710 
Report of the Consulting Botanist. 
the raising of the standard for this grass, and is a very important 
result of the Society's work. 
The presence of ergot has been more abundant in the samples 
of florin examined this year than recently. I have detected it in 
samples of other grasses, but only very rarely ; but some singularly 
good examples of florin were rendered worse than useless by the 
presence of this most dangerous parasite. No less than 60 per 
cent, of the florins were thus affected. In one case, where a 
quantity had been purchased by a member of the Society, who 
had specially contracted that it should be free from ergot, though 
it was found to be a remarkably good sample, it was very badly 
ergoted. Unfortunately he had used a portion of it in a mix- 
ture which he had sown on a five-acre pasture adjoining some 
good marsh-land before receiving my report, and had also 
mixed the remainder with other seeds, which were thus rendered 
useless. In reply to his complaint, the seedsman informed him 
that he had only a day or two before discovered the ergot in 
the seed, and then sought to minimise the injury by pointing 
out the smallness of the ergot. The ergot of florin, however, 
though very small, is as fully capable of developing the disease 
in the other grasses of the pasture as the more bulky and 
obvious ergots of the larger grasses. 
The substitution of the worthless wavy mountain hair-grass 
{Aira jiexuosa) for golden oat-grass continues to a very serious 
extent ; no less than three-quarters of the specimens submitted 
to me as golden oat-grass consisted entirely of this worthless 
substitute. 
The presence of dodder in clovers has been this year more 
abundant ; in one-flfth of the samples of red clover, and one- 
fourth of those of alsike, the seeds of this parasite have been 
more or less abundant. 
The most important step taken this year towards securing 
the best seeds has been the guaranteeing by various flrms in the 
seed-trade the purity and germination, subject to the examination 
of an experienced botanist. The result has been most satis- 
factory, and has fully established that a guarantee can be safely 
given by the dealer who has determined for himself the quality 
of the seed he is selling. I have examined three series of 
samples that I have known to be guaranteed, and the guarantees 
of which have been communicated to me. From correspondence 
I know that guarantees have been given in other cases, but the 
nature of the guarantee has not been communicated to me. I 
have no information as to the merchant from whom the first and 
second series of samples were obtained, but from the correspond- 
ence in the guarantees for each sample of the three series I 
assume that they have been supplied by the same seedsman. 
