78 CONTROL SERIES No. Ill 



STUDIES OF FLOWER SEEDS 



Conducted by the Department of Floriculture 

 Clark L. Thayer, Professor 



For the sixth season the Department of Floriculture has cooperated with the 

 Seed Laboratory in maintaining trials to determine the quality of flower seed 

 sold in retail seed stores, hardware stores, chain stores, schools, and other retail 

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

 by germination and performance under field conditions. 



Seeds of 209 lots, representing 49 genera, packeted by 32 concerns and obtained 

 from 78 retail outlets, were distributed as follows: 



Ageratum 6 Larkspur (Delphinium) 6 



Alonsoa 1 Lupinus (Lupine) 3 



Allysum 5 Marigold (Tagetes) 13 



Anagallis (Pimpernel) 2 Matthiola bicornis (Evening Scented Stock) 1 



Antirrhinum (Snapdragon) 8 Mignonette (Reseda) 5 



Aster (Callistephus) 7 Moonflower (Ipomoea) 2 



Bachelor Button (Centaurea) 6 Morning Glory (Ipomoea) 8 



Balsam (Impatiens) 2 Nasturtium (Tropaeolum) 11 



Blue Lace Flower (Didiscus) 2 Nicotiana 2 



Calendula 7 Nigella 3 



California Poppy (Eschscholtzia) 3 Petunia 9 



Candytuft (Iberis) 5 Phlox 3 



Chrysanthemum 3 Poppy (Papaver) 4 



Cockscomb (Celosia) 2 Portulaca 5 



Cosmos 5 Rudbeckia (Coneflower) 1 



Daisy, African (Dimorphotheca) 2 Salpiglossis 2 



Daisy, Dahlborg (Gamolepis) 1 Salvia 4 



Dianthus 5 Sanvitalia 1 



Diascia 1 Scabiosa 5 



Euphorbia (Snow on-the-Mountain) 1 Stock (Matthiola) 4 



Four-O'Clock (Mirabilis) 2 Sunflower (Helianthus) 3 



Galllardia 3 Verbena 4 



Gilia 3 Wallflower (Cheiranthus) 1 



Godetia 1 Zinnia 13 



Gypsophila (Baby's Breath) 5 



Helichrysum (Strawflower) 4 TOTAL 209 



Kochia (Mexican Fire Bush) 4 



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

 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 com- 

 parative and are not rated on a percentage basis. 



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 satis- 

 factory plants for providing sufficient data. 



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

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

 form was permissible. 



