GUAEANTEES IN THE TEADE IN SEED 85 



seed of low germination. But the publication of these reports 

 naturally has the result of improving the trade and of bringing 

 to the fore the reliable and conscientious firms, and, as stated, 

 in 1918-19 two-thirds of all the seed used in Denmark were 

 fully guaranteed, and nearly all of these consignments were up 

 to a very high standard. From the season 1919-20 the firms 

 submitting to the automatic control must guarantee all the 

 seed of grasses, leguminosae and roots they sell, both as to 

 purity, maximum contents of weeds, and germination. 



The automatic control has, so far, aimed at the protection 

 of buyers of seed for use in Denmark, but there would be no 

 hindrance to the extension of the control so as to make it apply 

 equally to the protection of buyers outside of Denmark, should 

 they so desire. 



As Dorph-Petersen truly says, this result, the extensive use 

 of official analyses of seed both by merchants and farmers, 

 has been accomplished under no legal or administrative pres- 

 sure, but voluntarily, and because both parties to the deal in 

 seed have found it to their distinct advantage to gain exact 

 knowledge of the character of the goods they are selling or 

 buying. An attempt was made, however, at a fairly early 

 stage of the development, to prescribe legal regulations for the 

 trade in seed. In 1896 a Bill was laid before the Danish 

 Eigsdag by the then Minister of Agriculture, dealing with the 

 trade in manures, feeding stuffs, seed corn, and seed. It 

 required the seller of these goods to deliver to the buyer, not 

 later than at the time of delivery, a written declaration (for 

 instance, on the invoice or sale contract) giving, with respect 

 to seed, the following information : Name or firm of seller and 

 buyer ; name of the goods, indicating variety, strain, locality 

 where produced, all according to the trade custom at the time, 

 and if a mixture, this must be stated ; the percentage of purity 

 and germination according to the rules of the State Seed Testing 

 Station, with the amount of deviation allowed ; the weight 

 of 1000 grains in grammes. The seller should sign this declara- 

 tion and be responsible for its correctness. The packing should 

 bear a label, attached or enclosed, stating plainly the name of 

 the goods. The buyer, having received such declaration, 

 should be entitled to send for analysis at the Seed Testing 



