30 



CONTROL SERIES NO. 167 



FIELD TESTS OF VEGETABLE SEEDS 

 TYPE AND VARIETY STUDIES— SECTION 261 H 



Conducted by the Seed Laboratory* 



This year marks the twentieth year that field tests have been conducted by the Seed 

 Laboratory to determine the trueness-to-type of certain kinds of vegetable seed offered 

 for sale in the State. Tests were run on Cabbage, Chinese Cabbage, Lettuce, Rutabaga 

 and Turnip from an exhaustive collection made by the State Seed Inspector. These 

 samples were taken at 60 retail establishments and represent the offerings of 27 wholesale 

 seedsmen in the State. 



Tests were made on 50 samples of Cabbage, 13 samples of Chinese Cabbage, 50 samples 

 of Lettuce, 27 samples of Rutabaga, and 39 samples of Turnip. Lettuce was planted April 

 20. The Cabbage, Chinese Cabbage, and Rutabaga were planted May 27, and the Turnip 

 was planted in July, following the maturity of the Lettuce. Ten days of hard cold rains 

 followed the seeding of the Lettuce. The plantings did develop satisfactorily, however, 

 and a good crop resulted, although a somewhat irregular one, due to the transplanting 

 needed to fill the gaps in the low section of the field. All the plantings were made in dupli- 

 cate and the duplicated plantings made at random. Authentic check samples were used 

 for those that could be obtained. Normal cultural techniques were practiced, and satis- 

 factory crops were grown. 



With few exceptions, the vegetables were found to be true to the name as stated on the 

 package. Desirability of the different lots of the same variety name, however, was a dif- 

 ferent matter. Many lots which were properly labelled certainly were not of equal merit 

 merit as regards their marketable value. It is not the function of this laboratory to rate 

 the various lots of seed under test, but merely to determine proper labelling practices. 



Below listed are the lots of seed which were found not to conform to the name as stated 

 on the package. 



Table 4 



Lab. 

 No. 



Wholesale Distributor. Variety of Seed and 

 Kind of Lot Number, Dealer When Other than Whole- 



Seed sale Distributor, and Place Collected 



Remarks 



^ Joseph Breck & Sons, Inc., Boston, Mass. 



171 Cabbage Red Rocli 10% kohl-rabi 



W. Atlee Burpee Co., Philadelphia, Penna. 



Herman F. Davis, Merrimac 

 1447 Turnip White Egg. No. 6851 35% purple shoulders 



Chas. C. Hart Seed Co., Wethersfield, Conn, 



Conlon & Donnelly Co., Attleboro 



157 Rutabaga Macomber, No. 3774 100% off-type, flesh yellow 



with purple top. 



O. B. Parks, Westfield 

 908 Rutabaga American Purple Top Yellow 7% turnip 



The Page Seed Co., Greene, N. Y. 



William Casey Store, Milford 

 634 Rutabaga American Purple Top Yellow 8% turnip 



* Waldo C. Lincoln, Jr., Research Instructor 

 Paul Korpita, Laboratory Assistant 



