Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1898-03-31
PREVENTION OF OATS
SMUT


The smut of oats, which causes an
annual loss to the farmers Of Wiscon-
sin amounting in the aggregate to many
hundreds of thousands Of dollars. may
| be entirely prevented by treating the
! seed oats before sowing. at a cost for
labor AMI materials which need not x
coed five cents per acre of oats sown.
Two methods of treatment have been
found satisfactory. These we will call
for convenience the "Formalin Treat
ment," and the Hot Water Treat
ment." The first has the advantage
OF being the simpler, but it requires d
small cash outlay for materials. The
second requires no materials or appar-
atus except What the farmer already
has, unless it be- good thermometer.
The FORMAIIN TREATMENT. Soak
the seed oats cue hour in q solution OF
formalin, made by adding one ounce OF
forlnalin to every ) gallons Of water,
Place the water in a barrel, or other
convenient vessel, add the formalin TO
it, and poor ia one and one half bushels
of seed oats for each gallons Of the
solution. At the end Of one hour. draw
off the part of the solution that is not
absorbed by the oats, and spread the
oats out on clean floor to dry. They
should be shoveled over once or twice
a day until dry enough to SOW,
Fol.nalin is q liquid that may be puF-
chased at drug stores. Ask for forty
per cent formalin. 1t costs from 80 to
SO cents per pint, and pint contains is
ounces enough for about 30 bushels OF
seed oats. 1t is sold in smaller quaint
ties at 10 cents per ounce 1t formalin
is purchased in considerable quantities
it will be we'll to have the druggist
weigh out one ounce in small bottle,
and then mark on the height to which
the ounce reaches. This bottle may
then be used as measure in adding the
formalin to the water
The Hot WATER TREATMENT con-
sists in soaking the seed ten minutes
in water at a temperature of 1873 f.
Heat the water in a large kettle, and
close by, sink barrel in the ground
to within foot of the top. Pour part
of the hot water into the BARREL and
take the temperature with a good Their
mometer. Then add either cold or hot
water, stirring it in the mean time. I'M
til tt shows a temperture of 1873, Put
about a bushel OF oats in a coarse sunny
sack, tie this to one end of a pole and
rest the pole over a post, thus making
lever, by which the sack of oats may
be easily raised or lowered Now dip
the sack of oats into the water in the
barrel. The water will be Immediately
cooled, and hot water must be added to
keep the temperature about 1873. Let
one person attend to the temperature
and another to handling the oats. KeeE
the oats moving in the barrel. Take
| them out at the end of 10 minutes, dip
the sack at once in cold water, then
spread on clean floor to dry. Shovel
them over three times day fer few
days. when they may be sown with a
| force drill; or in two Or three hours they
may be,sown broadcast. AS the oats
absorb considerable water, it is neces-
sary to SOW about half a bushel more
per acre than when untreated seed is
used. This is on the basis of two and
one-half bushelsper acre. Two men in
one day can treat enough seed to SOW
twenty acres.
Farmers should preserve these direc-
tions for future use,
Agricultural Experiment Station,
Madison, Wis.
E. S. Golf,
TT H. L