282 



ANNUAL REPORT FOR 1914 OF THE 

 BOTANIST. 



Determinations of the purity and germinating capacity of 

 218 samples of seeds and of four mixtures for permanent grass 

 land were made in the course of the past year. Thirty-two of 

 these samples were cereals, the majority of them barleys. 



Very few cases occurred of marked discrepancies between 

 guarantees and the results of the analyses. In the worst of 

 these the usual excuse was pleaded that the seeds had been 

 kept too long before being examined. One has to admit that 

 such delay may result in a slight deterioration, and that it is 

 difficult to appraise the amount with any certainty. It is 

 therefore advisable, when analyses are required, to send the 

 samples of seeds as soon as possible. 



Taking the results as a whole they were satisfactory. The 

 average value of the germinating capacity of some of the 

 commoner seeds was as follows : — 



+ 2 per cent. " hard " seeds 

 -j- 4 „ " hard " seeds 



No kinds are included in the above table unless a minimum 

 of ten samples of seeds have been tested. Perhaps the one 

 noteworthy fact is the improvement shown this season in the 

 germinating capacity of the two clovers. 



Of the four grass mixtures, one, composed very largely of 

 low grade perennial rye grass, was unfavoura1)ly reported on. 

 Ten prescriptions for permanent pasture were drawn up early 

 in the season, and during the late autumn six more for the 

 renovation of recently sown grass land were inquired for. 

 Two of the inquiries with regard to the management of grass 

 land were of some general interest. Mixtures containing 

 chicory had been sown in each case two seasons previously, 

 and whilst the grasses had failed to form a turf the deeply- 

 rooted, drought-resisting chicory had established itself to such 

 an extent as to become a nuisance. The plant is extraordinarily 

 difficult to exterminate, particularly on heavy soils, since any 

 fragment of the root seems to be capable of producing a fresh 

 plant. Consequently, even if the drastic course of breaking up 

 the pasture is adopted, it cannot be resown without fallowing 

 or very thoroughly cultivating some cleaning crop. Yarrow, 

 according to another report, may behave in the same fashion. 



