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APPENDIX. 



To Judge Seeds. 



The quality of a parcel of seed is to be judged accord- 

 ing to the following points, viz.: — Colour, Weight, Size 

 of Grain, Purity, Genuineness, Germinating faculty, and 

 of those the three latter are the most important. 



Purity is understood to mean freedom from seeds of 

 any other species or variety, as well as from weed seeds, 

 broken seeds, or dirt. 



Genuineness, which means trueness to name. 



Germinating faculty means the proportion per cent, 

 of true and pure grains that possess the faculty of 

 growth. This is tested by taking a hundred grains 

 from the bulk as they come, picking out and discarding 

 the foreign matter, i.e., seeds of other plants or broken 

 seeds, bits of dirt, &c. (by counting those you get the 

 percentage of impurity). Put the remainder — i.e. the 

 true and sound seed — through the process of germina- 

 tion, and ascertain how many seeds grow. 



Colour. — New, well-saved seed has a fresh, bright, 

 plump appearance. According as seed gets old it be- 

 comes faded, brown, and wrinkled, loses the plump 

 appearance, and of course takes lower rank as regards 

 germinating power. 



Weight. — " An important consideration in estimating 



