L922. | 



Germination o\< Indi^enoi s Skkds. 



came under test. It will be seen that in the main there is 

 fair agreement between the grain weights of collected and 

 " once grown " indigenous seed having regard to the fact that 

 only comparatively few of the collected samples were " once 

 grown." Thus in the case of cocksfoot where a comparatively 

 large number of lots were tested it seems quite evident that the 

 indigenous type* give rise to decidedly lighter " heavy " seed 

 than the Danish and U.S.A., but that the New Zealand 

 approaches more nearly to the indigenous.* 



Even under the most favourable conditions, for instance, 

 species growing in relatively large pure closed associations, the 

 collection of indigenous grass seed for the purpose of sowing 

 direct in mixtures would probably be too tedious and costly to 

 be adopted, while the collection of seed from scattered plants 

 {e.g,, tall fescue) would be quite out of the question. Fair 

 quantities of seed can none the less be harvested by persons 

 with sickles from cocksfoot growing, for instance, on hedge tops 

 or in thickets. Thus the w T riter and three other adults collected 

 heads which thrashed and winnowed dow T n to 1 lb. 4 oz. of seed 

 per person per hour from a thicket where cocksfoot was grow- 

 ing particularly abundantly, and 7 oz. of seed per person per 

 hour from hedges where the same grass was exceptionally 

 abundant. In the former case it was possible to cut the seed 

 almost continuously, while in the latter considerable blank dis- 

 tances had to be covered. It should be remarked that reduced 

 to weight of viable seed per person per hour the thickest harvest 

 represented but little over \ lb. and the hedge only 3f oz. 

 Children with pocket knives even from a thicket where cocks- 

 foot was very plentiful did not collect more than J lb. of 

 dressed seed (not adjusted for viability) per child per hour. 



The collection of meadow foxtail which ripens very 

 irregularly represents considerably more labour per lb. of 

 viable seed, while the hand collection of crested dogstail by 

 children, even on pastures where exceptionally plentiful, i- a 

 very slow process. 



Miscellaneous Plants.— Yarrow is frequently plentiful on 

 railway embankments and other waste places where fair quan- 

 tities of seed may be collected. Four samples thus collected 

 gave an average germination of 72 per cent, with a range of 

 06 per cent, to 26 per cent. 



* This is interesting in view of the differences in growth babil thai have 

 been noted as hetween Danish and U.S.A., on the one hand, and indigenous 

 and New Zealand on the other — see " Preliminary Investigations with Herbage 

 Plants," Inc. clt. 



