The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-07-06

.sslsoeion saecordins 70 tAssr appesr.
.nee sc 10: 3,s,S sia f:.t.a go,
Farmers cannot AFFORD to SOW SEED.
the termination and purity Of which
they do not know. Cheap seed Ii
usually low grade. full Of inert matter
and weed seeds and low In germina-
ton. II n better economy TO pay more
attention to grade and less to price.
standard Eeed" In reality cost less
for tho actual amount OF pure yfapie
seed ana Its use results In larger and
moro vigorous crops, and fewer poor
stands than do the creaper grades The
inert matter, the foreign seeds and the
dead seed. which give no returns Tex
cept In the case Of foreign seeds, which
nearly always ensure a vigorous crop
OF troublesome weeds), all help to in
crease the weight and. therefore, the
selling price Of any seeds which con-
tain them.
Do not rely entirely upon the purity
test or the appearance Of the seed,
for these, in themselves. are often mis-
leading Laboratory tests frequently
required standard Of purity is abso-
lutely worthless for seeding purposes
because such q small percentage will
grow. This may be due to immaturity
at harvest time. to unfavorable con-
ditions during harvest, to subsequent
treatment during storage, or to the
mixture Of old seed.
Testing Seeds at Home.
Farmers should make 1t q point for
their own protection to become famil-
lar with agricultural seeds and thus be
able to identify or at least to detect
impurities or misbranded seed. At
ter considerable study and comparison
some of the noxious weed seeds are
readily distinguished by their appear
ance, and when seeds containing them
are found these should be avoided and
no further time need be wasted in hav-
ing them tested.
Considerable time, practice and care
Ia needed for a complete and dependa-
BILE purity test. and in most cases when
this Is desired, 1t is safer to depend
upon an accurate test by an expert
who has available the necessary appa-
ratus for making such a test.
termination tests Of some OF our
agricultural seeds can and should be
made at home, and one OF the most
important perhaps is corn.
Termination Tests OF Seed Corn.
Termination tests of corn should
be made from individual ears which
were selected in the field and not from
a miscellaneous lot Of shelled seed.
The value OF such tests and selection
has been repeatedly proven and farm
ers cannot afford TO use seed corn
which has not been SO selected. and
tested.
Make q special termination box for
this purpose, about two feet by three
feet by four inches deep. and divide
into two-inch squares by means OF
wires stretched through holes one
ty.N and fwn fnChAa
apart Fill with sand up to the wires,
moisten wei laad-4xflask .s EACH ssRuAxs
by letters on one side Of the box and
on another at right angles, number
space between holes. Each square Will
then be represented by a number and
a letter: for example, Al, AZ. etc.
Select the ears to be tested and mark
them; each ear to represent q square
with the same mark. Then take six
same ear and place them in the prop
err place. After all ears are 30 tested.
cover the box with a moist cloth. The
test should continue about eight days.
at the end Of which time any ear
having a kernel which did not show
a vigorous sprout should be dis
carded Many ears can be tested at
once by this method and the time
consumed and actual cost are paid for
many times over py the increase an
yield.
Sol or Sand Tests
termination tests of many kinds OF
agricultural seeds made in moist sand
often give good results. but are more
troublesome than the blotter or cam
ton flannel method, and the results
obtained do not seem in most cases
to warrant their special recommends
ton in preference to the latter. In
some cases higher termination is OBJ
tanned In sand or soil tests, but in gem
eral the soil tests may be expected
to show from to Is per cent lower
termination than do the blotter or
canton flannel tests made in germi-
majors as used in our laboratory.
Available Publication for Reference
Persons who are further interested
In agricultural seed legislation. seed
testing, and plant or seed indiflca-
ton are referred to the following pub
locations OF the department Of agrt-
culture, all OF which will be sent upon
request TO Mr.. G. w. Bower, commits
sioner of agriculture. Richmond. Va
/. Tire Agricultural Seed Law"
complete cory
2. Rules and Regulations Gov
erning the Virginia Agricultural Seed
Law"
3. Farmers bulletin. No. II. "Agrt-
cultural Seeds for Virginia"
4. Farmers bulletin, No. Is. How
to Purchase and How to Label Agri-