SEED DIVISIOX. ,V.) 



Tlie Department analyses of tho nvernpc composition of American 

 corn shosv that, in tbo matter of Aveiij:lit of nearly eleven hundred speci- 

 iiions, tlie heaviest corn comes from Virginia, ^N'orth Carolina, Kentucky, 

 and Louisiana, all of the Dent variety. 



Another analysis shows that American oats arc higher in albuminoids 

 thau the farfameil Irisli grain. Oats in Scotland range in weight from 

 42 to 50 pounds per bushel. In this country they vary froin 20 to 45, 

 and in rare instances 50, pounds. The weight of oats in the TJnitvd 

 States is nsually less than in England or Scotland. The most cummon 

 legal weight of oats is o2 i)ouiuls to the bnsliel. It varies from oO pounds 

 in ]\Iaino, New Jersey, and Penn.sylvania to 34 ])ounds in Nebraska. 



Prof. A. E. liiount, of the Colorado Agricultural College, iu a com- 

 munication dated October 3, 1885, says : 



Every samjilo of wlioat, o:ils, barley, nml rye I have received from all sources 

 iiii)>ruvi'K liy Ix'iii;; raistnl ainl selected here. My ox|ierieuee, experimenting with 

 seeds from all pints of llio world, is, that our own are by far the most vital; a greater 

 proporrioij of iIumm germinate. 



'J'lie cereals can be improved and bred up to as perfect a .state of good qualities as 

 Niuek. Tliey are as susceptible of improvement iu every way. 



Seeds are at 1 he foundation of farming, and good seed of good farmiug. Good .seed 

 iti tli<i bands of the good farmer is capable nf tiirning a di.-jastrous season into a 

 sncce.sbfnl one-; of cl)anging io.sses into iirolits; of bringing bojie amidst discournge- 

 nienls. Good seed mcan-i vital seed; fixity of ly{)e; fecundity of product; adaptive- 

 iiess to locality. Tlie last tht? user must secure; the fust tliree requirements it is 

 auioug the duties of the distributor to furnish and of the farmer to pay for. 



SEED ^^0:JrENCLATURE. 



Whatever maybe said in regord to the seed division and its manage- 

 ment by interested or di.sinterestcd persons, the fact cannot be estab- 

 lished that the different varietie.'^i of seeds that are distributed by the 

 Department of Agricultnre are sent out itnder any other name than that 

 received from reliable seedsmen iiom whom the seed was purchased. In 

 the distribution of seeds from this <]ivision the tricks of the trade are not 

 indidged iu. No new names are affixed to old and well-known varieties. 

 As the distribution is gratuitous on the part of the Government, those 

 in its employ have no valid reason for multiplying names or substituting 

 high-sounding terms for the original ones. The people an; rapidly com- 

 ing to a pra(!tical knowledge of the fact that then^ are far more names 

 iii many of the extemporized catalogues of farm and garden seeds, thaii 

 lijeie ever are of distinct varieties iti actual cultivation. 



Dr. E. L. Sturtevanc, iu his recent address before the National Grange, 

 made the following statement in regard to theim])ortance of nomencla- 

 turo: 



Of what service to rep.ort a variety of corn as the best variety for certain <b!rmcd 

 eonditionsof climate, when seed purchased nnder the name jirobably will b»; dili'ei-e.nt 

 a(:c<iv(1ing to tlie source ■nhcnco obtained ? Of wh.it use to vecommeud an oat, so illy 

 <leseribed that no <me knows CA'en the proper variety, and no two seedsmen's seeds, 

 purporting to bo of the same variety, gives plants of like habit; or appearance ? 



In his last annual report he says : 



It is extremely desirable that each variety of vegetables should be knowni among 

 both seedsmen and gardeners under one distinctive name. In mauj' of cur garden 

 vegetables conformity to type can only bo secured by the most careful selection of 

 seed plants. 



In earnestly urging the necessity of reform iu nomenclature he calls 

 attention to the fact that it is a work which necessitates the study of 

 many varieties under different conditious of soil and climate, and that 



