characteristic rachilla segment is slender, cylindri- 

 cal, and distinctly expanded at the apex (fig. 10, b ; fig. 11, b) . 



Meadow fescue is often adulterated with seed of English rye-grass, 

 which is almost identical in form but may be distinguished by the ra- 

 chilla segment, which is usually wedge shaped, flattened and scarcely ex- 

 panded at the apex (fig. 10, c; fig. 11, c). The examination of meadow 

 fescue seed for English rye-grass as an adulterant should always be 

 made. The extent of the adulteration may b(^ determined by count from 

 1,000 seeds of the mixture, as previously described. 



