Testing Farm Seeds. 371 



souietiiiies admit nt' dnr alluwanee. For example, clover scctl is soiiietiuies 

 sold locally in the chaff. It' such seed is known to be tree from noxious 

 weed seeds, it can safely be purchased if proper allowance be made for 

 the proportion of worthless chaff and undeveloped seed. An average 

 sample of the chaffy seed may be weighed and its percentage of good 

 seed ascertained. Since clover seed weighs 60 pounds per bushel, the 

 actual value of such chaffy seed can readily be determined, the price 

 regulated and the quantity to be sown accurately gauged. 



The actual proportion of pure, viable seed in a sample is represented 

 by the product of its percentages of purity and viability expressed in per 

 cent. 



TESTING PARTICULAR KINDS OF SEEDS. 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 



The work of seed testing is greatly facilitated by a general knowledge 

 of the conditions more or less peculiar to the seed of particular kinds of 

 crops. For illustration, the adulterants used with different kinds of 

 seeds differ in kind; the conditions of culture, of harvesting and of 

 preparation for market tend to influence the condition of the seed ; the 

 kind and source of the seed influence the character of its impurities. 

 Kinds of seed supplied to the market from both domestic and foreign 

 grown stocks should be considered with reference to their source. The 

 significance of the kinds of weed seeds as indicating the source of the seed 

 is at present chiefly applicable to the seed of the clovers and alfalfa. 



In the following remarks on the testing of particular kinds of seeds 

 it is assumed that the previously discussed methods of making seed tests 

 in general will be borne in mind, leaving the present discussion to relate 

 chiefly to conditions peculiar to the several kinds of seeds considered. To 

 avoid repetition, it may be stated that for the test sample of clovers, 

 alfalfa and medium-seeded grasses seed equaling 121/2 BB shot in weight 

 may be taken; of the smaller seeded redtop and bluegrasses half this 

 weight, equal to 614 BB shot, will suffice ; of coarse seeds (as oats, barley, 

 vetch, etc.), double the weight of 121/2 iBB shot may be used. Several 

 subdivisions of the larger sample may thus be required to segregate the 

 small test sample. A little care will insure accuracy in weighing the test 

 sample. 



TESTING RED CLOVER SEED." 



The yellow and violet colors of the seed, together with the triangular 

 form of individual seeds, distinguish fresh red clover seed. (See fig. 22.) 

 Old seeds are dull and reddish brown. Imperfectly developed seeds are 



a See Farmers' Bulletin 260, entitled "Seed of Red Clover and Its Impurities." 



