F24 



IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



Such a tray is made from stiffish white paper, as a sheet of heavy 

 letter paper. The edges of the sheet on all four sides should be folded 

 over, making a rim one-fourth inch wide. Folding the edges over the 

 straight angular edge of some convenient object largely prevents the 

 paper from warping and makes it easier to use. Cutting off one corner 

 permits the seed to be poured easily from the tray. 



The Germinator — Either blotting paper or cloth may be used to receive 

 the seed. Clean sand may be preferable for some kinds of seed.- A 

 germinator of this description is most useful in testing forage-crop seeds 

 or seeds of cereals. In testing corn the sand-box method is very satis- 

 factory, or the cloth method may be employed. This method makes use 

 of a box of convenient size, say 20 inches square, interior dimensions, 

 and 2 or 3 inches deep. The seed is placed on white cloth, preferably 

 Canton flannel, which is cross marked on the smooth side with distinct 

 pencil-lines in 2-inch squares. The required moisture is held by extra 

 thicknesses of cloth or by clean sand beneath the cloth, forming a layer 

 about an inch thick over the bottom of the box. If Canton flannel (which 

 comes 27 inches wide) is to be used instead of sand, the box may be 

 made narrower than suggested, say 12 inches, thus allowing for folding 

 the cloth and for shrinkage. 



DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERS OF SEEDS. 



Safeguarding Against Deception — One of the first steps in testing seeds 

 of the forage crops is to determine if the sample is true to name, and it 

 is necessary that these kinds of 

 seeds be recognized with certain- 

 ty. While most farmers, as a 

 rule, can recognize red clover 

 seed, for example, when they see 

 it in bulk, it is not so certain 

 that they would recognize indi- 

 vidual seeds of red clover under 

 all conditions, as one must in 

 making tests of this seed. Again, 

 alfalfa seed in bulk is recognized 

 by most farmers, because they 

 contrast it with red alsike, and 

 white clover seed with which 

 they are familiar as these ed- 

 pear in bulk. It is a question, 

 however, if the average farmer 

 would detect yellow trefoil seed 

 in bulk or sweet clover seed in bulk were it not for the characteristic odor 

 of the latter. Bur clover seed would be found even more deceiving. 



The chances for deception are even greater with grass seeds than with 

 clover seeds, because of the striking similarity between the seeds of dif- 

 ferent kinds when seen in bulk. This similarity and the fact that mere 



-Homemade seed germinator; 

 A, closed; B, open. 



