RESULTS OF SEED TESTS 



For the Year Ending June 30, 1924 



There have been handled in the laboratory this year 

 51U samples of seed. This number includes those sent in 

 by individuals and merchants, as well as the official samples 

 collected by an agent of the State Department of Agricul- 

 ture. This bulletin records the hndings in relation to "offi- 

 cial" samples only. 



For various reasons, individuals sending seeds to the 

 laboratory for testing may not care to have the results pub- 

 lished. Usually there would be no advantage in such a 

 procedure. Merchants often send samples which they ex- 

 pect to discard rather than sell, unless the tests prove better 

 than they anticipate. However, the State law does not pro- 

 hibit the sale of any seed so long as it is labeled correctly 

 in regard to germination and purity. For this reason, it 

 behooves every buyer of seed to notice carefully the guar- 

 anty statement attached to the container from which his 

 purchase is taken. 



Purity does not change materially in a sample from 

 year to year, although it may be affected some b}- variations 

 in moisture content, but the germinability of all seeds de- 

 teriorates with the passage of time. Some seeds, in fact, 

 are likely to be of little value if kept more than one year, 

 altliough most farm seeds may be used to advantage for 

 several years. Seed does not have to germinate any given 

 percentage to be useful'; but the higher its germination, the 

 more plants are likely to grow and, consequently, the more 

 valuable the seed to the sower. Therefore, the State law- 

 requires that seed sold for planting be accompanied by a 

 statement as to its content of good seed. This is the in- 

 formation which the careful purchaser needs. 



If a farmer desires to sow ten pounds of red clover 

 seed per acre on the assumption that 98 per cent is pure 

 and that 99 per cent of it will give healthy sprouts, he 



