72o Red Clover Seed and its Impurities, [march, 



purchased, however tempting the appearance of the sample and 

 the price at which it is offered may be. 



The seeds of the dodder of clover are grey, brown, or 

 yellowish-brown in colour, and are very much smaller in size 

 than the seeds of red clover, and while there is no difficulty 

 whatever in farmers purchasing seeds absolutely free from 

 dodder from seed houses of recognised reputation, he — the 

 farmer — in his own interests, may adopt the added precaution 

 of procuring an authentic sample of dodder to make himself 

 perfectly acquainted with its appearance. By the use of a 

 small sieve having eighteen or twenty meshes to the inch, and 

 by scrutinising carefully the screenings with a hand lens, he will 

 be able to satisfy himself as to the freedom from dodder or 

 otherwise of the sample he intends to purchase. 



Although the farmer from his own knowledge and experience 

 may be perfectly satisfied from the appearance of the sample of 

 clover he intends to purchase that it is genuine or true to name, 

 and absolutely pure, yet that is not all. If the seeds fail to 

 respond to the germinating test and produce living healthy 

 plants, the purchase is a failure, and the seeds dear at any 

 price. 



The methods and apparatus employed in the principal seed- 

 testing laboratories in Europe vary considerably, and seeds 

 may be germinated on moistened felt, blotting-paper, flannel, 

 sterilised sand, porous tiles, &c. In a degree, however, the 

 medium employed is of secondary importance in the case of 

 many seeds, provided the operator is able to exercise control 

 over the amount of moisture, heat, and air. M oisture is necessary 

 so that the food-stuffs in the seed may be brought into solution 

 and made available for the embryonic root and shoot. Air is 

 necessary to the vital processes, as the elongation of the root 

 and shoot necessitate absorption and consumption of the oxy- 

 gen of the air. 



With regard to heat, the temperature at which germination 

 is, as a rule, most rapid and safe is 68 deg. F., but in 

 some instances seeds tested at this temperature are transferred 

 for six hours daily to an incubator having a temperature of 

 86 deg. F. In the case of clovers, two or three samples of 

 200 seeds each are put in the incubator on blotting-paper, felt, 



