April, 1921 



SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE. 



determination of the origin of certain 

 agricultural seeds. The data Avliicli he 

 presented at the conference was of very 

 great interest, and when the work is com- 

 pleted will surely be of pronounced value 

 to seed analysts in all countries. 



Dr. Volkart submitted data from ex- 

 amination of a very large number of 

 samples of grass and clover seeds obtain- 

 ed from America and from tlie principal 

 clover seed producing districts of Europe. 

 The presence as impurities of the seed of 

 a few particular species of plants which 

 Avere indigenous to or persistent in certain 

 clover seed producing countries or dis- 

 tricts, and prevalent in the seed of com- 

 merce from those countries or districts 

 and not at all or to a very limited extent 

 in the seed of commerce from other coun- 

 tries or districts, was believed by Dr. Vol- 

 kart to be a reliable basis for dra^Wng an 

 inference as to the origin of the seed. That 

 belief as expressed by Dr. Volkart was 

 concurred in by all present at the con- 

 ference. 



I was requested in particular to bring 

 this work to the attention of the chairman 

 of the Research Committee and of this 

 conference as a whole. I consider this 

 research work to be one of great import- 

 ance to agriculture. The problem has 

 been approached before by Mr. Brown 

 and others, but without a full measure of 

 success . 



Seed testing in Canada and the United 

 States has now been sufficiently advanced 

 to enable us to take up this question and 

 give.it an exhaustive study over a period 

 of years, so that on the occasion of the 

 1924 conference in England we may have 

 a fairly reliable chart of our North Ameri- 

 can r.eed producing territory and showing 

 the characteristic impurities or other 

 characteristics of many kinds of seeds 

 produced in the different states, provinces 

 or districts of North America. 



I have given definite instructions that 

 this matter be carefully and persistently 

 studied in all of our seed laboratories in 

 Canada, and I shall be very much disap- 

 pointed if the chairman of our Research 

 Committee has any cause for complaint be- 

 cause of want of co-operation in this 

 matter from our Canadian seed analysts 

 durins: the next few vears. 



We are now importing into North Amer- 

 ica large supplies of red clover seeds from 

 Europe. There are some seed analysts 

 connected with our association who are 

 able to form a reliable opinion as to the 

 country of origin. All of our seed anal- 

 ysts ought to be able to do that if they are 

 to i)rovide the protection to agriculture 

 that tliey ought to provide. It is well 

 known throughout Europe that Italian 

 red clover seed is not winter hardy when 

 used in the northern areas of Europe, and 

 their seed analysts are expected to protect 

 agriculture accordingly. . Any of our seed 

 analysts in North America who are not 

 competent to provide that protection are 

 not giving the service to agriculture that 

 should be expected of them. 



I have no doubt the Dr. Volkart will 

 be pleased to place at the disposal of the 

 seed analysts of North America the results 

 of his ten years of study of this question. 

 I submit that we ought to co-operate with 

 him in that work by producing reliable 

 information that will enable us with 

 reasonable accuracy to determine the 

 origin of many kinds of seeds that are 

 grown in North America. 



Methods of Analysis. 



Methods of analysis and forms of reports 

 occupied a great deal of the attention of 

 the conference. The pros and cons of the 

 continental system as distinguished from 

 the Irish system of testing grass seeds can 

 always be depended upon to occupy more 

 time than the subject properly deserves. 



It was agreed that scientifically the 

 continental system is the correct one. On 

 the other hand it was agreed that those 

 countries, including England, Ireland 

 and Scotland, which had practised the 

 Irish system had obtained better results 

 for agriculture and at the increased dis- 

 advantage to agriculture in those countries 

 which practised the continental system, 

 because while practising the Irish system 

 in the control of the seed trade, England, 

 Ireland and Scotland had proven to be a 

 very unfavorable market for any grass 

 seed that contained more than a very 

 small percentage of chaff. Dr. Pethy- 

 bridge, who is in change of seed control 

 for the Irish Board of Agriculture, de- 



