Chapter VI On the Adulteration of Seeds, More Particularly of Turnips
In order to make the experiments which illustrate this chapter tell their tale to the fullest extent, we would set out with the two following postulates:—
1st. All well-grown, well-preserved new seeds should be capable of germinating to the extent of at least 90 per cent.
2nd. Seeds in general, and more especially turnip seeds, as usually delivered to the farmer, are generally incapable of germinating to the extent of from 25 to 30 per cent., and very frequently even more.
We shall hereafter see, that this want of germinating power is too often the result of mixing charlock, Indian rape, and the like, by way of adulteration, which latter are killed to prevent “their telling tales.” But to our experiments:—
A number of tin cases were made of the following proportions: Length, 15 inches; width, 10 inches; depth, 4 inches. These, which were well perforated at the bottom, were divided across into ten equal parts, each of which was filled to within an inch of the rim, with a mixture of fine mould and silver sand. In these, seeds of different sorts of turnips were sown, and the whole was put into a bed of sand in our forcing-house. We could, however, see no difference in the results, nor could we trace any in the germinal or cotyledon leaves of swedes, turnips, or charlock. But, of course, samples of turnip-seed could not be tested as to freedom from charlock by this experiment, because charlock is killed before being mixed with the turnip.
Now, seeing that we could get no trustworthy results by this kind of experiment, it struck us that our germination-pans might be used to test the germinating power, not only of the samples we had obtained for a different purpose, but of others also. We first, then, counted a hundred of each of the following sorts of seeds, and carefully dibbled them in a fresh mixture of soil, in September, 1860; the results, which were as carefully noted from day to day, are shortly given in the following table:—
Table 1. Germination of Ten Sorts of Turnips.
| No. | Name, Copy of Label. | Came up per cent. | No. of Days. | ||
| 1 | Mousetail, 1859 | 96 | 10 | ||
| 2 | Pomeranian, or White Globe, 1859 | 86 | 11 | ||
| 3 | Nimble Green Round, 1859 | 96 | 7 | ||
| 4 | Lincolnshire new Red Globe, 1860 | 90 | 9 | ||
| 5 | Yellow Tankard, 1859 | 92 | 9 | ||
| 6 | Smart’s Mousetail, 1860 | 98 | 7 | ||
| 7 | Green-topped Stone, 1860 | 84 | 8 | ||
| 8 | Sutton’s Imperial Green Globe, 1860 | 98 | 9 | ||
| 9 | Green-topped Scotch, 1860 | 90 | 9 | ||
| 10 | Early Six-weeks, 1860 | 90 | 10 | ||
| Came up | = | 92 | |||
| Failed | = | 8 | |||
We would remark upon these results, that the temperature of the house was kept at between 60° and 70°, and the greater part of the seeds came up in four days; the numbers for the days, then, have reference to the time occupied before all that would germinate came up. Now this table is not a little instructive, as showing that samples of turnip-seed can be got in which only a very few of the seeds fail to germinate; but as experience had taught us that these samples by no means represented the usual market condition of turnip-seeds, in order to test this we begged to be allowed permission to take samples direct from the bags of a retail seedsman as they were exposed in his shop, and the following results will speak for themselves.
It should, however, be here premised that the samples were not grown by the seedsman, but were said to be just as received from the wholesale dealers.
Table 2.—Germination of Ten Sorts of Turnip Seeds from Market Samples.
| No. | Copy of Label. | Came up per cent. | No. of Days. | |||||
| 1 | Norfolk Green round | 76 | 9 | - | Taken from the bags by the Author. | |||
| 2 | White Globe | 78 | 15 | |||||
| 3 | Early Grey-topped Stone | 80 | 10 | |||||
| 4 | Red Tankard, or Pudding | 62 | 11 | |||||
| 5 | Orange Jelly | 52 | 15 | |||||
| 6 | Norfolk Round Red | 80 | 10 | |||||
| 7 | Purple-topped yellow Scotch | 76 | 11 | |||||
| 8 | White Dutch | 64 | 12 | |||||
| 9 | Early Green top | 64 | 13 | |||||
| 10 | Yellow Tankard Pudding | 48 | 12 | |||||
| Came up | = | 68 | ||||||
| Failed | = | 32 | ||||||
Eight samples of swedes from the same source are in the next table associated with a sample of Skirving’s swede, grown in our own garden (8), of the following table, and another of turnip (9), grown on a neighbouring farm. We may remark upon the last-named sample, that we had observed the growth of this seed, which was from a very poor crop, half of which had decayed on the ground with the early frost of 1860, and the rest, without transplanting or selection of any kind, was allowed to seed. Now, as this whole crop was so degenerated that it ought never to have been seeded at all, we were anxious to get some of the seed from the bulk, in order to test from its growth this year whether it will not bring forth a degenerate progeny. Its germinating qualities will be seen from the table, and yet it is by no means the worst sample, which seems to show that the others are not naturally bad, but so by mixture.