62 



THE BEGINNER'S GARDEN BOOK 



But it is possible to mix with small seed, such as that of 

 clover, other small seeds of a different plant, which look so 

 much like the clover seed as not to be distinguished except 

 under the magnifying glass. Chaff, sand, and other impurities 

 are also sometimes mixed with small seed. The buyer 

 ought to know how to tell if his seed has been adulterated. 



Fig. 37. 



Fig. 38. 



Fig. 37 shows " cheap " clover seed, containing many weeds. 

 Fig. 38 shows " expensive " clover seed, with no weeds at all. 

 is really cheap ? 



Which 



The best practice for a student is to buy samples of seed of 

 different grades, cheap as well as expensive, and then examine 

 each for the amount of pure seed. 



For this work will be needed a common hand magnifying 

 glass, such as can be cheaply got in many forms. Then 

 take from the seed (alfalfa, clover, or one of the grasses) one 

 or two ounces according to the size of the seed, and very 

 carefully examine it under the glass, moving the seeds with 

 the point of a pencil or a knife. A very little examination 

 will allow us to separate the sample into three parts. One 

 will be pure seed. One will be seed of other kinds. One 

 will be waste matter, sand, broken seed, or dirt. 



But we cannot separate the pure seed from the weeds unless 

 we know what the pure seed looks like. This we can find 

 out by study of Farmers' Bulletin 382 ("The Adulteration of 

 Forage Plant Seeds") which can be got free by applying 



