86 CONTROL SERIES No. 102 



STUDIES OF FLOWER SEEDS 



Conducted by the Department of Floriculture 

 Clark L. Thayer, Professor 



For a fourth season the Department of Floriculture has cooperated with the 

 Seed Laboratory in a test to determine the quality of seed sold in retail seed 

 stores, garages, hardware stores, groceries, schools, and other retail outlets. 

 The seeds, which were collected by the State Seed Inspector, were tested for 

 germination and performance under field conditions. 



Seeds of 224 lots, including 42 genera and packeted by 30 different whole- 

 salers, were classified as follows: 



Ageratum 6 Helichrysum (Strawflower) 3 



Alyssum 6 Iberis (Candytuft) 6 



Antirrhinum (Snapdragon) 5 Impatiens (Balsam) 7 



Arctotis (African Daisy) 1 Ipomoea (including Morning Glory) .... 6 



Calendula 9 Lupinus (Lupine) 4 



Calliopsis 1 Matthiola (Stock) 4 



Callistephus (Aster) 11 Mirabilis (Four O'Clock) 4 



Celosia (including Cockscomb) 3 Papaver (Poppy) 7 



Centaurea (including Bachelor Button) ... 11 Petunia 11 



Cheiranthus (Wallflower) 1 Phlox 5 



Chrysanthemum 2 Portulaca 6 



Cleome (Spider Plant) 1 Reseda (Mignonette) 5 



Cosmos 9 Rudbeckia 1 



Delphinium (Larkspur) 8 Salpiglossis 6 



Dianthus (including Carnation and Pink) . 7 Salvia 4 



Didicus (Blue Lace Flower) 2 Scabiosa 6 



Eschscholtzia (California Poppy) 3 Tagetes (Marigold) 11 



Euphorbia (Snow on the Mountain) 1 Tropaeolum (Nasturtium) 11 



Gaillardia 4 Verbena 6 



Gilia 1 Zinnia 16 



Gypsophila (Baby's Breath) 1 



Helianthus (Sunflower) 2 TOTAL 224 



No germination tests were made in the laboratory on any of the lots of seed 

 collected, since many of the packets contained too small a quantity of seed for 

 both field and laboratory tests. Remarks on germination observed in the field 

 are comparative and not rated on a percentage basis. 



Conditions for field work were very much better during the past season than in 

 the previous year. Total rainfall for rhe months of June, July, August, and 

 September in 1939 was 12.37 inches as compared with 32.49 inches for the same 

 period in 1938. l 



The seeds were sown between June 6 and 8, approximately two weeks earlier 

 than in 1938. The date of the first frost in 1939 was October 15, which therefore 

 provided a long growing period. 



When the number of seeds permitted, rows fifteen feet long were sown. Ger- 

 mination was rated as "good" if the seeds germinated in approximately two- 

 thirds of the row; "fair" between one-third and two-thirds; "poor" for one-third 

 or less. Performance was designated as "satisfactory" if the varieties were true 

 to name, producing only a low percentage of plants which were not true to form 

 or color (one-third or less); "fair" between one-third and two-thirds not true; 

 and "not satisfactory" if less than one-third was true to name or did not produce 

 satisfactory plants for providing sufficient data. 



As far as possible trueness-to-type was determined, but since main lots were 

 described as mixtures or did not carry varietal names, a wide range in color and 

 form was permissible. 



'Data on precipitation and frosts were taken from the monthly bulletins, "Meteorological Ob- 

 servations." of the Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station. 



