The River Falls times. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1894-1933, 1898-03-29
Prevention Of Cat Smut.

The smut of oats. which causes an
annual loss 10 the farmers OF lScon-
stu amounting III The aggregate To
many hundreds Of thousands VI uOl-
lars, may Ue entirely prevented by
treaL ting the seed uaLS before sowing,
aJ cusb OF labor and materials which
need not exceed tive cents per acre U1
UaLS sOW1.
Two methods of treatment have
been found satisfactory. L nese We
will call Tor convenience The 'tUrm-
aim Treatment" aud Tile Hot Wat
er Treatment" The first mas the
advantage Of being life simpler, but
III requires d small cash outlay Tor ma
teridls. The second requires no ma
JerldlS or apparatus except what lie
farmer already has, unless it be gUUo
thermometer
THE FORMALIN TREATMENT.
Soak the seed oats one hour in a So
LUTON OF 1urmalln, made 10y adding
one ounce Ot IOrmdlln 10 every % GAL
Ions Uf water. Place Tie wafer III a
barrel, or other convenient vessel, AGO
Tile 1OrInallu 10 IL, ana pour III one
aud une-ndlf bushels Of seed oats Tor
each D gallons Of tile solution. AT
the euu OF one hour, draw of, or pour
oil the part vi the solution LhaJ Is not
absorbed by the UaJS, and spread tue
oats OUT on clean floor 10 Dry. They
should be ShOVeled over once or twice
a day until dry enough TO SOW.
EoImalin is a liqulu that may be
purchased at drug stores. ASK Tor
FORTY PER CENT Iormalln. 1t costs
from so 10 6U cents per pint, and d
pint contains Ii ounces-enOugh for
about ~ bushels OF seed oats. 1t Is
sold in smaller Quantities at 10 cents
per ounce If formalin is purchased
IN considerable quantities, 1t Will be
we'll 10 have the druggist weigh out
one ounce In d small BOTTLE, and Ghen
mark on the bottle the height TO
which the ounce reaches. This bottle
may then he used as measure in
adding the formalin u the water.
THE HOT WATER TREATMENT
Consists in soaking the seed ~
minutes ia water at perature Of
1873 f.. Heat the water III d large ket-
tie, and close by, sink a barrel in the
ground to within d foot OF the top.
Pour part Of the hot water into the
barrel, and take the mperature
either cold or hot water stirring it 10
the meantime, until it shows d tenn
perature Of 138 Put about bushel
Of oats in coarse gunny-Sack, tie
this To one end OF pule and rest the
pole over a post, thus making a lever,
by which the sack of oats may be cas-
lily raised or lowered. Now dip the
sack OF oats into the wa er in the bar
rel. The water will be i'm mediately
cooled, and hot water must be added
to keep the tempera ture about 1873.
Let one person attend to the tenn per-
allure, and another to handling the
oats Keep the oats moving in the
barrel. Take them out at the end CT
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 a few days, when they
may be Sown with 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 bushel more per acre
than when untreated 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 di-
rectionS for future use.
E. S GoFF,
HOrticulturiSt.
Agricultural Experiment Station,
Madison. Wisconsin,.