SEED TESTING. Sixty years ago the seed trade of Great Britain was in a most unsatisfac tory state, and the dishonourable manner in which seeds were treated and sold was widely known. It had, of course, long been recognized by progressive men that a good seed supply was as essential a part of farming as sound cultivation, proper manuring, and safe harvesting. Nevertheless, large quantities of very low grade seeds were sown. Whereas it would seem that as long ago as 1816 steps had been taken in Switzerland to prevent fraud in the seed trade, the first official steps taken in England were in 1869 and 1878 when the Adultera tion of Seeds Acts were passed. These Acts made it a criminal offence to sell or cause to be sold seed that had been killed or dyed, or to kill or dye seeds.
The first official seed testing stations or seed control stations were started in 1869 at Tharandt in Saxony by Nobbe and in 1871 at Copenhagen by Moller Holst. In 1875 Nobbe published his Handbuch der Samenkunde, and this gave a new impetus to seed testing work throughout Europe. Later a Swiss station was started under Stebler at ZUrich, and for many years there after a considerable number of British seedsmen had their seeds scientifically examined at that station. An official seed testing station was started at Dublin in 190o and in Edinburgh in 1914, but it was not until 1917 that an official seed testing station was organised for England. Seed testing is conducted under official auspices in practically all civilised countries, the seed "control" stations, as they are termed, being of inestimable value to agri culture. The Seeds Act was passed in England in 192o, and the administration of this act has undoubtedly been highly beneficial, this being recognised by farmers and the seed trade alike.
Seeds for sowing need to be true to name; to have a high degree of purity, or freedom from weed seeds, rubbish, or seeds of a species not required; to have a high germinating capacity, or be capable of growing and producing strong plants under suitable conditions ; they should be of the origin and strain required, home-grown or foreign seed or seeds of a certain strain being the better as the case may be; and they should be free from injurious insects and fungi. Considered generally, good seed will be plump, bright, have an "alive" appearance, and an average colour which varies according to the species.
The number and kind of weed seeds contained in a sample of seeds for sowing has an important bearing upon the value of the sample. Below a certain point of purity and germinating capac ity, or if it contains more than a given quantity of certain species of injurious weed seeds, the sample should in no circumstances be accepted from the seed merchant. Under the British Seeds Act, 1921, and the Seeds Regulations, 1922, the seeds merchant is bound to declare certain facts relating to the seeds he offers for sale, and it is to the farmer's interest to ensure that he knows all about the seeds which he purchases, and he should only pur chase under guarantee. On receipt of his seed, samples may be submitted to the official seed testing station (Huntingdon Road, Cambridge) for examination and report, for which only a small fee is charged (to farmers, 6d. per sample). Full particulars may be obtained from the Station.
What is commonly called the true value of a seed sample (which is represented by the combined purity and germinating capacities, per cent) is not in itself a complete guide to the value of the sample for sowing, as it is necessary to take into consid eration the kind of impurity or "other seeds" present ; while it is commonly impossible to determine by analysis whether the species is of the variety or strain desired. Knowledge of seed
samples is now, however, so excellent that it is commonly pos sible to determine at any rate the country of origin, a decision being based not only upon the appearance of the seed sample itself but upon the species of weed seeds included in it—since the species are liable to vary widely with the country from which the seed sample is derived. The possibilities were abundantly shown in a case early in 1928 in which the British Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries prosecuted a seeds merchant for falsely selling imported seed as Kentish wild white clover. The botanical analyses clearly demonstrated that the seeds sold were of New Zealand and central European origin. (See also SEED TRADE.) (H. C. L.) In the United States, seed testing followed the work done in Europe by about 25 years. Quite rapid strides have been made since 1876 toward placing the testing of seeds for both purity and viability on a comprehensive basis. Connecti cut, North Carolina and Michigan have long urged the impor tance of seed testing and the University of Nebraska has taught seed testing as a part of the botanical training of students for many years. In 1897, Maine enacted a State law governing the sale of agricultural seeds. Other States followed until in 1928, 45 of the States have laws regulating the quality of agricultural seeds which may be sold within these States, and maintain seed testing laboratories as an aid and protection to agriculture. The individual States may regulate trade within each State, while the Federal Government controls trade between individual States and with foreign countries.
As a result of the work carried on by the States in the improve ment of agricultural seeds, many of the larger seed firms through out the United States have well-equipped laboratories in which analysts test their seeds, thus enabling them to offer high grade seeds to the public. Seed testing as a definite line of investigation was organized in the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1896, where seeds from farmers, seedsmen and other sources are tested free of charge. In 1912, Congress passed the Seed Importation Act, restricting the quality of specified seeds imported into the United States. This act established standards of live pure seed, and of freedom from adulterants and weed seeds which must be conformed to by all seeds before they are allowed into the United States. In 1926, the Seed Importation Act was amended and the name changed to the Federal Seed Act, the amended act requiring the colouring of imported seed of red clover and alfalfa to indicate the origin.
In addition to the enforcement of the Federal Seed Act and the testing of samples from all sources for purity and viability, samples of seed are bought in the open market, tested for adultera tion, and when found to contain more than 5% of adulterants, these amounts, together with the name of the seedsmen handling such seeds, are published. The Federal seed laboratory and many of the State seed laboratories carry on various phases of research work, prominent among these being the physiology of germination, including such problems as bard seeds, retarded germination and after-ripening of seeds; the identification of seeds by comparison with material in an authentic herbarium and by growing tests in greenhouses and field plots; methods of determining the origin of seeds and their adaptation for different localities. (E. F. Si.)