SEED AGE 



SEEDAOE 



16^5 



apparatus witli the open siilr .)pp(..sit<' t<. Iiiiu and to- 

 ward the light. Tiu- mii-rur should !)e so ;irraMLj;fd that 

 it will not throw auy lii;lir into ihf o|u-r;aor'-; faru. 

 With this apparatus tht.- outlinir^s of ,L;r;iss stit-ds within 

 the g-hinn:'S can be eloarly srrn. ami llir .dialf can Iji- 

 removed with the othi-r inipui'ii ics oi' rhr s;ini])h.'. 



A much simpler jnerhod of idmrityini; Ihc si>uiid 

 seeds in u'rassi-s consists in thi- n^t; "t ;i pano of ^hiss. 

 over the surface of which the st^ed, thoronu'lily wrt, has 

 been thinly spread. This glass is held up to ihe [i-iit, 

 and with the forceps the good seed may br easily juckt^d 

 ont. It wonld l.>e well for the purclniser at yi-;i.ss seed, 



2300. Mold for making plaster of Paris germinating dishes, 

 and a Petri dish. 



especially of meadow fox-tail, awn:iless brome and vel- 

 vet grass, to make use of this simple test. For laitora- 

 tory purposes the mirror box is to be greatly preferrt-d, 

 since the seed can be handled much better when dry. 



Testing Beef Seed. — Special methods are also re- 

 cjuired for testing red and sui^ar Ijott " halls." each of 

 which contains from 1 to 7 socds. Three separate lots 

 of 100 balls each are selected with great care, so as to 

 represent average samples. These are rultbed sliu-hily 

 between the hands, soaked B-l.") hours, then phiced <ui 

 blotting paper or sand at a ci">nstant temperature of 2tv^ 

 C, for '18 hours out of 24, the rest of tln.^ time at 30° 0. 



In 3, 5, 8 and 11 days the balls are examined. "Wlien- 

 ever 1, 2, or 3 seeds have sprouted in a sini^le IkiII, tln-y 

 are carefully cut out with a knife, and tlie balance of 

 the ball is removed to a second seed-l.ied. whi<di is num- 

 bered to correspond with the number of tlie seeds wliicdi 

 have germinated in the balls placed therein. At the 

 next examination the sprouted seeds are again cut ont 

 and the clusters removed to another bed, numbered to 

 agree with the total number of seeds per ball which 

 have sprouted. The test is closed on the ]4th <lay. 

 when the sum of all the germinating seed of each lot of 

 100 clusters, together with the number of unsprouted 

 seeds, is ascertained. Tlie average of all the clusters is 

 taken into account, especial care being exercised not to 

 coiint as seeds any cavities which were empty at the 

 beginning of the test. 



Test for Gemdneness or " Pnrii n '' of *S7o'7.-. ~ The 

 genuineness of the seeds of vc::;etabh:-s and otlier horti- 

 cultural varieties of plants can only be told by means 

 of a field test, which should be made in such cases 

 whenever possible. The purity of stock of such seeds 

 is of far more importance than a high percentage of 

 purity and germination. In making field tests of differ- 

 ent varieties of seed a clieck tf-st should be conducted, 

 using a sample, for purposes of comparison, which is 

 known to be authentic. Thi> different tests must be 

 subjected to the same conditions of soil, etc. The gen- 

 uineness of the seed of grass, clovers, and other forage 

 plants can usually he ascertained by nn-re inspection 

 and comparison with a standard colh;ction. 



Gilbert H. Hicks. 



[The preceding article was prepared for this work by 

 the late Gilbert H. Hicks, of Washington, D. C., in isitO, 

 while in charge of pure seed investigations for the V. S. 

 Department of Agriculture. It is printed practically 

 as it was written. The subsequent clianires in the De- 

 partment methods are given below by Sir. Hicks' suc- 

 ce.ssor. L. H. B.l 



The nn-thods ;ind ;i[iiiar;it.ns in use in the Sted LLibora- 

 tor>- of the r. S. l»cp:irtiiicnt of A,L;i'iculture have un- 

 dergone sonic cli;ini;-es .-ince the fMre-'oing was wriltc'ii. 

 Tliese changes liavr l.ieen llie necessary result of ex- 

 perience aii'l ;ire in sllh^1;(^cl- Ihf f< tl Inw] ni,^ : 



^Vhih^ purcha.sers ;ii-c ur'-e(i lo buy ihe liest seeds, it 

 is doubli'ul whether, under the <;oiidii ions of trade in 

 riie L'nited States, ai-intrary staii<hu-ds haxe muidi yalne. 

