181 



JOURNAL OF HOBTIOULTUBB AND OOTTAGB OARDENEB. 



I S«pUmb«r a. UBA. 



mftnimitv in the trade ? — I was pleased to dud there was, and I did 

 aot wiKh tu htaiid ulouo. 



Al that time there was Bomothing like a UQ'\Dicnond feeling on the 

 jMU-t of Ibe iratJe a<{aiust otTtaLu cUuses of the bUl, is that so ? — No, I 

 do not kiiovr thut lh«ro was. 



"Whul I nnderstood yon to Fay was thi^; that yon nigncd the mo- 

 norial ht-canse yoa wished there to he aunuimily on the part of the 

 trade ? — Yea. 



Bui ynu did not agree with it ? — I did not. 



I ask voQ wtiethcr at that time jon had foand that there was Bome- 

 ilkio^ Jiku tioaoiujity ? — There was not a verv strong nuaniioity, be- 

 canitf, tin I have already told jon, there wem two tirms who protested 

 Sgaiii>t it. altliongh {huy did sign it, and the mnjority of the trade 

 ■wanted 11 lill of sumo kind, and wanted it to b« us effectual as posijiUe. 



But ihty did not wish those cluuscs wbicb imposed penalties very 

 specitiJly in the event of their having killed beed iu their possesBiou? 

 — njuf.1 so. 



Tbey thonght that wonld be an interfence with their trade ? — Yes. 



Tlitit it mij^ht render them linlde to proHecutiou from farmers, who 

 thoa^ht that the seeds had been improperly duutored, when they had 

 lK>t7~Ye8 ; I j.resnme that was tbe feeling. 



y<>u siiid that you had done year beet to set yonr face against adnltera- 

 iioti ? — Yes. 



Havti you sold any samples of adalterated seed ? — Oh, yes. 



Tht n ^on have not gone against it to th« extent of abstaining yonr- 

 seli altog. iher ? — Certainly not ; I could not HlTord to do it. 



What measures did you take? — I have iu>truuted my travellers, 

 where practicublH (o sell net genuine seeds ro do 30 ; and I have taken 

 llie earliest opportnuify that presented itself hince I have been master 

 <tl my own actions to combine to pot it down if possible. 



But for many yeiirayou continued to sell these adulterated samples ? 

 Por five years, I have been niueter of my o*n actions, and for fifteen 

 jetrH I was with my step father, Mr. Waite. 



Since you have been master of your own actions, have you sold any 

 Jfcdnlterat«d eeeds of this kind ? — I have. 



Mr. Cross. — You say you have instructed your travellers to sell 

 set seeds, if possible ? — Yes. 



Were they to tell the customers that yon have two kinds of seeds, 

 one adulterated and one not? — Where the (jnefition of net seed was 

 luuned. theu it would be nnderstood that if they bought net seed they 

 would have net seed, hot that if they did not buy net seed they would 

 have seed used according to the custom of the triide. 



Are tbe customers that you are speaking of those retail shopkeepers ? 

 Some of them. 

 Any farmers? — No. 



No actual consnmcri of the seeds ? — No; what trade we do direct 

 with the consumer is all done with net genuine seed. 



You never have ventured to Sfll adulterated seed direct to the con- 

 somer ?— Well, I should not do that, because competition does not 

 demand it. 



I say have yon ever ventnred to sell adulterated seed to the con- 

 sumer ? — I should say not. 



Do all the country dealers know porfenHy well that the seeds they 

 boy of you are adulterated ? — A preat maLy'of tliem would ; I had one 

 oise ouly last season: my travelK-r had booked a very large order, 

 amounting probably to £1*200 or £1300, and tbo order was submitted 

 lo me by my traveller to decline or accept at tlie prices. There were 

 some items of Tnrnip seed, at very low prioes imleed, so low, in fact, 

 that there was no profit attached to them ; but the order, taken as a 

 whole, I could execute at the prices. On these Turnip seeds I wished 

 io get an advance in the price of Is. a-bueht-l, merely to pay common 

 interest of money ; to my surprise, X heard from the people that as I 

 h^d not accepted the order as it stood, they were very sorry, but they 

 liad given it to somebody else. I have suhsequentiyheard that that 

 order was given to another firm, because that (inn agreed to reduce the 

 ■eed to a growth of something about 60 per cent. So that it was a 

 qaeation of growth that lost me the order. 



It was not that ynn stuck up for selling net seed that lost yon the 

 order?— I did not offer net seed ; tbe seed oflft-red by my traveller was 

 aeed understood to grow about 70 to 75 per cent. 



How much of the profit of the adulteration goes into the seed mer- 

 chant's pocket?— Vtry little ; I shnnbl say notliing. 



Do you mean that all the profit of the adulteration goes into the 

 •onflnmer's packet? — I should say that there is no profit attached to 

 it, either to the merchant or the retailer, or tbe con-umer. The re- 

 daction in the quality has broui^ht about such an amount of competi- 

 tion that the consumer must suffer ; he must bo the only person, I 

 ahoold say, who wonld suffer. 



Dr. Pl 4YF.VIR.— You spoke of the tost of a certain per-centage grow- 

 ls not beio;? a good one for seed ; how old was the seed you spoke of 

 when you said that a test madu in the autumn ntij-ht be a very di£fer- 

 •nt test if tried in the sprinii?— I only gave that as au instance ; I did 

 aot apply it to any speci il kind of srtd. 



Take the case of a seed a year old, would th^^re be any great differ- 

 ence betw.-en a young seed in the autumn and that, -.ame seed in the 

 epring? — We will take the case of a wet autumn. The seed would not 

 be in so g>od a condition as in a fine antaoiu- That seed would be 

 longer ab-»ut in the harvest and maturing, and pmbibly would bo of a 

 waak growth when it came in. The r.hauces are that that seed woold 

 fftll off in its vitality in the spring of the year. 



