This Bill provides for the better regulation and control of the seed business, particularly in relation to the import of seed, in order that where seed is imported it will be properly invoiced so that the farmer who is buying seed may be in a position to know exactly what he is getting. He is also safeguarded at a later stage as against the person from whom he purchases the seeds, if he has been in any way deceived or wronged. The Bill also provides for the growing of seed. Under Sections 11 and 12 regulations can be made to deal with the flowering or even the growing of plants in certain prescribed areas where an attempt has been made to produce certain agricultural seeds. The Bill also deals with the cleaning of seeds, making the cleaning of seed a business. Under the Bill it will be necessary to have a permit to carry on the business of cleaning seeds. That business, of course, is well defined in one section. The Bill codifies the legislation on seeds, previous legislation being repealed when the Bill comes into operation.
I should just like to deal with some of the sections in order to clear the minds of Senators on certain points that may arise. Sections I and 2 will not give any trouble to anybody. Section 3 gives power to the Minister to prohibit the import of seeds, and then Section 4 gives the Minister power to give permits for the importation of seeds. The necessity for these two sections is that I am afraid we cannot regulate this business properly unless we take power to prohibit the import of seeds, because there are many foolish people who are impressed by advertisements etc., of certain varieties of seeds, which have been already tried out in the various agricultural colleges here and by the county instructors, and found not to be suitable. The only way we could deal with those seeds would be to prohibit the import of them entirely. If, on the other hand, a farmer has a good case for the importation of any particular variety of seed, he can get a permit under Section 4, or the seed importers and wholesalers may import certain varieties under the same section. Section 5 exempts seed in packets from this particular part of the Bill. These are samples that come into the seed merchants or importers under 1 lb. in weight, and they will, of course, be exempt, so that the seed merchants may have freedom at least to get in samples of certain varieties without going to the trouble of getting a permit.
Sections 6 and 7 deal with the business of cleaning seeds. For the moment there is no intention to classify any business as a seed cleaning business except that of cleaning grass seeds and clovers. It may be necessary later, although I do not see the possibility of it at the moment, to classify the business of cleaning other seeds besides grass seeds as a business under this section. The business of cleaning grass seeds or clovers is a rather technical business, and it needs a certain amount of inspection and supervision to see that the farmer is safeguarded in getting the seeds for which he pays. Therefore, it would require the supervision provided for in this section.
Section 8 is taken from the old Act dealing with what may be prescribed as injurious weeds or impurities in seeds, and does not require any explanation. Section 9 is a section that has given a great deal of trouble. It is the only section, as a matter of fact, that came in for discussion in the Dáil. That section deals with packet seeds. It lays down certain regulations —that they must have on them, under certain circumstances, the name of the firm and the date on which they were packed, and certain other particulars that may be prescribed. The section, as amended in the Dáil, is, I think, as satisfactory as we can hope to make it.
Section 10 deals with invoices and is necessary, as Senators who have had any experience of the import of seed wheat will admit. A great deal of wheat was imported during the spring of 1934 and the spring of 1935. Some wheat was imported as seed wheat and, when it was sown, it became obvious that some winter variety had been sold as spring seed. It was doubtful, as the law stood, whether these particular farmers had any case in law unless they had got a written guarantee with the seed that they bought. Luckily, however, I think they were in all cases compensated, but it is well to see in such cases in the future that the farmer will be perfectly safeguarded.
Sections 11 and 12 deal with the growing of seeds. Some experiments have been carried out during the last few years here in the growing of root crop seeds such as beet and mangolds in particular. So far as these experiments have gone it would appear that if we are to produce good seed for these crops, if the experiment will prove in the future years that they can be produced; if they are to be as successful as we expect them at the moment to be, and that we are getting down to the growing of these seeds in a commercial way, it will be necessary to have areas where cross-fertilisation can be eliminated. For instance, if the grower tries to grow beet seeds and if in the adjoining field mangolds go to seed, his whole crop of beet seeds would be destroyed because, of course, there would be great danger of cross-fertilisation between the mangolds and the beet and we would get sugar mangolds instead of beet seed. This would not be at all satisfactory for the manufacture of sugar. We are, therefore, providing in this Bill that in prescribed areas we may make an order prohibiting the inflorescence of certain plants.
If these mangolds do not come to the flowering stage there would be no danger. In most cases that would be sufficient. If it is not sufficient, then recourse would have to be had to the powers in Section 12—control of the growing of plants in certain cases, that is prohibiting the growth of certain plants in that area. I am only giving that as an example of how this Section 12 may be operated. It may be necessary also in the case of other seeds such as cabbages, brussels sprouts and so on that there should be some such powers in special areas. Section 13 is not a departure from existing powers, the powers of inspection and taking samples, except that it gives somewhat wider powers in regard to taking samples at fairs and markets. Apart from that, the powers are quite the same as at present. Sections 14 and 15 are the usual sections in a Bill of this kind, and Section 16, as I have already said, repeals the existing legislation and, in fact, makes this a codifying Bill of seed legislation.