11 Oct., 1909.] Seed Tests. 631 



since a single importation may represent the major part of a particular 

 kind of seed available for seasonal distribution in Victoria during a par- 

 ticular year, a seedsman may be compelled either to send his customers 

 seed of poor quality, or to cause them to lose a growing period, since 

 to order a fresh supply fiom Europe may take three or four months. 



Some detailed information as to the character and quality of the seed 

 imported into Victoria was obviously highly desirable, and since no seed- 

 testing establishment exists in this State, the services of one of the Go- 

 \ernm-nt Research Bursars was utilized for this work, which, though 

 hardly pure research, is of considerable economic importance. The samples 

 were representative ones, forw-arded by the Customs authorities, and the 

 results seem to show that Victoria is either not receiving the best class 

 of seeds or else the seeds sent deteriorate considerably on ship-board. 

 The latter is quite possible when se*^ds are stored in a badly ventilated 

 hold along with a mixed cargo. In fact, many seeds are quite as perish- 

 able as meat, fruit, or butter, and require equal care in their carriage. 

 The most important points in preserving seeds are that thev should be 

 cool and dry and kept under as uniform conditions as possible. 



In some cases, as, for instance, with pear seed, the exporter often packs 

 the seeds in charcoal, which keeps them dry and absorbs any injurious 

 gases from the hold of the ship, which might injure the seed. The char- 

 coal is subsequently removed on landing by sieving and rubbing the seeds, 

 but seeds that have been placed in charcoal can be recognised bv their 

 blackening the finger when it is passed through them. In manv cases, 

 such seed will give a better germination than imported ones, which have 

 not been packed in this way. 



Very little is known as to the best ways of packing and transportmg 

 different seeds, but probably, investigation would reveal various wavs of 

 reducing the fall in geimination value of sensitive seeds during a long 

 sea voyage. In addition, it would probably be found that .seed from 

 certain countries stands the sea-voyage better than when derived from 

 other countries. This appears, for example, to be the case with the seeds 

 of carrots, parsnips, and some grasses. Naturally, exact data of this 

 kind would be of great value to the seedsman in determining the best 

 source from which to derive particular seeds. 



It is to be regretted that so little pedigree seed is produced on a 

 comm.ercial scale in Victoria, that is to say, seed harvested from pure 

 strains kept true to type. There seems ample room for a considerable 

 local expansion of the seed industry in this direction, and there is no 

 cultivated plant whose seed could not be raised as well in Victoria as in 

 Euro])e. So long as we are dependent mainlv upon imported seed, the 

 difficulty of satisfactorily fulfilling all the needs of the Australian seed 

 market will be considerable, and the average germination value will not 

 be as high as it would be in the case of locally grown seed. 



Unfortunately, in certain cases, farmers have attempted to place upon 

 the market the .screenings from grain crops as agricultural seed, simplv 

 because such .screenings contained a certain proportion of clover and other 

 fodder plants or of Meliloius and other plants useful for green m.anuring. 

 In one case, a sample of Rye grass submitted for sale contained 52 per 

 cent, of Melilotus farviflora, which, though useful for green manuring, 

 is hardly a good pa.sture plant, and 11 per cent, of wild oats. Tn another 

 case, a sample of Melilotus contained no less than 42 per cent, of weed 

 seeds, including 13 different kinds. In yet another sample, supposed to 

 be sold for green manuring, and consisting mainly of clovers, no less 

 than five proclaimed plants were present, including dodder. 