 The comparison of ihe j.rice and <iuality of dilferent 

 -r;ides oii'ei'ed means jn^-e than an ideal standa.rd wliiidi 

 it is sehhmi pi-aciicahic t" eiilMi-c,_-. A syst(.-m of ins]H-i-- 

 tioK thai would c(-rlainly delect all weed seeds woidd 

 maki* 11m' --eed loi.' fXjM'nslve for practical use. 



'Die standard chanilier is now covered with asbc,-.tos 

 hm'gini,^ instead of wilh fcM-; a sinii'le door covered -wilh 

 thi.' la--inu- has been suli.- 1 itiit.-d tor Die double door,-. 

 An air bulb r.-gulaior, <le\ ised by j"\lr. V.. Br<.\vn, has 

 been sub>.Tiruteil"for ihe men.uiry hull) re-idator. 



The Ti.Miipi-'ratures ni.-eihd for ihe successful L^erujina- 

 tion of seeds def.end (in the kind of seeds tested. Let- 

 tuce must lia\'e a low teni iieralufe, 1."- ( '. ,i::i\]ng l.M-st 

 results. A teiiiperai ure of I'i-.'Ay-' 0. will almost entindy 

 inhibit germina.ti(ni. Sei^ds of teosinte, on tin,- other 

 haml, demand iju- ('., -while vine sf-iMls give best results 

 uniler a temperature alternating Ijetwi-eii 2(1 and 30^ (_'. 

 A constant tem[ie.rature al 20"' < '. is seldom used. Seeils 

 naturally germinate und^-r ci.nditions of constantly 

 changing temperature and favorable natural coTiditions 

 should be repr<iduced as nearl>' as |iossib|e in the lah- 

 i>ratoi-y. Kentucky tdue griiss seed is not tested in the 

 i;a'e(.'nhonse, better results being olitaiued in the cham- 

 ber \i\ means of alternating tennierature, When seeds, 

 as of s\iu,ar beet, are sold (m a guarantee, the re-test 

 should he made under con<litions similar to those under 

 \^"hich the original test was made. The energy of ger- 

 mination, that is, the percentage of seeds that sprout in 

 about one-fourth the full time, nearly rejiresents what 

 the seed will do in the held and is of ^'reuter importance 

 than the full time test. a, J. Pietees. 



The Seed Trade of America. — -S""*-/// History. — The 

 histfU'y of the seed business in colonial times is largely 

 one of importation from Holland and England, when 

 small hucksters carried a few boxes of popular seeds 

 with an assortment of dry goods, foodstuffs or hardware. 

 Gorn, barley, peas, onions, fruits an<l ve^-etables. nec- 

 essaries in fact for direct use, first <-lainM-d the attcTi- 

 tion of the colonists. Towards the end ot the eii^diteentb 

 century \'/e be<j;in to tind references tt> tin- saNini: I'f 

 stock seeds, and in ihe newspajiers of the da_\ are a 

 numl)er of advertisements of sln)pkee]>ers who dealt in 

 seeds. Agricultural seeds were an article of commerce 

 as early as 1747 (Pieters), clover, cmions, beans, peas, 

 carrots, cabbage and cauliflower, etc., being raised for 

 seed in the colonies at that time, though chiefly im- 

 ported. At that time Boston did mr>st of the business. 



2301. Home-made g-erminaLing apparatus. 

 A, ccMopletc; B, sectioTi. 



Among the earliest advertisers of sei.'ds for sale were 

 Nathaniel Bird. 17(i::. a. 1m. ok dealer of Newport, R. I.; 

 Gideon Welles, "on rhe Point," 1701; Samuel Deall, a 

 dealer of general merchandise in New York in 177'".; 

 William Davidson of New York in 17r.S, while in Phila- 

 delphia, in 1772, we find one Pelatiah Y\>bsier advertis- 

 ing clover ami duck grass seed; James Longhead 

 "colly- flower" seed in 1775; while David Reid kept a 

 general assortment in the same year. 



Development of American rra(/*\ — It was not until the 

 opening of the nineteenth century that America began to 

 find that seeds could I)e grown here as pr^dilably as they 

 could be imported. Grant Thorbnrn, in New York, and 



