194 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



varied from .152 to 7.568 per cent, with an average of 3.437 per cent; 

 timothy varied from .073 to 6.97 per cent. This shows that the farmer 

 pays 26 cents for impurities in 100 pounds of red clover, 12 cents for 

 impurities in alfalfa, 51 cents for impurities in alsike, .and 23 cents for 

 impurities in timothy. The farmer does not want to pay a high price 

 for weed seeds, of which he has enough. 



ADULTERATIONS. 



When the farmer asks for alfalfa seed, he does not want the substi- 

 tute, burr clover or sweet clover, which are frequently mixed with low- 

 grade alfalfa seed, as indicated by the extensive investigations of the 

 Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station. These weeds have most objec- 

 tionable qualities, and the farmer cannot afford to introduce these plants. 

 Canadian blue-grass is substituted for blue-grass and other green substi- 

 tutes are frequent; mustard is sold for rape, etc. 



VIABILITY OF SEEDS. 



The farmer is interested not only in obtaining pure seeds, but he also 

 wants seeds that are capable of germination. The following table, taken 

 from Mr. Pieter's report, shows the condition of a few different samples: 



Five of the samples of red clover in the following table were fairly 

 good seed, but the price was not always proportionate to the real value. 

 Samples 2 and 7, though inferior seed, were really the most expensive. 

 while for sample 6 less was paid per pound of good seed than for any of 

 the others. Most of these samples were purchased in the same place, and 

 two of them, numbers 1 and 3, from the same dealer. They illustrate how 

 little local dealers regulate prices according to the real value of the seed. 



Table 1. — Comparison of market price of clover seed with price actu- 

 ally paid for the good seed: 



Market Price Per Cent No. Lbs. of Price Paid Per 



Sample No. Per Bu. Good Seed. Good Seed. Bu. Good Seed. 



1 $5.50 93 55.8 $5.58 



2 5.25 76.2 45.72 6.90 



3 5.00 92 55.2 5.40 



4 4.75 93 55.8 5.10 



5 4.75 80.1 48 5.94 



6 4.00 87.3 52.38 4.59 



7 3.50 46.2 27.72 7.56 



In this table the cost of the seed has been reduced to cost per bushel 

 of good seed. A consideration of the table shows that neither the highest 

 nor the lowest priced sample was the cheapest. The lowest priced lot. 

 No. 7, cost more per bushel of good seed than any other, while lot No. 6 

 was the best one to buy because it was sold for the lowest price per 

 bushel of good seed. If this lot had contained the seeds of injurious 

 weeds, that fact would have to be taken into consideration when judging 

 of its value. The presence of dodder, even in small amounts, should con- 

 demn any sample of clover or alfalfa, no matter how good it may other- 

 wise be, and the presence of more than 1 per cent of weed seeds will 



