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RESULTS OF SEED TESTS 

 Made July 1, 1928 to June 30, 1929 



The total number of seed samples tested in the Exper- 

 iment Station laboratory this year was three hundred 

 eighty-six. Of this number three hundred thirty-one 

 were official and are reported in this bulletin. In addi- 

 tion to these, fifty-five private lots were tested. The 

 official samples were collected by an agent employed by the 

 Commissioner of- Agriculture and sent to the seed testing 

 laboratory where purity analyses and germination tests 

 were made in order to ascertain if each sample was of a? 

 good quality as its accompanying guarantee indicated. 



A certain amount of variation is always to be expected 

 in comparing two or more tests of seeds. There 

 may be some lack of uniformity in the product itself un- 

 der the most exacting methods of sampling; and always 

 the human factor, together with the moisture, tempera- 

 . ture, light, etc., of the mechanical equipment involved in 

 making germination and purity tests may contribute 

 some small element of variation in spite of the most rig- 

 orous attention to details and the very skillful use of the 

 most sensitive apparatus. In the tests this year, as usual, 

 due allowances have been made for such unavoidable er- 

 rors. Rather exhaustive trials of each sample of appa- 

 rent poor quality have been carried out. Every effort 

 is made to give each package of seed the benefit of the 

 doubt until such time as repeated trials and comparisons 

 with other similar seeds of known quality have proved 

 our environmental investigational conditions all right and 

 the sample under consideration unquestionably at fault. 

 The usual allowances for both purity and germination 

 were explained in detail in last year's bulletin and will not 

 be repeated here. 



The summary table on the last page will show the gen- 

 eral results of the seed inspection work for the year end- 

 ing June 30. 1929. It may be noted that a large proper- 