Considerably ? — Somatimes considerably. 



Kven the i.oed of the la»t autumn ? — Yes. even the seed of the laat 

 autumn ; that Hpplteit, of coar-ie, to s bad faarveftt. 



And thu uiun- inpidly, I suppose, the older the seed was, if yoo hmd 

 a three-Tears-old need for instance? — I have Itoown a three-yearS'Old 

 seed to grow as well aUuobt tho third year as when hArrestod, ii it ii 

 good KireJ. 



Yon are not afraid, then, of the three-years- old seed fallingoff moeh 

 more rajiidiy in the test between the autumn and the spring? — In somt 

 cases il might, but thoroughly good harvest seeds of some kinds would 

 do well for two or thr«e ^ears and even longer sonu-timefl. 



Then it would be the exceptional cases where there was such a ipeedj 

 falliui! off as yon Mpoke of 7 — It would be the effect of a bad harresl, or 

 of a had barveHtiug. 



Mr. M'Laoan. — Yon said it might arise from bad harvesting or bad 

 crops, bntmi;:ht it not arise mere from bad keeping than anything olMf 

 — It might aiise from bad keej»ing. 



In many caAes it does arise from bad keeping, does it not? — W«n 

 not in thu bunds of a merchant who has tho facilities for keeping eeedf, 

 who has j:ood stores. 



Have you b* eu present during the few days we have been taking 

 evidence? — I have, every day. 



The qne^tion has been frequently put as to what time should b* 

 allowtrd fur information to be brought against the merchant for selling 

 adulterated seed, now what time would ynn allow ? — That is a very im- 

 portant question, but so far as it is one affecting myself as a merchant 

 it is not no important as it is considered as affecting the commission 

 agents, the faeiors. where short credit is taken ; and I think that more 

 important evidence mi;>ht be given on that point than I should be abU 

 to give. So far es I am concerned, I should say that my castomen 

 would be able to tefet their seeds and should make complaints, if they 

 have any cause to make any complaints, within twenty-one days. I 

 should considrr that that would be allowing them .imple time. 



The time that has bt en suid, gouenUly, is thirty days or a month ? — 

 I think you will find that that would be a serious matter as regards tba 

 factors. 



Even a month ? — Yes. 



Take tweutyone days; docs it matter at all to the factor, or tbe 

 wholesale merchant, if tbe time is to be twenty-one da} s, whether thei* 

 is any deterioration in the growing quality of tbe seed from autumn till 

 spriug ; there surely will be no gieat difference, at all events, in the 

 germinating power of the seed iu twenty-one days ? — I should say none. 

 Therefore it is of litllo consequence whether tho seed does become 

 deteriorated in its germinating power from autumn to spring? So far 

 aa adulteration is concerned, I should say that it is of Tery littU 

 importance. 



But 60 far as mixing with old seed is concerned? — I do not exftotly 

 understand the qutf^iiou in that form. 



I untleratood voo to say to the honourable Member for the University 

 of Edinburgh that s^-eds often lose in their gcrminatrng power from 

 autumn to sprint,'? — YtrB. 



Unmixed seed I understood you to mean? — Y'cs. nnmixed seed ; we 

 will take an instance of that kind. If we had seed of a weak growth in 

 the autumn wh should mako allowances for its going off in the spring ; 

 at least 1 t<houI(l. 



I want to know will it make any difference if you limit the time for 

 laying an iuformatiou to three weeks, whether the seed hasdeterioratod 

 in its growing quality from autumn to spring? — I should say not. 



And ih'^refore tlo yon think that there would bu any difficulty in yon 

 guarantet-ing to the purrha^er a proportion of germinatiui> power in tbe 

 Beed which yon may sell? — What proportion wonld you wish guaranteed? 

 I men ly ask a general question. You said it would bo impossible to 

 do it, I think, in tbe answer you gave just now ? — Yes ; that is, taking 

 the extreme growth, whieh probably mi^ht be demanded of na. I would 

 guarantee seed with safety to grow 50 jxr cent., but if a seedsman 

 demanded of me whether that seed should grow 90 or 9j per cent., I 

 should not venture to give a guarantee as to growth. 



You are quite prepared, however, to guarantee a certain proportion 

 of germinating power in tbe seed? — If guarantees were introducod in 

 that way iuto thu seed trade, I have no hesitation in saying that there 

 would bo very few seedsmen. 



But I understood you to say chat yon lost a particular transaction 

 from another murchhnt coming iu and selling seed which he guaranteed? 

 — I do not know th»t ha guaranteed it. It would bu merely a represen- 

 tation ; there would be an understanding. 



But I understaui^ that yon gentlemen are all men of honour, and an 

 understanding is quite equal to a guarantee? — Decidedly. 



Ho gnarnnteed it in that case to have a germinating power of 60 per 

 cent. ? — He so represented. 



Tbertfore there is, at the present time, an understanding that the 

 Beed you sell has a certain germioatug power ? — Y'es, it is tacitly under- 

 stood iu the tradt'. 



And that is quite equivalent to a guarantee amongst the merchant* 

 themselves? — I du not know that it is equivalent to a guarantee. 



Yon could not 8nen|ion it, but as an houomable trauiiactiou it wonld 

 bo ? — As an hommrable transaction it would be. 



If it i& a point of honour, why not make it a point of law ? — I am 

 not competent Uy answer that question. 



Yon deal extensively in Manifold Wurtzel. do not you ? — Yes. 



And I think you stated that it id considerably adnlteratod abo ?— It 



