SEED COXTROL. 63 



ing wind, may check their growth, or destroy the young plants 

 altogether. In addition, there are numerous insects, both below 

 and above ground, that may attack the plants, some of these 

 being so small that they often destroy a crop before they are 

 discovered. 



" For the above reasons, we wish to state in this explicit form, 

 that, while we exercise great care to have all seeds ])ure, 

 reliable, and true to name, our seeds are sold without any warranty, 

 expressed or implied, and without any responsibility in respect 

 to the crop. If our seeds are not accepted on these terms, they 

 must be returned at once." 



The above is a fair sample of the kind of guarantees (?) offered 

 by American seedsmen in general. Others, however, warrant 

 seed to be of good vitality and true to name to the extent that 

 they will refund money if not. Strange to say, however, the 

 largest firms almost without exception expressly state that they 

 will furnish no guarantee expressed or imjdied. But no guaran- 

 tee from any firm whatever can take the })lace of an actual test 

 made by a disinterested party. 



No one asks the seedsman to guarantee a crop ; that wonUl be 

 absurdly unreasonable. Neither, under sei'd control conditions, 

 is it required that the seeds should come up after being planted 

 in the field. As we shall see presently, in making germination 

 tests the seeds are placed under the most favorable conditions 

 and handled by experts from first to last, so that none of the 

 common objections of seedsmen hold good, that no guarant' e can 

 be expected since "the very best seeds do not always give satis- 

 faction on account of sowing too deep oi- too shallow ; too wet or 

 too dry soil ; wet weather, cold weather, frosts, chemic il changes 

 induced by temperature, etc." 



The conditions which affect germination are very com])lex. and 

 the subject is a very interesting one, but we cannot treat it here. 

 Suffice it to say that not only do different varieties of see 1 g^'rmi- 

 nate best under conditions different from those of othf^r v.iri 4.i-'S, 

 but also that differences in season, climate, soil, and locality, differ- 

 ence in the degree of ripeness when harvested, and met o Is of 

 harvesting and keeping, make it impossible to predic ite wit : abso- 

 lute accuracy how different seeds of the same variety will behave 

 when they are planted. Nevertheless, the germination o; our 

 common garden and forage plants is sufficiently understo xl by 



