164 SUGAR BEET SEED. 



sieve, allowing the dust, also mineral and organic par- 

 ticles, to pass through. What remains in the sieve is 

 placed upon white paper or porcelain, and with a small 

 brush those seeds taken as samples are pushed to one 

 side. The impurities remaining are added to those 

 passing through the sieve and this total is weighed; 

 the percentage of impurity to total seed is then calcu- 

 lated. The stems, empty seed, small stones, etc., of 

 which the impurities consist, are seldom more than 

 3 per cent, of the whole, it being sometimes only 0.7 

 per cent., while again in efforts at fraud it has been 30 

 per cent. 



It is interesting to note that the question of impu- • 

 rities of seed is no longer the subject of discussion it 

 once was— special and well-constructed ventilators 

 removing all the dust and light particles that are always 

 adhering to beet seed after having been dried. The 

 seed dealers who attempt fraudulent methods very 

 seldom resort to the mixing of seed with the impurities 

 which have been previously removed. 



Moisture. 



All seeds have a moisture of their own, and 

 there never need be the slightest dread of the 

 seller adding water, as fermentation would follow. The 

 natural moisture varies, according to year, from 12 to 

 15 per cent.; if more than 15 per cent., the seed gets 

 mouldy and loses its germinating power. The seed 

 grower should always take the precaution not to keep 

 his seed fresh from the field in piles, more especially 

 so if harvested in rainy weather; on the contrary, it 

 should be spread out in a thin layer upon the floor of a 

 well-ventilated building. 



As before explained in these pages, the absorbing 

 power of large seed being greater than that for small 

 seed, it is evident that under the best of circumstances 

 tftere is a higher percentage of moisture in large than 

 in- small seed. It must never be forgotten that the 



