On the samples being tested at the Official Seed Testing Station it was found, after making allowances in accordance with the prescribed scales of latitude, that the results of the tests of 21 clover samples, 40 grass samples, 20 vegetable samples, and 1 cereal sample drawn from the premises of 63 merchants did not accord with the particulars declared at the time of sampling. In the case of 37 of these samples the percentage of germination was considerably over-stated, and in 21 samples the purity was over-stated. In 25% of the samples there was 1% or more of injurious weed seeds and in each case this was not declared. In all cases of default the matter was suitably taken up with the merchants concerned. No prosecutions were instituted, but a warning was issued that in future, following upon the coming into operation on 1st August 1921 of the Seeds Act, 1920, the Board would consider seriously the question of taking proceedings in cases where the statutory regulations had not been complied with. EXCHANGE OF SAMPLES. During the season 95 samples were exchanged with or received from the following stations for the purpose of comparative tests : Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Seed Testing Station, Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Rijksproefstation voor Zaadcontrole, Wageningen, Holland. THE TESTING OF SEEDS ORDER, 1918. This Order was revoked on 31st July 1921. On 1st August the Seeds Act, 1920, and the Seeds (Scotland) Regulations, 1921, came into operation, and in future therefore this Report will be issued in respect of seed tested under these Regulations. STATION FOR THE TESTING AND REGISTRATION OF AGRICULTURAL PLANTS. Reference was made in the last Report to the establishment of this station. The urgency of establishing a Scottish Station for the testing and registration of distinct varieties of agricultural plants had been pressed upon the Board by representative bodies for several years prior to 1917, when the Board received two influential deputations from the Highland and Agricultural Society. Following on these meetings a conference was held in February 1918, comprising representatives of the societies and trade associations directly interested in the establishment of a National Institute for this purpose. The principle of establishing a station was approved, and the composition of a Standing Committee to assist and advise the Board on the management of the station was determined as follows:- Highland and Agricultural Society 3 representatives. 2 do. National Farmers' Union Although the Board had authority to secure land for the purposes in view, it was not until Whitsunday 1920 that they were able to acquire a suitable farm at a satisfactory price. The farm of East Craigs extended to 111 acres; of this the Board sold 27 acres to the Scottish Society for Research in Plant Breeding, and retained the balance of 84 acres for the purposes of the Registration Station. It is obviously of advantage that the two stations for Plant Breeding and Plant Registration should be in contact and close association. The objects of the Plant Testing and Registration Station are:- (1) to classify existing varieties of the agricultural plants which are of importance to Scottish agriculture, and to register varieties which are authenticated as novel; (2) to publish accurate information regarding the type, cropping capacity, immunity from disease, relative merits, etc., of varieties as ascertained by testing; (3) to carry out comparative tests of special strains of these varieties and so enable the highest standard of production of established varieties to be maintained; (4) to reduce the number of commercial names descriptive of supposed strains of standard varieties (the difference between large numbers of these so-called strains having really no existence in fact). This will assist in preventing a common species of fraud which consists of marketing an old variety under a new name, and at an enhanced price, to the detriment of the interests of genuine breeders of agricultural plants; (5) to act for the general agricultural community in the settlement of any disputes regarding the authenticity of stocks, and to assist the Board in the administration of the Seeds Act, 1920. Under this Act it is incumbent upon the seller of cereal, potato, and clover seeds to state the name of the variety sold. At a meeting of the Standing Committee on 25th January 1921, it was decided for the first year to concentrate attention mainly on potatoes and oats. The Committee appointed, for the purpose of these tests, a Potato Synonym Committee and a Cereal Sub-Committee, the memberships of which are such as to give absolute confidence to breeders and growers. The Potato Synonym Committee have prepared for the approval of the Standing Committee and the Board a schedule of conditions for the registration of potato varieties. During the year they have also inspected the samples of growing potatoes undergoing tests at the Station, and have made a report as to which of these are distinct varieties and which are identical with existing standard varieties. The Committee have also issued a short guide on the production of new varieties of the potato which they have prepared for the assistance of breeders, with the view to preventing as far as possible the submission of samples of new varieties that are unlikely ever to become of commercial value. The Cereals Sub-Committee have prepared for the approval of the Standing Committee and the Board a schedule of conditions for the testing and registration of cereals. They have also reported to the Standing Committee on the results of the trials of varieties of oats carried on at the station during the year. The programme of operations during the year comprised : (1) the growing in 5 plots of 200 seeds each of 53 different samples of seeds of pure stocks of the oat varieties. already in the market in this country and in countries having a somewhat similar climate, with a view to a preliminary investigation of the botanical characters of the common commercial varieties of this country and of foreign varieties which are believed to have affinities with these; and also with a view to obtaining records for the purposes of comparison with new varieties submitted for testing in subsequent years. For this purpose samples were obtained from sources at home and abroad; (2) the growing for record purposes of 12 different samples of stocks of potato