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RESULTS OF SEED TESTS 

 Made July 1, 1926, to June 30, 1927 



One oi the outstanding' developments in the seed trade 

 business which has taken place in the past year has been 

 the enforcement of a new seed law recently enacted by 

 (/ongress. This has to do \\dth the placing of an identify- 

 ing mark on certain small legume seeds whicli are brought 

 into this country from other parts of the world. This act 

 applies specifically to the seeds of red clover and alfalfa. 



A process is used which colors a part of the seeds either 

 red, purple or green us the case may be so that all imported 

 seeds of these tAvo species can be recognized witli a little care 

 even by a novice. 



Alfalfa and red clover seeds which are brought in from 

 (Canada are treated with a dye so that approximately one 

 seed in every hundred shows an artificial violet color. A 

 little care is needed here to distinguish this coloring, espe- 

 cially in the case of red clover which has varying amounts 

 of (lark ])uri)le-colored seeds mixed with lighter greens and 

 yellows as it is produced naturally. If interested one could 

 first learn to distinguish this color in red clover most easily 

 by means of a hand lens. 



Seeds of either of these species which come from foreign 

 countries oLJier than Canada, the origin of which is 

 known, and whicli have not been definitely determined to 

 be unadapted to general use in the United States are colored 

 api)roximately one seed in every hundred green. 



When the origin of the seed is unknown, or when it comes 

 from countries whose product is not adapted to general 

 farm use, in the United States, the color used is red, and 

 approximately one seed in every ten is colored. 



The red is, of course, very conspicuous both because it is 

 dissimilar to any color found in either of these seeds nat- 

 urally and also because there are ten times as many colored 

 seeds as with the other colorings. 



