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ROYAL horticultural society. 



VII. Interim Report to the Council of the Royal Horticultural 

 Society by the Subcommittee appointed to inquire into the adul- 

 teration of Seeds. 

 1. In accordance with your instructions, your Committee have 

 taken steps to ascertain whether there is any just foundation for 

 the representations which have been made to the Council regard- 

 ing the unsatisfactory state of the seed-trade and the bad quality 

 of much of the seed sold to the public. 



2. It was represented to the Council that, as the business of 

 seedsmen is at present conducted, the purchaser of seeds fre- 

 quently receives neither the kind nor the quality of seeds he 

 pays for, and that against this he has no remedy except a doubtful 

 and expensive lawsuit after the mischief has been done. 



3. It was also urged that, unlike most other kinds of adultera- 

 tion or deception in the quality of goods, the injury done in the 

 case of seeds does not terminate with the use of the article pur- 

 chased, but entails, in addition, the loss of the rent of the ground 

 on which the seed may be sown, and of the labour expended upon 

 it in preparing the soil and tending the crop — not to speak of the 

 disappointment of the reasonable expectations of the cultivator. 



4. Having no means of compelling parties to give evidence, your 

 Committee's investigation into the alleged adulteration, mixing, 

 or deterioration of seeds has necessarily been confined to making 

 inquiries of those who have the means of knowledge, and on 

 whose statements they could rely. 



5. From information so acquired, they believe that the public 

 suffers more or less from the neglect and malpractices of dealers 

 in seeds in at least the following ways : — 



(1.) Generally by seeds being kept too long and being sold after 

 they have lost their vitality. 



This is the most injurious of all the causes of depreciation ; for 

 it applies equally to the honest and dishonest trader. In adulte- 

 ration, the evil must be done with intent to defraud. Here there 

 may be no intention to defraud ; but mere neglect or want of 

 judgment may be as injurious to the purchaser as if there were. 



(2.) By the addition of bad seed to good, and mixing old and new. 



(3.) By the addition of seed whose vitality has been killed. 



This is done in the case of varieties of peculiar excellence, when 

 the supply is insufficient to meet the demand. Killed seed of a 

 cheap kind, similar in appearance to that of a dear kind, is added to 

 increase the quantity without affecting the quality. In this kind 

 of adulteration the purchaser is only deceived in the quantity. 



