4 MAINE AGRICUI.TURAI, I^XPERIM^NT STATION. I9I3. 



of seed and its special brand, the lot number and car number. 

 This sample we will give prompt, free analysis and report the 

 results to you. If there is a discrepancy between the analysis 

 of the type sample submitted and the samples taken directly 

 from the car, the guaranty, of course, would have to be changed 

 before the goods could be sold, but it would give you a basis 

 upon which to make a claim against the shipper as to quality. 

 My reason for writing the above is that it is my desire not 

 only to enforce the provisions of the Maine seed law, but to 

 protect, as far as possible, Maine wholesale handlers of seed 

 against the irresponsibility which cleaners of seed profess." 



Testing Seeds at Home. 



It is important to the user of seeds not only to know their 

 percentage of purity and what kind of weeds they carry, but to 

 also know something of their vitality. In the case of seeds there 

 are at least three ways whereby the user may be injured. A 

 seed which carries foreign matter of any kind, in any consider- 

 able amount, is correspondingly lowered in value. But there is 

 another reason which is more important than the money consid- 

 eration, and that is that the weed seeds which the seeds contain 

 may be pernicious. For example, — clover seed frequently car- 

 ries plaintain seed. If this plaintain seed is the door-yard 

 variety which is present practically all over Maine, there would 

 be comparatively little harm from using clover seed which con- 

 tained it. On the other hand — lance leaved plaintain or rib 

 grass is not abundant in Maine. It is an undesirable plant and 

 using seed carrying it might introduce a weed into land which is 

 at present free from it. It is important that the farmer should 

 know the vitality as well as the purity of the seed that he is to 

 use. No matter how pure a seed may be, if half of it will not 

 sprout it has no more value than if the seed were half chaft. 



While it is not easy to make an exact purity test, it is not 

 difficult for a farmer to so acquaint himself with the seeds that 

 he is ordinarily using that by the help of an ordinary reading 

 or magnifying glass he will be able to tell whether the seed in 

 question contains any considerable amount of impurities. If 

 the seed is spread out upon a white plate, a little practice will 

 enable a farmer to see whether a given seed is reasonably pure 

 or not, and he will soon learn to detect the more common for- 

 eign seeds, 



