168 Agricultural Section [pt ii 



6. Avoid generally all seeds of low quality, since they are 

 almost invariably higher priced per their "real value " than the best 

 samples. 



Pedigree of Seeds. 



The foregoing remarks are concerned with the quality of the 

 seeds themselves and do not take their pedigree into consideration. 



The question of pedigree in forage plants has not yet received 

 the attention it deserves, but it is undoubtedly as important as 

 in the case of most other farm crops. It would probably be pos- 

 sible to obtain "pure lines" of each species which would excel 

 present mixed stocks in such important points as yield, nutritive 

 quality, earliness, durability, etc. The seed of such stocks would 

 of course have a correspondingly higher value. 



It is also highly desirable that pure stocks of our native British 

 grasses should be raised, and it may here be noted that a beginning 

 in this direction has already been made by the Plant Breeding 

 Institute at Cambridge. At present the great bulk of our grass 

 seeds are produced elsewhere than in the United Kingdom, and 

 it is very questionable whether seed from these exotic sources 

 produces plants which are as hardy, permanent, and otherwise 

 valuable in our climate as the truly indigenous plants would be. 



CHAPTER X 



THE SPECIFICATION AND COMPOUNDING OF 

 GRASS SEED-MIXTURES 



Although a few grasses which mature rapidly, such as Italian 

 Rye-grass, may be profitably grown by themselves, it is generally 

 found more serviceable to sow several species together in a mix- 

 ture with clovers and other plants. This is especially so when 

 land is being laid down for a long ley or to permanent grass. 

 The advantages of growing such a combination of species are many, 

 the most important of which are as follows. 



