62 Maine Agricultural Experiment Station. 1918. 



The Chief Requirements of the Law. 



The first law regulating the sale of seeds was enacted by 

 the Legislature of 1897. This was revised by the Legislature 

 of 1905. This was again revised by the Legislature of 191 1 so 

 as to conform with the requirements recommended by the Asso- 

 ciation of Official Seed Analysts and agreed to by the Ameri- 

 can Seed Dealers Association. 



The following are the chief points of the law and the rules 

 and regulations for carrying out the law regulating the sale of 

 agricultural seeds which, as directed by the law, the Commis- 

 sioner of Agriculture, has made. 



1. Kind of seeds coming under the law. The law applies 

 to the sale, distribution, transportation, or the offering or expos- 

 ing for sale, distribution, or transportation of the seeds of alfal- 

 fa, barley, Canadian blue grass, Kentucky blue grass, brome 

 grass, buckwheat, alsike clover, crimson clover, red clover, 

 medium clover, white clover, field corn, Kaffir corn, meadow 

 fescue, flax, hungarian, millet, oats, orchard grass, rape, redtop, 

 rye, sorghum, timothy and wheat for seeding purposes. 



2. The brand. Each lot or package shall be plainly 

 marked with the name of the seed and its minimum percentage 

 of purity. 



3. Mixtures. Mixtures must be plainly marked with the 

 name of the seed and the percentage of purity. In case the 

 mixtures contain seeds not included in 1 these need not be 

 named, (e. g., a mixture consisting of half redtop, 90 per cent 

 pure, quarter Kentucky blue grass, 85 per cent pure and the 

 remainder seeds not named in the law, could be marked "Red- 

 top 45 per cent pure, Kentucky blue grass 21 per cent pure." 

 The statement of the remaining constituents may or may not be 

 named.) 



4. Adulteration. A seed is adulterated if its purity falls 

 below its guaranty or if it contains the seed of any poisonous 

 plant. 



5. Misbranding. A seed is misbranded if the package or 

 label bears any statement, designed or device which is false or 

 misleading in any particular, or if it does not carry the state- 

 ments named in 2. 



6. Free analysis. Free analysis of seeds on sale in Maine 

 will be made of samples taken in accordance with directions 

 furnished by the Commissioner of Agriculture. Sample not so 



