Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-12-10
Amendments to Constitution.

tuition of the association designed to
prevent the sale by members of in
ferior seed bearing the tag of purity
and merit Of the association.
| DR.. Merrill in discussion of the prop
osition to change the proposed amend
ments so as to provide for member
ship on the committee, which was to
issue the tag Of purity and merit
Of the president Of the association ana
a member to be chosen annually by
+! the association said that the commit
tee ought To be permanent and ought
not to be changed from year to year
! ani nave a man put on it each yea.
who perhaps might be put on for the
express purpose of lowering the stand
ard. The reputation of the associa-
| ton should be jealousy guarded and
| the purchaser of seed protected.
The proposed amendments presented
| by DR.. Merrill in behalf Of the COM
mittee on revision was discussed sim
CIV and finally adopted.
The REVISION provides for two class
es of active members: Those engaged
| in the breeding and sale of improved
seed entitled 20 bear the tag Of pur-
| i,y and merit OF the Maine Seed I'M
! provemcnt Association and those not
engaged in the breeding and sale OF
seed, bearing the tag.
The prospective Class A member
shall, according to Il section OF the
amended constitution, open his entire
farm to inspection at any time by any
person duly authorized and delegated
| by the committee on seed breeding
agree to follow exactly so far as pos
sib]e, all directions as to the culture
and breeding of the crops from which
| he proposes to sell seed bearing the
tag of purity and merit, which may be
| given him by the committee on seed
| III eeding, agree to sell no seed, which
does not contain a statement of the
purity and termination test agree to
submit annually to the secretary OF the
association q report of his operations
| for the past year, including the amour,
and kind of seed he proposes to sell
and representative sample of every
kind of seed he proposes to sell.
| Another new section provides for a
| permanent committee on seed breeding
which shall consist of three members
| to be chosen eX-officiO; the secretary
of the association, the professor of
agronomy of the University of Maine
and the biologist of the Maine Agricul-
tural Experiment station. The duties
of the committee on seed breeding
shall be to direct the experimental
work Of the association, decide on the
| eligibility of members for Glass a
| membership, inspect and pass upon all
seed offered for sale under the tag of
purity and merit of the association,
| and issue all tags Of purity and merit.
The following provisions are made
| for the tag of purity and merit: There
| shall be issued tags Of purity and merit
to all Class A members Of the associa-
| ton so that each parcel of seed sold
by Glass A members may bear one OF
these tags. The tags shall be printed
with an appropriate and distinctive de-
vice and shall constitute a guarantee
of the purity of the seed in the pack
age bearing the tag. The tag shall
further carry an expression of the be-
lief of the committee on seed breeding,
as representing the association in this
matter, that the seed in any package
bearing a tag is Of distinctive merit
The tag of purity and merit shall be
copyrighted in the name Of the asso-
citation.
The amended constitution adds a new
article providing for forfeiture Of
membership in the case of any Class
a member. who shall after complaint
has been made. be found by the execu-
tive committee to have sold any seed
In a package bearing the tag Of purity
ana merit, which has not been inspect
ed and approved by the committee on
seed breeding. or to have sold under
the tag seed not equal in purity and
merit to the samples inspected and ap-
proved, or to have sold seed under the
pretense of it's having been inspected
and approved by the committee on
seed breeding when such approval has
not been officially obtained. Forfeiture
OF membership is also the penalty for
any Class Is member of the associa-
'ioh' VINO snail in his advertising cor
responience, or in any other way, seek
TO create the impression that seed
which he sells has been inspected or is
guaranteed or in any way vouched for
by the Maine Seed Improvement As
ISOLATION.
Inc closing hour of the forenoon
session was devoted to practical dem
onstrations of seed judging by Prof.
H. q. Bell of the Universitysor Maine.
frol. Bell explained that in corn iudg
ing ID points We're allowed for general
appearance, % for maturity of the ear.
81 points for ear conformation and o.
polfits 1or kernel conformation. He
showed how each step in the judging of
corn was taken and followed it by n
prefer demonstration in potato judg-
inJ