IMPURE SEED.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13636, 15 April 1908, Page 8

IMPURE SEED.

DEPARTMENT'S REPEATED

WARNINGS.

PROJECTED LEGISLATION. '

The concern of the Auckland A. and P. Association at the extent of seed adulteration is unfortunately too well founded (says the New Zealand Times). The high percentage of impurity in the agricultural seeds of the Dominion has been referred to year after year by tho Government Biologist, and the tireless advocacy by this officer of the need of Something being, done to prevent this victimising of farmers — in the resultant lower feeding value of their pastures and the< pojsoning of their lands with worthless rubbish — has resulted in the existence of a measure dealing with the matter, which, though supported by A. and P. conferences and conferences of the Farmers' Union, is yet to be placed on the statute book. Short as the . coming session will be, it may be tnat the delayed measure will be passed into law this year. The object of the Bill is to give power to the Department of Agriculture to publish the. results of its seed analyses — the name of the firm supplying the seed, the mark upon the saraSle, the price asked, where the sample oes, not come direct, the name of the person through whose . hands it has reached the Department, and the percentags of impurity, the constitution of the impurity, and the percentage of germination calculated upon pure seed.

AN OFFICIAL WARNING.

As far back as 1894 the Government Biologist referred to the impurity of seed. He wrote in his annual report of that year on the subject of weeds: "The most prolific source of infection is impure seed. This is the principal agency by which weeds of all kinds are introduced, and as this is the, chief aid to introduction so also is it the greatest carrier and desseminator. I have examined samples of seed containing so large a proportion of weed seeds that they could only be described as foul. Yet this seed went into the ground, the good and bad grew together until the reaping, and then the farmer was surprised to find what a poor harvest he had got. Nevertheless the seed from this very paddock was saved for future sowing! The great curse of the farmer is cheap seed. Usually it means impure seed, and thus Qtteap seed turns out in the end to be many many times more costly than the best, that can be bought. It sEquld require little consideration to convince , the farmer that the cost of ridding his ground of a large crop of weeds will be far greater than the difference between the price of foul and clean seed. Moreover, seed-cleaning machinery has now been brought ttf such" a pitch of perfection that it is possible to pet seed ahnosfrif not absolutely pure. It must also be remembered that in addition to the expense of eradication weeds do an almost incalculable amount of harm to the, crops. and pasture, for not, only do they take up space, which should be occupied by more useful varieties, but jShey absorb' a vej^'iarge proportion of the food and moisture which should go to stimulate the growth of the crop. > Thus, if neglected, they rob the farmer of his returns and then compel him to incur further expenditure iia order to fight them. Ihcessant war must be wage:! ageinst '"the growth of an weeds* otherwise they soon begin to di*iimte possession of the <w>il, and i." not Overcome the crop of pasture frequently comes off second best. ,*'Of weeds in this country the old proverb is true indeed: 'One years' seeding is seven years' weeding.' Moreover, they are responsible for a large proportion of pur crop and garden pests." An instance was quoted' by the Biologist of a samole of New Zealand grass seed Sent to New South Wales, which, on examination, was found to consist of forty per cent, bf perennial rye, twenty per cent, of creeping trefoil-, and forty per cent, of a miscellaneous collection, consisting of goose grass, dock, sorrel, plantain, wild amaranth, Yorkshire fog, and otjher useless we,eds and grasses. The saving effected By buying such seed would be from Is 2d to 2s 6d an acre, as against a dead loss of nearly fifty per cent, on each* year's earning of the pasture. Thus two acres of land would be required to support the legitimate stocking of one. Besides this tho useful grasses being eaten bare agid the weeds rejected in the natural course of reproduction the latter would get a still further hold of the land.

EFFECTIVE ADVICE.

"; The advice of the Biologist was continued year ! after year, appeals being made at the same time for a measure to deal with the trouble. The report of the Department contains reports each. year on analyses of seed samples. These shpw tuat the general" quality of the seed has improved since the question was first taken up by the Biologist. There is, still, however, an immense, amount of poor se9d sold which should not be allowed to be put in the ground. In a late report of the Department it was pointed out that though so much of this foal seed waa on the market the Biologist did not blame the vendors so much. They keep good seed for those who will pay the price. But many farmers demand choap seed, and they get it, and, naturally, with it get a large amount of rubbish. LATE INSTANCES OF IMPURITY.

That there is still a lot of very poor seed on the market is shown by an examination made in the biological laboratory last month of some samples sent in by several dealers, as the following germination tests will show : — _ Rye grass, 77 p.c. ; another sample, 70 p.c. ; cocksfoot, 69 p.c. ; crested dogstail, 61 p.c. ; Chewing's fescue, 8 p.c. ; alsyko, 67 p.c. ; white clover, 20 .p.c. ; another sample, 6 p.c. ; sheep's fescue, 50 p.s. ; rye grass, 95 p.c- ; another samSle, 97 p.c. ; cocksfoot, 73 p.c. ; crostcd ogstail, 94 p.c; Chewing's fescue, 81 p.c. ; fiorin, 78 p.c. ;' alsyke, 80 p,^ ; white clover, 66 p.c. ; rye grass, 82 p.c. ; cocksfoot^ 68 p.c. ; crested dogstail, 91 p.c.; white clover, 78 p.c. It is but fair to say in connection with the analyses quoted that the seed was well cleaned, the heaviest percentage of impurity being only 6 p.c. ; it was in germinating powrr where many of the samples wero weak.