ALLEGED IMPURE SEED.

Otago Witness, Issue 2983, 17 May 1911, Page 19

ALLEGED IMPURE SEED.

REMIT TO AGRICULTURAL CONFERENCE. At a meeting of the committee, of the Canterbury A. and P. Association a somewhat serious case of impure seed 'being coldwas mentioned by Mr D. D. MacFarlane, in l moving a remit fco the Agricultural Conference declaring that seed merchants should be compelled to guarantee all seeds sold for purity and germination, and that the Government should impound at port of entry all imported seed containing any reed of noxious weeds. He said that there had come to his knowledge that a firm of seed merchants, with whom farmers in! another part of the Dominion deal largelv, bad written to a local firm asking for 300 sacks of seed similar to a pampfo that was forwarded. He (Mr MacFarlane) had roughly analysed this sample, and found that it contained ryegrass (20 per cent, only of. which would grow), Italian ryegrass, goose-grass, hair-grass, Poa 'pratensis, Yorkshire fog, sorrel, docks, suckling clover, white clover, cowgrass, ribgrass, sow thistle, sclaranthus, oats' ea*% Parr, Poa annua, and buttercup. He intended having the sample thoroughly analysed by the Government analyst. lb was a nice collection to sell as farmers' seed. He added that the order had been filled but not by the firm first communicated with. Referring to imported seeds, Me MacFarlane said that scarcely a specimen of Canadian alsike came into New Zealand that did not contain Canadian thistle. Only 2 or 3 per cent, of the Canadian thistle seed germinated. If all that had come in had germinated, there would be very little else than Canadian thistle growing at prcssnt. . It was decided to forward the remit to the conference.