ELEVENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART XI 



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The commoner of the other weed seeds found in redtop seed include: 

 Crab-grass, witch-grass, sedge, lamb's quarters, chickweed, peppergrass, 

 shepherd's purse, cinquefoil, black-eyed Susan, dog fennel, field camomile. 



TESTING AWNLESS F.ROME-GRASS SEED. 



Both domestic and imported seed of awnless brome-grass (Bromus 

 inermis) is in the American market. This seed should be readily recog- 

 nized by its large size and thin, boat-shaped form and the light-brown 

 color of the individual seeds. The large, thin, dark-brown grain of the 

 seed is easily distinguished through the papery palea. 



Adulteration of awnless brome-grass seed consists in the use of seed 

 of meadow fescue and of English rye-grass. The seed of chess, or cheat, 

 sometimes passes in the trade as awnless brome-grass seed. These 

 two kinds of seed are closely related botanically, but they are readily dis- 

 tinguishable under careful observation. 



One objection to the use of brome-grass seed imported from Europe 

 is that it carries the seed of quack-grass. Unfortunately in respect to 

 popular seed testing, awnless brome-grass seed produced in the north- 

 western states and in Canada may carry seed of wheat-grass which is 

 so similar to that of quack-grass that the layman is not likely to distin- 

 guish them with certainty. 



The number of kinds of weed seeds carried by awnless brome-grass 

 seed is comparatively small, but some of them are very undesirable. 



Awnless brome-grass seed should show purity of 98 or 99 per cent and 

 viability of 90 to 95 per cent in fourteen days. 



The noxious weed seeds found in this seed include: Wild oat, chess, 

 quack-grass, black bindweed, pennycress, field peppergrass, large-fruited 

 false flax, and field bindweed. 



Other weed seeds sometimes appearing in awnless brome-grass seed 

 include: Soft chess, lady's-thumb, lamb's quarters, rough amaranth, 

 yellow trefoil, sticktight, cleavers. 



Eureopean origin of awnless brome-grass seed is strongly suggested 

 by the presence of seeds of quack-grass, false flax, field bindweed, and 

 soft chess. 



TESTING SEED OF MILLETS. 



The millets used as forage crops in this country represent three dis- 

 tinct kinds of grasses — the broom-corn, or grain, millets, the foxtail mil- 



: ^ 



Fig. 31. — Seeds representing the three groups of millets; a, Broom-corn mil- 

 let; b. foxtail millets, including the German, common, and Hungarian va- 

 rieties; c, barnyard and Japanese millets. (Enlarged and natural size.) 



