324 Sale of a Weed Seed as White Clover, [july, 



white clover by an Austrian firm, a Hungarian firm, and an 

 English firm. The seeds of the two species so far resemble 

 each other that a purchaser might well be deceived unless a 

 careful comparative examination were made, and in one in- 

 stance known to the Board where T. parviflorum was offered 

 to a wholesale seeds merchant for T. rep ens the difference was 

 not at first recognised. In the circumstances it seems desir- 

 able that large quantities of white clover seed should only be 

 purchased on a warranty, and after examination by an expert. 

 The following observations, however, on the differences be- 

 tween the seeds of T. repens and T. parviflorum may be 

 useful to purchasers of small quantities of seed or those who 

 are obliged to rely on their own judgment : — 



The seeds of T. repens are glossy, perfectly smooth, and 

 rather variable in size, averaging about V$ mm. in length 

 by 1*25 mm. broad (1 / 17 in. by 1/20 in.). They are irregu- 

 larly heart-shaped, and pale golden yellow in colour when 

 fresh and well harvested, though yellowish-brown seeds are 

 commonly present, and a few seeds may be canary-yellow, 

 while immature seed is greenish-yellow, and old seed may 

 change to bright, or even dark red. Many of the seeds may 

 show a distinct want of plumpness. 



In the case of T. parviflorum the seeds are dull, com- 

 pletely covered with minute raised tubercles easily seen with 

 a lens, and are fairly uniform in size, but much smaller than 

 T. repens, being about 1 mm. long by o"75 mm. broad 

 (1/25 in. by 1/34 in.). They are, further, irregularly heart- 

 shaped, and a sample recently examined was very variable in 

 colour, some seeds being yellow or canary yellow, others 

 reddish-yellow, light or dark green, or even black. They 

 were also of a fairly even plumpness. 



The illustration snows to some extent the difference be- 

 tween the two species of seeds. 



A leaflet (No. 184) dealing with red, white, and Alsike 

 clover can be obtained, post free, on application to the Secre- 

 tary, .Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, Whitehall Place, 

 S.W. An article dealing with " White and Alsike Clover 

 Seed and their Impurities " was issued in this Journal, April. 

 1906, Vol. xiii., p. 7. 



