Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1908-01-14
Good Grass Seed.

All farmers are troubled more or les
with weeds, and much extra labor is re
quired every year on the farm on &C
count of them. When a meadow O
pasture becomes too weedy, it is ploweC
up and planted for several seasons will
some cultivated crop in order to get tn,
weeds killed out before again seeding
down. In many cases, contrary to ex
pectations, the newly seeded field is al
weedy or weedier than it was before
and we wonder how it all happened
| The fact in the matter is that we hav,
sown the weeds with our grass seed anC
did not know it. Again, we often get ;
poor stand of grass and for want OF ;
better reason ascribe it to dry weather
or bad luck, while the real trouble has
been that the seeds have had little or NJ
vitality. 1t frequently happens tina
dealers will have supply of old seet
left over from the previous year and il
order to dispose of it will mix it will
the new seed. Since the vitality o.
seeds rapidly decreases with their age
the result is mixture with low germi
nation test, and when the process is re
peated for several years an exceedingly
bad lot of seed is obtained.
1t is a notorious fact that much of the
grass seed offered for sale is of poor
quality both as regards it's purity and
termination. Some preliminary tests
made here at the college last spring
showed certain commercial samples OF
seed corn to have vitality of less than
IS per cent; vetch "a per cent; rape 81
per cent; timothy 20 per cent and red
top per cent. In the various samples
of grass seed inspected were found all
sorts of impurities, including dirt, sand
hulls, chaff, weed seeds and other grass
seeds, some of which were harmless but
yet constituting an impurity. Among
the most noxious and injurious weed
seeds found were the following: Bitter
dock, Canada thistle, crab grass, goose
foot, green foxtail, lady's thumb, rib,
grass, plantain, sheep sorrel, yellow
daisy and yellow foxtail.
While the purity test is not so easy
for the average farmer to make, a suf-
tieieutly accurate termination test can
be made by nearly anyone. The simplest
way of doing this is to count out 200
seeds and place them between sheets of
blotting paper which are kept moist
and in a warm room for five or six days.
To determine whether the seed contains
any considerable amount of impurities
ii may be spread on sheet of paper or
a white plate, and with little practice
one will soon be able to detect the more
common kinds of weed seeds and to
estimate the amount of them in given
sample under test.
Most states have laws regulating the
inspection and sale of seeds so that the
farmer is protected from fraudulent
means either Intentionally or otherwise
perpetrated. In the absence of such a
law in this state the experiment station
is planning to make limited number OF
purity and termination tests OF grass
and forage crop seeds for farmers and
dealers desiring them free of charge.
Farmers buying seeds should either in
sist on guarantee of purity and vitality
or else buy only on the basis of a sample
submitted and tested by competent
person.
All farmers and seed dealers who wish
to take advantage of this opportunity to
have seeds tested will make request to
the experiment station for printed direc-
tions in regard to taking the samples
and the amounts of seed necessary for a
test.-F. w. Taylor, agriculturist, New
Hampshire Agricultural Experiment
station, Durham, n. H., in New England
Farmer.