SEED INSPECTION 



21 



STUDIES OF FLOWER SEEDS 



Conducted by the Seed Laboratory 



Waldo C. Lincoln, Jr., Laboratory Assistant 



Under the Supervision of 



Clark L. Thayer, Professor, Department of Floriculture 



This is the seventeenth year in which flower seed studies have been con 

 ducted by the Seed Laboratory to determine the quality of flower seeds offered 

 for sale in various retail outlets. Seed ot 339 lots, representing 55 genera, packeted 

 by 20 wholesalers or distributors, were obtained from 58 retail sources by the 

 Seed Inspector. One lot of Calonyction (Moonflower) and 8 perennials were 

 collected but not tested. 



The lots were distributed among the various genera as follows: 



Ageratum 9 



Alyssum 23 



Anchusa 4 



Antirrhinum 3 



Arctotis 2 



Brachycome 2 



Calendula IS 



Calliopsis 1 



Callistephus 15 



Celosia 5 



Centaurea 12 



Cheiranthus 1 



Chrysanthemum 1 



Clarkia 1 



Cleome 1 



Cosmos 20 



Cynoglossum 1 



Delphinium 14 



Dimorphotheca 1 



Dianthus 2 



Didiscus 2 



Eschscholtzia 2 



Euphorbia 1 



Gaillardia 2 



Gypsophila 4 



Helichrysum 2 



Hunnemania 1 



Iberis 10 



Impatiens 5 



Kochia 1 



Linaria 2 



Lupinus 1 



Malcomia 1 



Molucella 1 



Nemesia 2 



Nemophila 2 



Nicotiana 3 



Nierembergia 1 



Nigella 1 



Papaver 2 



Petunia 39 



Phacelia 2 



Phlox 4 



Portulaca 9 



Reseda 2 



Salpiglossis 3 



Salvia 4 



Scabiosa 5 



Schizanthus 1 



Statice I 



Tagetes 35 



Tithonia 2 



Tropaeolum 3 



Verbena 4 



Vinca 1 



Zinnia 45 



Dates of sowing were May 27 and 28. Seeds were sown in twenty-foot sec- 

 tions in the row with the exception of Petunias, which were sown in ten-foot 

 sections. In most cases, the quantity of seed was sufficient to plant the desired 

 section. 



Germination tests were made in the laboratory for all samples of seed. The 

 results of laboratory germination are shown only for samples that gave few or 

 no plants in the field or with good germination but found otherwise unsatis- 

 factory. 



Heavy rains during the germination period and again during emergence of the 

 seedlings tended to pack the soil and in a few instances delayed cultivation until 

 weeds were difficult to eradicate. Abnormally dry weather later in the season, 

 however, did not affect the trial grounds as there were no signs of dryness through- 

 out the entire testing period. 



