INSPECTIONS. 6l 



ination. Five grams of all the seeds submitted (excepting red 

 top of which only two grams were inspected) were examined. 

 The inert matter and foreign seeds were separated by hand and 

 then the foreign seeds classified into harmful and noxious. The 

 inert matter and foreign seeds were weighed and the per cent 

 calculated. The weed seeds were usually counted so as to give 

 the number in a pound and the names of the weeds determined 

 by comparison with sets of named seeds. 



The inert matter consisted of sand, fragments of stems and 

 leaves, chafif, whole insects, fragments of insects and insect 

 excreta. The harmless foreign seed consisted mostly of red top 

 and clover in timothy, timothy, red top and clover in alsike and 

 timothy and clover in red top. There were several other species 

 ■of grass seeds present some of which we were not able to deter- 

 mine. Some were noxious, some indifferent. We think most 

 of the samples examined came from outside the State and were 

 purchased to sell as seed. There were sixty-five kinds of weed 

 seed detected, the most important of which are tabulated below. 



The kinds and amount of weed seeds found in the samples 

 examined lead to the belief that seed for planting is not the 

 only source of weeds in the State. A good many of the weed 

 seeds found in the samples would not grow. An examination 

 of whole grain brought in by the car-load and distributed in the 

 State shows that it frequently carries many weed seeds. Inter- 

 state and State commerce where packing material is used are 

 also important sources of weeds. 



It will be noticed from the appended tables that the per cent 

 of purity of seeds was for the most part high and that a large 

 number of samples contained no weed seeds or only those that 

 were not pernicious. 



It is impossible to get a correct idea of the average per cent of 

 purity of seed sold in the State from samples sent for examina- 

 tion, as one sample may represent only a few bags and another 

 a car-load. A statement of the per cent of purity of a seed gives 

 tut little idea of its nature, as the impurities may be large and 

 consist of harmless seeds or indifferent weeds, while one show- 

 ing a low per cent of impurities may contain the vilest weed 

 seeds. 



The tables showing the results of the analyses of samples of 

 seeds follow. 



