56 



CONTROL SERIES No. 119 



STUDIES OF FLOWER SEEDS 



Conducted by the Department of Floriculture 

 Clark L. Thayer Professor 



For the eighth season the Department of Floriculture has cooperated with 

 the Seed Laboratory in conducting trials to determine the quality of flower seeds 

 oflfered for sale in retail seed stores, hardware stores, chain stores, schools, and 

 other retail outlets. The seeds, collected by the State Seed Inspector, were 

 tested for germination and performance under field conditions. 



All seeds were sown on July 6, a rather late date for the sowing of many kinds 

 of annuals. The first killing frost occurred on October 6, giving a growing 

 season of 91 da>s. 



Seeds of 225 lots, representing 55 genera, packeted by 34 concerns, and obtained 

 from 59 retailers, were distributed as follows: 



Adonis 



Ageratum 



Alyssum 



Amaranthus 



Anchusa 



Anoda 



Antirrhinum (Snapdragon) 



Aster tanacetifolius (Tahoka Daisy) . . 



Brachycome (Swan River Daisy) 



Calendula 7 



Callistephus (Aster) 14 



Cassia 



Celosia (Cockscomb) 



Centaurea (including Bachelor's Button) 



Chrysanthemum 



Cleome 



Cosmidium 



Cosmos 



Crotolaria (Golden Sweet Pea) 



Cynoglossum 



Delphinium (Larkspur) 



Dianthus (Carnations and Pinks) 



Didiscus (Blue Lace Flower) 



Dimorphotheca (African Daisy) 



Eschscholtzia (California Poppy) 



Euphorbia 



Gaillardia 



Geum 



Cilia 1 



Gypsophila 5 



Helianthus (Sunflower) 1 



Helichrysum (Strawfiower) 3 



Iberis (Candytuft) 6 



Inipatiens (Balsam) 4 



fpomoea (Morning Glory) 3 



Kochia (Mexican Fire Bush) 2 



Linum (Flax) 2 



Lobelia 2 



Lupinus (Lupine) 2 



Mathiola (Stock) i 



Mirabilis (Four-o'clock) 3 



Nemophila 1 



Nicotiana 1 



Papaver (Poppy) 3 



Petunia IS 



Phlox 2 



Reseda (Mignonette) 3 



Salpiglossis 2 



Scabiosa 7 



Tagetes (Marigold) 14 



Tropaeolum (Nasturtium) 4 



Verbena f- 



Vinca 2 



Viola 1 



Zinnia 24 



TOTAL 225 



Germination tests were not made in the laboratory on any of the lots of seed. 

 Results of germination were rated as "good" if seeds germinated in approxi- 

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

 for less than one-third. Performance was designated as "satisfactory" if the 

 varieties were true to name, with only one-third or less of the plants not true 

 to form or color; "fair", between one-third and two-thirds not true; and "not 

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

 sufificient plants for providing satisfactory data. 



