The Yale expositor., 1914-03-05
PURE SEED LAW STRINGENT
Dealers Must Not Sell and Farmers
Must Not Sow Impure Seed

Dealers Must Not Sell and Farmer
Must Not Sow Impure Seed
The Legislature recently passed string
ent laws in regard TO grains and seeds
and their handling by growers and
dealers and that all may become famil-
lar with the new provisions of the
statutes in regard thereto portions Of
the law are printed below. They
should be preserved for reference.
A condensed form of the Seed Law
(Act 2O2 p, A. 1919 prepared by Prof.
Muncie of the M. A. g.
Section |. For the purpose of this
act, agricultural seeds are defined as
the seeds of alfalfa, barley. Canadian
blde grass, Kentucky blue grass, bronze
(awpless) grass, buekwheat, alsike,
clover, crimson clover, red clover, white
clover, field corn, Kafiir corn, meadow
fescue, flax, millet, oats, orchard grass,
rape, red top, rye, sorghum, timothy,
and wheat, which are to be used for
sowing or seeding purposes.
Section 2. Every lot of seed men
toned in section one, offered or exposed
for sale in this state for seeding pur-
poses in the state, in lots of eight ounces
or more, must bear label, written or
printed in the English language, with
the following data.
|. Name of agricultural seed.
az. Name and address OF person sell.
| ing Or offering for sale such seed
3. The approximate percentage of
purity.
4. The approximate percentage OF
contamination specifying by name each
kind present III greater proportions
than one per cent by weight of the
whole
The exception to the above is when
person wishes to retail seed from the
original package and the original pack
age is marked accordance with the law.
Each separate lot sold from the original
package need not be laUeled.
Section 3. The noXious weed are
quack grass (Agropyron repens) Canada
thistle (Cirsium arvenacl, clover and
alfalfa dodder (Cuscuta cpl hymum),
and field dodder (Custuta arvensis).
Any seeds which contain greater pro
portion than one seed of all or any of
these noxious weeks to 1000 of the
variety of agricultural seed, cannot be
sown, offered or exposed for sale in the
state.
Section ). Whoever sells. buys or
sows agricultural seed in this state,
may submit samples of such seed to the
Seed Laboratory of the State Board of
Agriculture at East Lansing, for test
of purity. For each analysis the Board
charges fee of 25c This fee is pay
able in advance. Stamps should not be
sent in payment of this fee. Money
orders are acceptable and should be
made payable to the state Board Of
Agriculture. All samples for analysis
and all letters in regard TO the same,
should be sent TO the seed Analyst,
East Lansing Michigan.
Section g. Whoever sells, offers or
exposes for sale within this state any
agricultural seeds defined in section
one of this act, without complying with
the requirements Of section two and
three of this act, or whoever falsely
marks or labels any agricultural seeds
under section two of this act or who
ever shall prevent the State Board of
Agriculture or its duly authorized
agents from inspecting said seeds and
collecting samples asprovided in section
six of this act or whoever shall other
wise violate this act, shall be guilty of
misdemeanor, and upon conviction
shall be fined not more than one hund
red dollars.
Section r. Of interest to the con-
sumner are the paragraphs, concerning
the purity of the seed. 1t is particu
larly desirable that consumers take
great care not to buy seed that has not
the proper tables as the very fact that
this seed is not labeled should be prima
face evidence that the dealer is not
conforming to the provisions of the
law. 1t should also be noted that seed
containing quack grass, Canada thistle,
and the dodders to the amount of one
seed in two thousand is not only for
hidden to be sold but also m ay not be
sown.