The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1901-08-15
SMUT IN THE OATS
Cheap and Sure Remedy Tested
and Proved by A Franklin
County Farmer.


to the small yield in the oats crop
and the poor quality of very much
of it. A result is, that less acre.
age is sown than formerly and
many farmers SOW but little. To
bring the oats crop to it's former
condition would add many dollars
to their income. The loss in
quantity and the deterioration in
quality is caused by smut says
the Valley Spirit and in Franklin
county varies from five to sixty
per cent.
Hon. S. M. Wherry, of near
Shippensburg, has given this dis
ease to the oats careful attention.
He contributed an article some
time since to the Shippensburg
Chronicle from which we make
some excerpts for the benefit of
our readers. He says of the ex-
periments of those interested in
the smut on the oats: "One of the
curious results of the investiga-
tion was that the loss proved uni
formly much greater than the
farmer supposed until he made
the actual test. For instance, q
well known farmer in Cumbe
land felt sure his loss was not two
per cent. An actual count in nu.
merous parts of his field showed
loss of one head out of four, or
25 per cent. A Franklin county
farmer was discouraged by the
belief that his loss was 25 per
cent. An actual count showed
loss of 65 per cent. But taking
the average of reports made, the
loss of these two counties exceeds
20 per cent, or one-tifth of the
crop.
S tatistics show that Cumb ber-
land and Franklin counties each
year SOW sixty thousand acres in
oats. The average yield per acre
is placed at % bushels. This
makes an aggregate yield for the
two counties of 1850, 900 bushels.
If, as | believe, the loss from
smut last year was 20 per cent,
the actual loss for the two coun-
ties would be 100000 bushels,
which, at 25 cents bushel, would
entail loss on the farmers of
S105,000. This is a heavy tax
upon an industry already taxed
almost to death, and whoever can
find preventive for smut in
oats, of easy and economical ap-
plication and certain in it's re-
suits, will be public benefactor.
My correspondence has bought
me flood of literature on the
subject. Three points seem to
be well established;
a. The oat smut is not in the
soil.
(2.) 1t grows from a seed adj
herring to the oat grain when it is
planted.
(3.) Like other noxious weeds,
it grows much more luxuriantly
some seasons than others, and is,
consequently, more damaging.
The only preventive, therefore,
is to remove or destroy the seed
of the smut adhering to the grain
of the oats before It'll sowed"
Methods:
A careful cleaning through
grist-mill smut machine will re-
move some of it.
Drilling in with the oats un-
leached hardwood ashes or GER
tain mineral potash salts with
care) will, under certain condi-
tions of moisture, prove beneficial
but this method is to uncertain
to be relied on.
Soak the seed oats in a sack, in
water with temperature of 1870
degrees until it is warmed
throughout. Then dip in water
kept at 1876 degrees for fifteen
minutes. Then spread out to dry
and turn frequently. This treat
inent requires thermometer.
Soak the seed oats for two
hours or more in solution Of
potassium sulphide, II pounds to
70 gallons of water.
Or, soak the seed for two hours
or more in solution of formalin,
pound to 80 gallons of water.