14 
Adulteration of Seeds. 
herd as incapable of brcedin<j, wlilt h, wh( n put to males of in- 
ferior breed, are found to be prolific. Much of this, doubtless, 
arises from a want of vigour of body induced by a debilitating 
course of treatment which would have been prevented by active 
exercise and a system of management calculated to promote 
health. 
The accumulation of those hereditary tendencies which are 
most suitable for the circumstances of each individual case is in 
a great measure under our control, but it must still be looked 
upon as only one portion of a general system rather than as em- 
l)odying all that is necessary. It is an important adjunct to 
other points of good management which are of great value to the 
breeder if judiciously employed, but at the same time all his 
efforts in this direction will bo of no avail unless assisted by his 
general course of management. Valuable as a good pedigree 
mav be when combined with a healthy and vigorous body, when 
the latter is sacrificed to attain the former, the value of pedigree 
is (piestionable. By avoiding excessive fatness in our breeding 
animals, by encouraging exercise and moderate exposure so as to 
favour the health and energy of the body, and by giving a liberal 
but regularly progressive supply of food, we shall best prepare 
our stock for being recipients of those hereditary powers to which 
I have here made reference. 
11. — Adulteration of Seeds. By Messrs. William and Hugh 
Raynbird, of Basingstoke. 
Prize Essay. 
The growth and sale of pure, sound, clean seed of agricultural 
plants at a moderate price is of the greatest importance, and the 
object of the prize offered by the Royal Agricultural Society is 
doubtless to promote these ends by enabling the buyer to detect 
and therefore to check defects in cultivation or abuses from 
adulteration. None are so competent to furnish information on 
this subject as seed-dealers, who have constantly samples of all 
kinds of seeds offered to their inspection ; but they may possibly 
be deterred by the fear of two very illiberal objections — first, 
that a knowledge of the secrets of adulteration could only be 
obtained by some participation in the practice, and secondly, 
that it is wrong to divulge to the public anything that may be 
considered a trade secret. The author, being himself a seed-dealer, 
ma}' be allowed to reply to the first that his knowledge extends no 
further than that of every respectable dealer ; and to the second, 
that as the dealer in seeds is, properly speaking, only a medium 
