Free press., 1907-10-12
THE RISKS IN ALBANIA SEED.

L
1 can render alfalfa growers no bet
| ter service in one brief communica-
ton than urge upon them, with en-
phasis. the utmost caution and pains
taking in securing and sowing none
but the highest quality of seed. Thls
| quality means not only seed demon
strated as ninety or more per cent
! serminable. but free from the adui-
terations and impurities likely to be
found present. most frequently from
! carelessness or shiftlessness. but OF
ten from design. and sometimes from
both. Alfalfa seed is expensive at
best, and doubly or trebly so II II
will not grow or carries with it trash
and quantities of other seeds which
stock a field. a farm or a neighbor-
hood with weed pests that interfere
with or 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 unre-
liable. the Agricultural Department at
Washington. and some of the more
wide-awake experiment stations. have
been making tests to discover the de-
fects and values of seed ordinarily
found in the market. and some s. 2rt-
| ling revelations are the result. The
washington investigators for ex-
ample found in one pound Of so
called alfalfa seed on sale, 420
noxious weed seeds: in another 1S2
| and in still another 21.S4S. OF the
first named pound less than 81 per
cent was alfalfa; less than % per
cent was germinable, and among its
! impurities were 5.49o seeds of dod-
der-surely the DEVILS own inven-
ton. One pound of another lot con
tanned only fraction over 5 per cent
that would grow. and of third lot
but slightly over six per cent.
The Ohio station bought for testing
| fifteen different samples, a dollars
worth each. A pound from one OF
these carried 1914 lambs quarter or
| pigweed seeds, and another 6,42O
seeds of crab grass and 1925 OF fox
tail Seed supposedly costing $3.50
per bushel was, when cleaned. found
to have cost actually $12.74 per
bushel
The Oklahoma station, among
many samples, tested one having 60
per cent pure seed and 40 per cent oi
| germinable. Another sample (which
at first sight would be classified as
| good" was found to contain per
pound 453 witch grass seeds. 90
plantain seeds. 151 crab grass seeds
! 90 wild carrot seeds, 453 foXtail
seeds and I55 Russian thistle seeds.
AS the official who made this test
says. if 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 to nobody
can estimate.
| Among samples of alfalfa" seed
offered for sale Professor Roberts, of
the Kansas Experiment Station,
found one with more than So per
cent of impurities and 34 different
kinds Of foreign seeds, and these
constituted 31.5 per cent of the
whole. In this lot were also 3.S per
cent of trash and dirt and SO per cent
of the seeds true to name were in
capable of termination. Another
sample was 1913 per cent impurities
/ and 533 of the remainder valueless