Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1898-03-31
The Hon. w. f. Gladstone is in a
very critical condition and his death
may be expected az any time
Prevention OF Oats Smut.

The smut OF oats, which causes an an
nual 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 cost for
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 ..Formalin
Treatment, and the Hot Water
Treatment" The first has the advan-
tage OF being the simpler, but it re-
quires small cash outlay for materi-
ais. The second requires no materi-
ais or apparatus except what the
farmer already has except it be a good
thermometer.
The Formalin 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 a bar
rel 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
oats out on a clean floor to dry. They
should be shoveled over once or twice
a day until dry enough to sow,
Formalin is liquid that may be
purchased at drug stores. Ask for
forty per cent formaIin. 1t costs
from 80 to 60 cents per pint, and a
pint contains Is enough for
about 80 bushels Of seed oats. 1t is
sold in smaller quantities at 10 cents
per ounce. Ii formalin is purchased
in considerable quantities, it 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 a temperature of 1873 f. Heat |
the water in a large kettle and close
by sink barrel in the ground to
within a 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 until it shows a temperature of |
1873 Put about a bushel of oats in |
course gunnv sack. tie this to one end |
of pole and rest the pole over post.
thus making lever by which the sack |
OF oats may be easily raised or low
cred. Now dip the sack of oats into
the water in the barrel The water
will be Immediately cooled, and hot
water must he added to keep the tenn
perature about 1873. Let one person
attend to the temperature and another
~ handling the oats. Keep the oats
moving in the barrel Take them aus
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 for few DAYS,
when they may be sown with ,arce
drill; or in TWO or three hours they
may be sown broadcast. As the ott
absorb considerable water il is neecs-
sary 10 SOW about half bushel more
per acre than when untreated seed i
used This is on the basis Of two and