ELEVENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART XI 753 



scarcely expanded at the apex. 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 germinate 

 95 to 9S per cent. The purity should be 98 or 99 per cent. 



The noxious weed seeds found in orchard grass include: Wild oat, 

 chess, dock, including the chaffy covering, black bindweed, bladder cam- 

 pion, field peppergrass, tumbling mustard, rat-tail plantain, buckhorn, 

 oxeye daisy. 



Other weed seeds commonly found in orchard grass seed include: 

 Crab-grass, witch-grass, velvet grass, soft chess, sedge, sorrel, lamb's- 

 quarters, rough amaranth, creeping buttercup, peppergrass, wild geran- 

 ium, field madder, cleavers, scentless camomile, cat's-ear. 



TESTING MEADOW FESCUE SEED. 



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

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

 ly pointed. The characteristic rachilla segment is slender, cylindrical 

 and distinctly expanded at the apex. 



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

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

 rachilla segment which is usually wedge shaped, flattened and scarcely 

 expanded at the apex. The examination of meadow fescue seed for Eng- 

 lish rye-grass as an adulterant should always be made. The extent of 

 the adulteration may be determined by count from 1,000 seeds of the mix- 

 ture as previously described. 



The seed of chess has been used as an adulterant of meadow fescue 

 seed. The chess seeds are larger, usually cylindrically folded, and some- 

 times have a short awn at the apex. The rachilla segment is curved and 

 club shaped. 



Meadow fescue seed usually is comparatively free from meadow fescue 

 chaff, but very poor seed may contain chaff of orchard grass or worth- 

 less orchard grass seed. The purity, should reach 99 per cent, the via- 

 bility 95 to 98 per cent. 



The noxious weed seeds found in meadow fescue seed include: Chess, 

 quack-grass, dock, bladder campion, field peppergrass, small-fruited false 

 flax, English charlock and buckhorn. 



Other weed seeds found in meadow fescue seed include: Crab-grass, 

 witch-grass, yellow foxtail, green foxtail, velvet grass, soft chess, sedge, 

 sorrel, lady's-thumb, lam'b's-quarters, wild spurry, creeping buttercup, pep- 

 pergrass, yellow trefoil, forget-me-not, bracted plantain, field madder, cat's- 

 ear, hawkweed. 



48 



