River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1898-03-24
Prevention Of Oat 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 dol
lars, may be entirely prevented by
treating the seed oats before sowing,
at cost OF labor and materials which
need not exceed five cents per acre of
oats sown.
Two methods of treatment have
been found satisfactory. These we
will call for convenience the Form
alin Treatment, and the Hot Wat
er Treatment" The first has the
advantage OF being the simpler, but
1t requires small cash outlay Tor ma
terials. The second requires no ma
terlals or apparatus except what the
farmer already has, unless 1t be good
thermometer.
THE FoRMALIN TREATMENT.
Soak the seed oats one hour in So
luton Of formalin, made by adding
one ounce of fOTmalin to every % gal
Ions Of water. Place the water in a
barrel, or other convenient vessel, add
the formalin TO it, and pour IN one
and one-half bushels OF seed oats for
each 81 gallons of the solution. At
the end Of one hour, draw oil, or pour
OIL the part OF the solution tha5 IS not
absorbed by the oats, and spread The
oats out on clean floor TO dry. They
should be shoyeled over once or twice
day until dry enough to sow.
Eormalin is a liquid that may be
purchased at drug stores. ASK Tor
FORTY PER CENT fOrmalln. IL costs
from 50 TO 60 cents per pint, and a
pint contains 10 ounceS-enough for
about 80 bushels OF seed oats. 1t Is
sold in smaller quantities at 10 cents
per ounce. If fOrmallu IS purchased
In considerable quantities, 1t Will be
well TO have the druggist weigh out
one ounce in a small bottle, and then
mark on the bottle 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
Consists in soaking the seed 10
! minutes in water at tenn peraturc OF
! 1913 f. Heat the water in large ket-
| tie, and close by, sink a barrel III the
! ground to within a foot Of the top.
| Pour part Of the hot water into the
! barrel, and take the temperature
with goou thermometer. Then ada
! either cold or hot water, stirring II IN
| the meantime, until IL shows a tenn
perature OF 1873. Put about IL bushel
III oats in a coarse gunny-sack, tic
| this To one end of pole and rest the
! pole over a post, thus making a lever,
! by which the sack OF oats may be cas-
lily raised or lowered. Nov dip the
! sack of oats into the water in the bar
I rel. The water will be Immediately
/ cooled, and not water must be ADDED
to keep the temperature about l33.
Let one person attend TO the temper
| allure .sand another to handling the
| oats. Keep the oats moving IN the
| barrel. Take them out at the end Or
| 10 minutes, dip the sack at once in
cold water then spread on a clean
floor to dry. Shovel them over three
times day for 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 con
siderable water, it is necessary to SOW
about half a bushel more per acre
than when untreatcd seed is used.
This is on the basis Of two and one
half bushels per acre. Two men IN
one day can treat enough seed TO SOW
! twenty acres.
Farmers should preserve these dl-
| rectionS for future use.
l.. S. Corr.
Horticulturist.
| Agricultural Experiment Station,
Madison, Wisconsin.