Czech, Seed Control Seal, Semenarska, Prague, Image & Found by Simon Bourne.
Found on Thames Foreshore, 13-15mm.
Obscured letters curving down / SEMENARS(KA) / ZEM.Q?NDY / .PRAHA. curving up
From Paul Cannon, "Both of these (see also BSG.BS.01697) are official state seals attached to bags of seeds following testing at one of the various seed control stations in Prague. The left hand image appears to read in the Czech language (from 10 o’clock): KONT.STANICE ie Kontrolni Stanice = Control Station. I think there may be a numeral beneath this. SEMENARSKA ZEM. RADY ie Semenářská Zemědělské Rady = Seed Board of Agriculture and lastly PRAHA for Prague. The right hand image appears to read in German (from 7 o’clock): SAMEN.KONTROLL[EN ??] PRAG ie Seed Controls Prague. There maybe one or more letters at the end of Kontrollen, perhaps an S for the abbreviation of station? I am not clear about the meaning of the three letters in the centre.
For a Government Regulation of the Czechoslovak Republic dated 25 November 1919 about the trade arrangements of red clover and alfalfa seeds, which refers to the testing process and sealing see Ordinance of 25.11.1919 on the regulation of trade in the seeds of red clover and lucerne. Both imported and exported seeds were to be certified by the appropriate seed station for purity and germination. The seed control stations of the Seed Board of Agriculture for Bohemia were in Prague. Those for Moravia, Silesia and Slovakia under the Moravian Agricultural Research Institute were in Brno. For a similar but different seal, also related to Prague, see LovecPokladu.cz."
