GOOD GERMIXATION AND PURITY OF SEED ESSENTIAL 165 



unless seed of high viability is used. The soil, the seed bed, and 

 the conditions of growth may be ideal; yet all these are as naught 

 if poor seed is planted. Good seed should be true to name 

 and relatively free from impurities of all kinds; furthermore 

 it should show a high percentage of vigorous germination. 



The seed of grasses, legumes, and other forage plants is often 

 poor. Especially is this true of such important pasture plants as 

 Kentucky bluegrass, Hungarian bromegrass, red clover, and 

 Alsike clover. The seed of grasses, too, especially if purchased 

 in a mixture, is often adulterated with cheaper or inferior kinds 

 of seed. 



The germination and purity of the seed to be sown should be 

 determined before planting. If it is not possible or convenient 

 to ascertain the value of the seed, through the State Experiment 

 Station or some such pubHc-service organization, it may be 

 tested in some simple homemade germinator, of which there are 

 many kinds. 



A satisfactory germination chamber may be made by using 

 two dinner plates. Two or three layers of blotting paper or a 

 half-inch of sand should be placed in the one plate, covered by 

 a piece of heavy cloth. When the sand and cloth have been 

 saturated with water as pure as can be obtained, 100 seeds should 

 be placed on the cloth, and the second plate inverted over the 

 first, care being taken that the edges fit so closely as practically 

 to prevent evaporation. Box, " rag doll," and various other 

 types of makeshift germinators are usually satisfactory. The 

 seed should be examined every few days and the results noted. 

 Care must be taken at all times during the test to keep the seed 

 moist and at a proper temperature for growth. 



To make sure of obtaining a supply of good and genuine seed 

 the four following precautions should be observed: 



1. Require from the seed agent, at the time of purchase, a 

 guarantee of purity, germination strength, and identity. 



2. Insist that each species purchased be suppKed separately, 

 and always avoid the acceptance of seed mixtures. 



3. Purchase the seed with the understanding that if, when 



