8EEDS WEEDS. 785 



made in carrying out the provisions of the act of Congress making appropriations for 

 the Department for the current fiscal year, in which "the Secretary of Agriculture 

 is directed to obtain in the open market samples of seeds of grass, clover, or alfalfa, 

 test the same, and if any such seeds are found to be adulterated or misbranded . . . 

 to publish the results of the tests, together with the names of the persons by whom 

 the seeds were offered for sale." 



An examination of all the alfalfa seed obtained in the open market showed 12 lots 

 to be adulterated within the meaning of this act, the principal adulterants being bur 

 clover and yellow trefoil, the total amount varying fr 10.4 to 46.12 per cent. 



Tests of grass and forage crop seeds collected in 1903 (Maryland Ayr. Col. 

 Quart., 1904, No. %6, />/>. 19). — A report is given of the results of tests of samples of 

 grass and forage crop seeds collected by the chemical department of the Maryland 

 Agricultural College during 1903, the tests having been made under the supervision 

 of E. Brown, botanist in charge of the seed laboratory of the Bureau of Plant Indus- 

 try of this Department. The results, which are in tabular form, show the different 

 kinds of seed, name and address of seller, results of the purity and germination tests. 

 The price paid per hundred pounds for the different lots of seed is given and the 

 actual cost, as shown by the results of the tests, is indicated. 



Influence of carbon bisulphid on the germination of seeds, J. Bolle ( Ztschr. 

 Landw. Versuchsw. Oesterr., 7 {1904), No. 3, pp. 183, 184). — In the report of the 

 V -ricultural Chemical Station of Gorz for 1903 an account is given of experiments 

 made to determine the proper method of handling, duration, and amount of carbon 

 bisulphid needed for treating seeds for the destruction of weevil, and also on the 

 effect of the treatment on the germination of the seed. 



Wheat, rye, barley, corn, and peas were treated at different temperatures, ranging 

 from 2° to 10° C, and were exposed to the fumes for from 1 to 10 days. At the 

 lower temperature the consumption of carbon bisulphid through evaporation fell to 

 0.5 to 1 gm. per liter of space, even when the experiment was prolonged for 10 days. 

 The effect on the germination was not always the same. The germination of peas 

 and doubtless other leguminous seed is lowered by 10 days' exposure to carbon 

 bisulphid fumes. 



The cereals were injured, but in different degrees. Barley showed the least injury, 

 followed by wheat, rye, and corn. The oil content of the seed was found to exercise 

 an important influence on the amount of injury done, and in all the experiments the 

 length of exposure was an active factor in determining the amount of injury. 



Report of the seed-control station of Vienna for 1903, T. vox Weinzierl 

 (Ztschr. Landw. Versuchsw. Oesterr., 7(1904), No. 3, pp. 209-264, pi. ?).— During the 

 season covered by this report there were 18,928 analyses of seed reported and 15,209 

 sacks of grasses and forage-plant seed certified to. A tabular report is given, showing 

 the maximum, minimum, and average purity and germination of the more important 

 seed, comparisons being made with the figures obtained in the previous year. Par- 

 ticular attention has been paid in the report to the adulteration of seed and the 

 presence of dodder in clover seed. 



Some brief notes are given of various plant diseases investigated during the year, 

 and the relative value of grass-seed mixtures is commented upon. In the field 

 experiments reported upon, notes are given on the demonstration fields for grasses 

 and fodder plants, 135 such fields being in operation. The station is continuing its 

 work in cereal breeding and briefly reports upon its experiments with pedigreed 

 stock of different varieties of rye, wheat, barley, and oats. Culture experiments 

 with a number of agricultural crops are reported in different parts of Austria, and an 

 account is given of the Alpine; stations maintained by the Austrian Government. 



Report of the seed-control station of Troppau, 1902-3, Kambersky (Ztschr. 

 Landw. Versuchsw. Oesterr., 7 I 1904 ), No. 4, pp. 361-364 )• — A report is given on 1,671 

 examinations of seed of clovers, grasses, and other plants, which includes the exam- 



