Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1898-03-24
PREVENTION OF OATS SMUT.

The smut of oats, which causes an
annual loss to the farmers of Wisconsin
amounting in the aggregate to many
hundreds of thousands of dollars, NAV
be entirely prevented by treating the
seed oats before sowing, at a cost fol-
labor and materials which need not
exceed five cents per acre of oats sowD.
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 a
small cash outlay for materials. The
second requires no materials or appar-
atus except what the farmer already has
unless it be a good thermometer.
The Formalln Treatment. Soak the
seed oats one hour in a solution of
formalin, made by adding one ounce of
formalin to every 81 gallons of water.
Place the water in 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
off. or pour off the part of the solution
that is not absorbed by the oats, and
| spread the oals out on clean floor to
dry They should be shoveled over
once or twice day until dry enough to
SOW.
Formalin is a liquid that may be pur-
chased at drug stores. Ask for forty
per cent formaiin. 1t costs from 80 to
60 cents per pint, and pint contains Is
ounces, enough for about so bushels of
seed oats. 1t is sold in smaller quanti-
ties at 10 cents per ounce. If tormalin
is purchased in considerable quantities.
1t will be we'll 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 add
ing the formalin to the water.
The hot water treatment consists in
soaking the seed for 10 minutes in water
at a temperature of 1873 degrees F.
Heat the water ia 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 good thermom-
eter. Then add either cold or hot
water, stirring it in the meantime, until
it shows temperature of 1873 degrees.
Put about bushel Of oats in a coarse
gunny sack, tie this to one end of
pole and rest the pole over post, thus
making lever, by which the sack of
oats may e easily raised or lowered.
Now dip the sack of oats into the water
in the barrel. The water will be imme-
diately cooled, and hot water must be
added TO keep the temperature about
1873 degrees. Let one person attend to
the temperature, and another to hand
ling the oats. Keep the oats moving in
the barrel. Take them out at the end
of 10 minutes, dip the sack at once into
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 force drill; or in two or
three hours they may be sown broad
cast AS the oats absorb considerable
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 direc-
tions for future use.
E. S. GoFF,
Horticuturist.
Agricultural Experiment Station,
Madison, Wis.