256 Annual Report for 1,906 of the Consulting Botanist. 
The results of the experiment at Woburn with doddered 
clover seed may here be noted. The red clover imported from 
Europe into Chili has been attacked by two different kinds 
of dodder, neither of which is known in Britain, and these 
seeds are abundantly present in the Chilian-grown seed. The 
purpose of the experiment was to determine whether, from not 
perfecting their seeds or from the climatic changes in our 
winter, the seeds of the dodder plants would germinate in the 
second year. The clover with the dodder seeds was sown in 
the spring of last year. The dodder made its appearance and 
attacked the clover. This year the clover was quite free from 
dodder. It would, however, be rash to conclude from this 
single trial that Chilian dodder seeds do not survive our 
winters ; it is therefore proposed to repeat the experiment. 
The majority of samples examined were grasses. In them 
the germination reached its highest standard with 97 per cent, 
in a sample of meadow fescue ; and its lowest was a sample 
of smooth stalked meadow grass which germinated only 65 
per cent. This grass as a rule shows a poor germination, and 
the 65 per cent, must be considered as satisfactory. It was 
recommended that three samples of grasses should be rejected 
because of the presence in them of ergot. The presence of 
dodder in clover is universally condemned, but little objection 
is taken to ergot in grass seed. But it will be obvious that 
ergot is a more serious danger than dodder when we remember 
that dodder attacks only clover, while ergot may grow on any 
grass in the field ; and that dodder has a seed of some size 
and produces an obvious plant which can easily be removed, 
while ergot has minute spores and its attack may not be noticed. 
The highest purity of the grasses was in a sample of rye-grass, 
which gave 99 per cent., and the lowest was in a sample of 
meadow foxtail which had only 76 per cent. Foxtail, cocks- 
foot, red and sheep fescue, tall and golden oat grass usually 
contain a considerable quantity of empty husks. The farmer 
is advised to buy these seeds specially by the heaviest bulk or 
bushel weight. Such seed would of course be somewhat higher 
in price, but the number of plants that would be produced 
would much more than compensate for the increased payment. 
In regard to seed mixtures sent for examination as to 
purity and germination, the percentage of the different seeds 
composing the mixture can be given ; but it is not possible to 
germinate such a mixture as a whole. Each kind of seed 
would require to be separated in sufficient quantity to give 
a reliable result. The only way to appreciate the value of a 
mixture is by the farmer making it himself, having purchased 
the different seeds in the proportion he proposes to use them, 
with a guarantee of purity and germination. 
