2007/26

Thief trier' seed or spear sampler used to extract representative portions of seed and other flowable material from hessian sacks
This is a 'thief trier' seed sampler, a spear sampler used to extract representative portions of seed and other flowable material from hessian sacks. In the 1940s it was proved to be an unreliable instrument and it was banned by the Seed Testing Association in the early 1950s. This thief trier is part of a large collection of objects relating to Suttons Seeds Ltd., as well as other rural artefacts, compiled by John Cox, who worked at Suttons from 1931 to 1976, starting as an office boy and finishing as Company Secretary.

seed sampler: metal

Suttons Seeds Ltd. Torquay, Descriptions of Tools and Apparatus from Suttons Seeds once used in the Seed Industry – ‘8. Seed Sample – Thief Trier // The original type of spear sampler was used to extract representative portions of seed or other flowable materials contained in hessian sacks. // After much research at the O.S.T.S., Cambridge, during the 1940’s, it was proved that the ‘Thief Trier’ was not a reliable instrument for producing representative samples of seed from sacks. Accordingly, in the early 1950’s, the International Seed Testing Association banned the use of the Thief Trier for obtaining seed samples which were to undergo critical analysis by International rules.’, MERL miscellaneous note, Greta Bertram, 2 August 2012 – Suttons Seeds Ltd. was founded in 1806 by John Sutton (1777–1863) and traded as a corn merchant. It was known as the ‘House of Sutton’ and had premises on King Street, Reading. John’s two sons joined the business in 1832 and in 1836 it was renamed ‘Sutton & Son’. In 1837 the company moved to the Market Place, Reading, and expanded into seeds and acquired nursery grounds in Queens Road, Reading. In 1840 they established a testing laboratory and in 1873 new buildings replaced those in Market Place. These included various offices, separate store rooms for different types of seeds and bulbs, recreation rooms, residences and a fire station. In 1962 Suttons moved to new grounds and premises on the eastern outskirts of Reading, before moving to Torquay, Devon, in 1976 and then Paington, Devon, in 1998.