oats obtained from different districts in Scotland, the quantity of each sample of seed being one quarter, and each sample thus occupying about 2 acres of land; (3) the growing for record purposes of one extensive crop each of "Sandy " and "Tam Finlay." The Standing Committee will meet early in 1922 to consider the Reports of the two Sub-Committees and the programmes for the ensuing season. SEEDS ACT, 1920. The Seeds Act, 1920, to which Royal Assent was given on 16th August 1920, came into operation on 1st August 1921. It superseded as from that date the Testing of Seeds Order, 1918, made by the Food Controller under the Defence of the Realm Regulations. The general purpose of the Act is to assist purchasers of seeds of certain varieties of agricultural and vegetable plants, and of forest trees, in obtaining seed of a satisfactory standard of quality. It is an offence under the Act to sell or expose for sale any seeds of the specified kinds containing more than a prescribed percentage of injurious weed seeds, but, apart from this restriction, the Act does not prohibit the sale of inferior seeds nor require that seeds of standard quality only shall be placed on the market. It stipulates, however, that the seller shall make known to his customer the actual quality of the seeds he is offering, and the question of buying seed of good or indifferent quality thus rests entirely with the purchaser. By Section 1 of the Act it is provided that every person who sells any seeds to which the Act applies, or any seed potatoes, shall, on or before their sale or delivery, supply the purchaser with a statement in writing containing certain prescribed particulars. It is also provided that every person who exposes for sale any seeds to which the Act applies, or any seed potatoes, shall cause to be displayed conspicuously on or in close proximity to the goods a statement containing the same prescribed particulars. Every statement relating to seeds which is delivered or displayed under Section 1 of the Act, must specify that the seeds have been tested in accordance with the provisions of the Act, and the particulars given, so far as they relate to the purity and germination of the seeds, must be as determined by such test. It is also laid down that the tests referred to must, in the case of seeds other than garden seeds, be made either at an official seed testing station or at some testing station licensed under the Act; garden seeds may be tested at one of these stations or in any other sufficient manner. The sale, exposure for sale, or the use for sowing of seeds containing injurious weed seeds in excess of a prescribed percentage is prohibited by Section 3 of the Act. Section 7 of the Act provides that the Board, after consultation with representatives of the interests concerned, may make regulations generally for the purposes of carrying the Act into effect, and in particular for prescribing the seeds to which the Act is to apply, and the manner in which samples are to be taken and dealt with. After the necessary procedure, the Board on 12th July accordingly made the Seeds (Scotland) Regulations, 1921; the Regulations are published as a Statutory Rule and Order and are on sale at H.M. Stationery Office, price 3d. net. Penalties are prescribed by the Act for contravention of its provisions and for the tampering with samples taken under the Act. The Act does not apply-(a) to a sale of seeds to a person purporting to purchase them with a view to cleaning them before they are sold or exposed for sale; (b) to a sale of seeds where the purchaser at the time of sale gives to the seller an undertaking in writing that he will, before selling or exposing the seeds for sale, test or cause them to be tested, or that he will not resell the seeds to a seed merchant except subject to a similar undertaking; (c) to a sale of seeds or seed potatoes for delivery outside the United Kingdom; (d) to a sale or exposure for sale of seeds or seed potatoes not to be used for sowing or planting. It is also provided that the Board may exempt any person as respects any sale or exposure for sale of seeds or seed potatoes from compliance with the requirements of Section 1 of the Act, and that such exemption may be granted either absolutely or subject to specified conditions. Under this authority licences of exemption were granted by the Board in the following circumstances (i) Seed Potatoes.-By the Regulations made under the Act it is provided that a statement of the variety of seed potatoes by a seller shall not be held to be incorrect if it is true in respect of 97 per cent. of the total quantity sold or exposed for sale. Representations were made to the Board that in view of the late date in the season at which the Regulations were issued, and of the fact that owing to the early harvest it was very difficult to have crops" rogued," it would be unreasonable to enforce a standard of purity of 97 per cent. in respect of seed potatoes of the 1921 crop. After consideration, the Poard issued a general licence, valid until 31st May 1922, reducing the minimum standard of purity to 95 per cent. (ii) Cereal Seeds.-The Board's attention was also drawn to the difficulty in which cereal seed merchants were placed in complying with the requirements of the Act. In most of the transactions carried out by these merchants, the seed is forwarded direct from the farm on which it is raised to the purchaser who requires it for sowing, and the merchants therefore are frequently unable during the busy season to have a to have a test of the seed made before the sale is completed. In order to meet this difficulty with regard to seed for autumn and winter sowing, the Board on 5th September issued a general licence, authorising all persons concerned to sell cereal seeds on or before 30th November of the year in which it is harvested without declaring the particulars required by the Act at or before the time of sale or delivery, provided that the particulars were supplied to the purchaser within one month of the sale. (iii) Dodder.-With a view to securing complete uniformity with the Regulations made under the Act for England and Wales and for Ireland, the Board agreed to the insertion in their Regulations of certain provisions requiring the declaration of the presence of dodder in grasses and clovers and in flax seed and linseed if present in excess of prescribed quantities. In Scotland, however, dodder is regarded as of no greater importance |