Annual  Report  of  the  Consulting  Botanist  for  1882.  261 
cent,  of  Molinia.  The  seeds  of  sheep’s  fescue,  cocksfoot, 
and  crested  dog’s-tail  are  so  very  different,  both  in  form  and 
colour,  from  Molinia,  that  it  is  hard  to  believe  that  any  pur- 
chaser could  be  deceived  by  the  mixture.  The  presence  of 
Molinia  in  the  smaller  seeds,  and  of  rye-grass  in  the  larger,  is 
due  to  the  intentional  and  deliberate  action  of  some  parties 
engaged  in  the  seed  trade,  with  the  view  of  making  larger 
profits.  I have  no  reason  for  supposing  that  this  is  done  by  any 
connected  with  the  trade  in  Britain.  But  as  we  necessarily 
depend  for  a large  quantity  of  our  grass  seed  on  foreign  growers, 
I have  little  doubt  that  the  worthless  seeds  are  introduced  before 
the  seeds  reach  England.  Good  and  pure  seeds  are,  however, 
to  be  obtained  in  the  foreign  markets.  The  best  samples — in 
trueness  to  species,  freedom  from  weeds,  and  high  percentage  of 
germination — that  have  passed  through  my  hands  during  the 
year  have  been  foreign  samples.  It  is  greatly  to  be  desired,  then, 
that  the  buyers  employed  by  the  trade  should  be  able  to  detect 
the  presence  of  adulteration  in  samples  offered  to  them.  The 
remedy  for  these  deliberately  introduced  impurities  is  in  the 
hands  of  the  trade.  No  excuse  can  be  accepted  for  a house 
selling  a mixture,  under  a specific  name,  containing  30,  40,  or 
50  per  cent,  of  a worthless  grass,  or  rather  an  injurious  weed, 
which  they  have  bought  as  that  particular  species,  when  a little 
knowledge  and  a little  care  would  show  them  the  true  nature 
of  the  mixture. 
There  are  impurities  present  in  almost  all  seeds,  from  the 
presence  of  other  grasses  and  weeds  in  the  fields  where  the  seeds 
have  been  grown.  These  seldom  amount  to  5 per  cent.  They 
may  be  got  rid  of  by  the  cleaning  machines,  which  are  now  used 
by  the  best  houses.  But  these  accidental  impurities  do  not 
deserve  the  condemnation  that  the  deliberate  adulteration  for 
gain  to  the  dealer,  and  great  loss  to  the  farmer,  demands. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  farmer  should  realise  that  a good  seed 
can  be  obtained  only  by  paying  a fair  price.  The  sowing  on 
his  farm  worthless  grasses  and  injurious  weeds,  which  must 
spoil  his  pasture  and  take  years  and  labour  to  eradicate,  is  to  be 
avoided,  and  it  should  not  be  regarded  with  more  favour, 
because  the  mixture  is  bought  cheap,  at  6d.  or  8 d.  the  pound. 
Such  a mixture  is  dear  at  any  price.  The  cheque  to  the  dealer 
does  not  cover  the  cost.  As  long  as  the  produce  is  found  in  his 
meadows  the  cost  is  being  added  to.  If  the  farmer  requires 
a cheap  mixture  he  must  expect  a worthless  one.  A strongly 
recommended  and  largely  advertised  mixture  which  I examined 
was  found  to  consist  of : — Rye-grass,  40  per  cent.  ; fescues, 
23  per  cent. ; meadow-grass,  11  per  cent. ; foxtail,  8 per  cent.  ; 
