212 HOW TO PROCURE GOOD SEEDS. 



Notwithstanding the laws enacted, and care taken, it is by no 

 means easy to secure good seeds true to name. 



Mr. De Laune, in Jour. Eoyal Ag. Soc., in 1882, says: "How- 

 ever careful I was in my orders, and from whatever seed-market 

 I ordered my seeds ; the percentage of rye grass, soft woolly 

 grass, and other bad grasses and weeds, was beyond all belief. 

 I learned that good seed was most difficult to get. I consulted 

 the botanist, and to my great amazement was told that my seed 

 bought for meadow fescue was all rye grass, and the rough 

 meadow grass was all smooth meadow grass. I have, since these 

 experiments, never sown any seed except after the sample had 

 been examined by the consulting botanist ; and have, in conse- 

 quence, obtained results most satisfactory to myself. I have 

 found it necessary to examine seeds from different parts of every 

 sack. I regret to say that there is no seed-merchant I would 

 trust without the seed was examined by the consiilting botanist." 

 And yet ;i leading seedsman in England says : " The seedsman 

 should be treated with much the same sort of confidence as the 

 family doctor." 



Doubtless my readers will be glad to see the following quota- 

 tion from the Annual Report of the consulting botanist, W. 

 Caruthers, of the Eoyal Agricultural Society for 1884: 



"During the past year I have examined 701 samples of seeds 

 for the members of the society, besides replying to inquiries 

 regarding the nature, habits, and names of weeds, and the best 

 way of dealing with them ; the diseases of cultivated plants ; and 

 to various matters affecting the crops of the farm. I have 

 examined 69 samples of meadow fescue, and 46 of tall fescue, in 

 all 115 samples, as compared with 85 in the previous year. Sixty- 

 five per cent of the samples of meadow fescue were free from 

 weeds and seeds of other grasses, as against 26 per cent of last 

 year. The principal adulterant employed is rye grass ; but the 



