22 



CONTROL BULLETIN NO. 144 



Refuse Screenings 



A considerable tonnage of Canadian Refuse Screenings was sold in Massachu- 

 setts during December 1949. Analysis of five samples of this product showed 

 its composition to be mainly ground and whole weed seeds and chaff with some 

 grain particles and sand. 



The table giving the composition of eight samples of Canadian Refuse Screen- 

 ings includes the results on two samples received from Maine and one sample 

 reported from New Hampshire. Weed seeds contain relatively high percentages 

 of fat and low percentages of fiber. Therefore the screenings containing the 

 larger percentages of weed seeds also analyze higher in fat and lower in fiber. 



Refuse Screenings 



On March 27, 1950, the following article was sent to the New England Com- 

 missioners of Agriculture and others concerned with this problem. 



The problem of Canadian Refuse Screenings is a comparatively new 

 one so far as the New England States are concerned. This is not true of 

 some of the Northwestern States, particularly the State of Washington. 



For a number of 3'ears before 1949 about 90 thousand tons of Canadian 

 Refuse Screenings were shipped into Washington each year. The agri- 

 cultural leaders of that State realized that it was futile to expend hun- 

 dreds of thousands of dollars annually in weed eradication programs while 

 the importation of Canadian Refuse Screenings continued. Accordingly, 

 the Director of the State Department of Agriculture promulgated a set 

 of rules and regulations, to become effective November 16, 1949, drasti- 

 cally limiting the number of viable noxious weed seeds per pound of feed. 

 The named primary noxious weed seeds are limited to 15 per pound of 

 feed. Named secondary noxious weed seeds are limited to 200 per pound. 



