196 



Meadow Foxtail, 



[JUNE, 



germinate 90 per cent., there are exceptions still to be met 

 with, and that even where seeds are offered at a high price. 

 The variations in quality are well shown in the three samples 

 given below, analysed and tested quite recently: — 





Purity. 



Germina- 

 tion of the 

 pure seed. 



Utility. 



Price. 



Price of pure 

 and germinat- 

 ing seed. 





Per 



Per 



Per 









cent. 



cent. 



cent. 



s. d. 



s . d. 



I. ... 



95 



90 



8 5 -5 



1 9 



2 o\ 



ir 



70 



59 



4i '3 



1 8 



4 °2 



nr. ... 



45 



60 



27-0 



1 6 



5 6| 



Comment is scarcely needed on the above results. The 

 difference in price between the highest quality and the lowest 

 was only a matter of a few pence, yet, as can be readily seen, 

 the pure and germinating seed in the cheaper quality cost 

 nearly three times as much as in the dearer. 



The light and chaffy character of many of the samples exam- 

 ined during the past season, and the manner in which the 

 seeds cling together, afford opportunities for the admixture of 

 worthless grasses and other impurities, perhaps more so than 

 in the case of any other grass seed used on the farm. The seed 

 that has been chiefly used for the purpose of adulterating 

 Foxtail knowingly (or in some instances through careless har- 

 vesting) is that of Yorkshire Fog (Holcus lanatus, Fig. 2), 

 Slender Foxtail (Alopecurus agrestis, Fig. 3), Tufted Hair 

 Grass (Aira ccespitosa, Fig. 4), and Perennial Rye-grass. 



In handling samples of Meadow Foxtail and Holcus and 

 giving them only a cursory glance, there is a general resem- 

 blance between the two kinds of seed ; but when placed side by 

 side the points of difference between the two are unmistakable. 

 In Foxtail an abundance of soft silky hairs on the glumes and 

 a prominent awn are readily seen, while on Holcus the hairs 

 are sparse, and when the seed is separated from the husk 

 it is seen to be of an oval shape, silvery or shiny in appear- 

 ance. In Foxtail the seed or kernel is not separated so easily, 

 and when it is taken out of the husk the seed is found to be 

 flat and of a yellow-brown colour. 



The points of similarity and difference between the seeds 

 of Meadow Foxtail and Slender Foxtail are easily seen 



