1642 



SEEDAGE 



and if those m one oi ni i II ks 

 inferiority or a large i i I 



tire blocli is eonderam 1 

 so some very fine mdn 

 remaining blocks aie til i 

 selected which shows the L I i i II 

 type, and fiom it a few plants iii 



w tither general 



I I ints the en- 



c n if m doing 



I stro\ed The 



I ( d andthatone 



1 ( to the desired 



elected and their 



ifor 



1 Hat. or shallow box, in which seeds * 



1 and small plants handled. 



i flat is 16 X 20 inches, and 3 inches deep. 



seed saved separately for planting in blocks the suc- 

 ceeding year. Tlieii the remaining plants of this and 

 the other blocks « lii'li esciiiicl the first weeding out are 

 very carefully r\:Miiii;i'l :iiiil ^ill inferior ones removed, 

 and the seeds Ir.mi <\u- pkinis which still remain are 

 saved together. 'I'Im'^i- arc- usiudly sufficient in quantity 

 to plant a fielil, the product of which is used by the 

 seedsman for his general stock seed. From the stock 

 seed he grows the seed which he offers his customers. 

 The same process is repeated every year, or at least every 

 few years, and results in marked improvement, if not 

 in type, at least in the fixing and making permanent the 

 good qualities of the variety. Having thus obtained 

 stock seed which is of superior quality and sure to 

 reproduce itself, the seedsman contracts with some 

 farmer, lucatcd iti a section where soil and climate are 

 favoralil'' tn the Ik -i .levelopment of the sort, to plant 

 a large laM ami ~.a\a- the entire seed product. This the 

 fanner d'n-s « iih liitle regard to selection, taking pains 

 only to guard against contamination from adjoining 

 fields, and to remove any chance sports or mixtures 

 that may appear. The seed thus produced is what the 

 seedsman furnishes his customers. This plan enables 

 the professional seedsman not only to produce cheaper 

 seeds, but seeds of better quality than the ordinary 

 planter can, or at least is likely to produce in his own 

 garden, and in consequence gardeners have come to get 

 more and more of their se.-.l fmni the seedsman, whose 

 business has correspoii(liiiL'l\ im iv,i-,,l. 



In 1900 a single seed lin ,.., ;. i for the growing 



of more than 200 acn^ , i \ i,f watermelon 



for seed, and receiv.d ^n )i- r,,nirarts over 30,000 

 pounds. More than half of this came from a single field 

 of over 50 acres, and in this entire field there were not 

 50 fruits which were not good types of the variety. 

 One could go to any part of it and gathering together 

 the nearest 100 fruits would find that at least 50 of them 

 were so nearly alike as not to be distinguished from one 

 another; while of the remaining 50 at least 40 could be 

 distinguished only by some mark that had resulted 

 from accidental causes. The same firm had 20- and 40- 

 acre fields of beans, peas, corn and other vegetables in 

 which every plant was, as it were, the grandchild o£ 

 some especially fine plant produced two years before, 

 and which was itself the product of years of previous 

 selection. Such seed is much more reliable than that 

 produced in a small garden, where other plants of the 

 same species are growing in near-by gardens and fields. 

 W. W. Tract. 



Seed Testing. — Scientific seed testing was inaugurated 

 in 1869 by Dr. F. Nobbe, director of the Experiment 

 Station at Tharand, Saxony, who W.-.3 impressed by the 

 large amount of impurities and the low germinating 



SEEDAGE 



power of many commercial seeds, for which the German 

 farmer was paying fancy prices. The publication of the 

 results obtained by him excited much comment and laid 

 the foundation for the present extensive system of 

 European seed control. At the present time there are 

 more than one hundred so-called seed control stations 

 in Europe alone. Some of these are independent insti- 

 tutions, while others are conducted as branches of agri- 

 cultural experiment stations. 



The quality of seeds cannot be told by a mere casual 

 inspection l.ut is ascirtained only by a careful test. 

 This shouM iii.lu.l.- ilirct- steps: (1) an examination 



for puritii I Ir I"iii ri'"iii foreign matter), (2) ritnlifi/, 



and (3) (ir,i„iii,i„ys. ..,■ nunu-ss to name. The latter is 

 known to seedsnn n ;':i'l -:r-\\' c- ,i> />i'riti/ of stock. 

 Unless seeds poss,- , , . . , , . , , . i i m all of these 



respects their use \'. ■ - i thr planter. 



Purity 2'est. — T\i'- |i^ n . m.i-i "i |iinii> 1^ cleterniined 

 by weight, from a fair a\t-iat;._- .sainple ol .seed selected 

 from different parts of the bulk lot. Wheat and other 

 grains are taken with a sampler, consisting of two hol- 

 low cylinders of metal, one inside the other, and about 

 36 in. long by 1% in- in diameter. They are pointed at 

 the bottom and contain a series of openings along one 

 side, which may be turned at will to open or close the 

 holes. The sampler, with the holes open, is thrust into 

 the grain in the car or open bag for its entire length. 

 When filled with seeds the inner cylinder is turned, so 

 a t) cl e the hole an I the sampler removed For 

 clo\ei an 1 other sn ill set Is one u ts a triei consist 



ci t I mt lutil the 

 aperture is covered the 

 seed being allowed 

 dish 



The see 1 thu taken is thor igl 

 quantity weighed oul for testing 

 the purit> te t vir\ with the siz 

 fiom lo grains f T i 



1 8 ounces of pea I 111 



to contain any se 

 Canada thistle 



After I 



seeds 



1 I ut thmly 



III 1 s an i by 



I I I removed 



/ I 1 II lesignation 



that IS any seeds of i different name fiom that under 

 which the sample was sold Theimpuiitie are weighed 

 upon a good chemical balance and the peicentage of 

 impurity thus determined. 



The purity which a given kind of first-class com- 

 mercial seed should show depends largely upon the 

 habit of growth of the species and the difficulty of ob- 

 taining pure seed of that species. ]\!<'ist vegetables and 



cereals arc- ri-i.\vii d.x.iid .if w N, and their seeds 



are easil\' i-liaia.l. limr,' tiny sii.iiilil he practically 



or less lia'l.lr t.. I.e mix.'. I \vitli Mtl,,,' >|,r,i,-s in' the field. 

 Furthermore, the cleanini; of ~..i,i. Mni.tii-s requires 



gre.at care, often entailing a -hl.i.illi- loss of good 



seed, hence the proportion .1 pmr ~v, ,\ t., I.e expected 

 in such samples is less than in the l'..nnrr case. 



An extensive experience in testing commercial seeds, 

 together with a comparison of the results of other tests 

 made in this country and Europe, has enabled the 

 rnited States Department of Agriculture to fix a table 

 iif -tnTvlriri- r.f purity for most seeds sold by dealers. 



'I'l ■ ' '-is. however, are subject to future re- 



\ I- '..I. i: '..',• .) n.a-essary. 



I I ' a hand lens and by reference to a stand- 



aiM ! II iif economic seeds, the foreign seeds in 



tlir ^amiiii air next determined. If dodder, Canada 

 tliistli . . i-ri.t. wild mustard, bulbs of wild onion, chess, 

 Russian iliisilr. cockle, quack grass, penny cress, wild 

 oats, or wild llax are present the seed should be re- 



