The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-09-28
COBURN ON ALFALFA.
Kansas Expert Writes of Adulterating
the Seed.

The contribution of F. d. Coburn to
! the alfalfa symposium of the Shawnee
| County Alfalfa club this afternoon was
a discussion of the alfalfa seed ques-
ton. Mr.. -Coburn gave some very IN
teresting facts and figures about the
methods of aduIteratfng alfalfa seed.
Mr. Coburn's communication to the
Alfalfa club was in the form of a let
ter, and the letter is embodied in a
bulletin issued today by the agricul-
tural department. 1t is as follows:
Il can render alfalfa growers no bet
ter service in one brief communication
than urge upon them, with emphasis
the utmost caution and painstaking in
securing and sowing none but the high
est quality of seed. This quality means
not only seed demonstrated as 80 or
more per cent germinable, but free
from the authorizations and impurities
likely to be found present, most. fire.
quently from carele ssness or shiftless-
ness. but often from design, and some
times from both. Alfalfa seed is ex-
pensive at best, and doubly or trebly
SO if 1t will not grow or carries with 1t
trash and quantities of other SEEDS
which stock a field. a farm or a neigh
borhood with weed pests that inter-
fere with crowd out the alfalfa, dis
place expected profit with positive loss,
and provoke profanity.
Recognizing the fact that much of
the seed On sale is entirely unreliable,
the agricultural department at Wash
ington, and some of the more wide
awake experiment stations, have been
making tests to discover the defects
and values of seed ordinarily found in
the market. and some startling revela-
lions are the result. The Washington
investigators for example found in one
pound of so-called alfalfa seed on sale,
3Z420 noxious weed seeds; in another
%, 082, and in still another 81 ,S4S. OF
the first named pound less than SO per
cent was alfalfa; less than 20 per cent
was germinable. and among its i'm
mn < dc 0f
ly the DEVILS own invention. One pound
of another lot con tanned only a fraction
over 5 per cent that would grow, and
of third lot but slightly over per
cent.
THE Ohio station bought for testing
Is different samples, a dollars worth
each. A pound from one of these car
ried 1914 lambs quarter or pigweed
seeds, and another 6,420 seeds of crab
grass and 1925 of foxtail. Seed suppos-
eddy costing $3.50 per bushel was, when
cleaned. found to have cost actually
$12.T per buShel.
samples, tested one having so per cent
pure seed and &C per cent of Impurities.
Only 65 per cent was germinable. An
other sample which at first sight
would be classified as good was found
to contain per pound 453 witch grass
seeds, 30 plantation seeds. Isl crab grass
Seeds 80 wild carrot Seeds 453 foxtail
seeds, 80 plantain seeds. ISL crab grass
the official who made this test says. II
twenty pounds of alfalfa seed of this
grade were used to SOW an acre one
would have approximately two seeds of
witch grass and two foxtail seeds for
every ten square feet; four seeds of
plantain, seven Russian thistle and six
seeds of crab grass for each hundred
square feet. These would doubtless
grow, and the mischief they might lead
10 nobody can estimate.
Among samples of alfalfa seed of
fered for sale Professor Roberts of the
Kansas experiment station found one
with more than So per cent of impuri
ties and "a different kinds of foreign
seeds and these constituted Bis per
cent of the whole. In this lot were also