The Washburn leader., 1904-04-09

Since the scasan of 1890 haH
written numerous {, c'es as. -
wilt and flaS-sick - i. TIC a4,t
department of tie state
station has also issued two
Nos. so and So. rcs.c".! r
deal fully with these troO.i =
this time the farmers Of { It
have also, l think, come to II
clusion, from thor own oA ION
that flax is subject to a. cl:
disease and that w." Z r
! ing faXsecd is L. {! ssn or
the same fields tne soi @na- "o.nes
SO thoroughly ini@cta,; Ny the
fungus parasite that no To- rac
tically none, can be grow the
land.
In bulletins so ana IS an the
various press bullet =" I'd
attention to the me = t. pur-
sued in order to escap. t!i> ges
of this disease. T sc a. "r;ous
reasons why, even M-hnn ono "s @one
the best he can. So ,a discs" will
creep into the soil. T Q r. ~ t.e
experiments at Inc yer,
have hoen so clear and a o.ory a
Demonstration dat tld can
be efficiently cort:oled tatt o feel
that it Will be nola;eg h,t rel care
lessncss on the Part ni t1a lll2a - Of
the state il their Irio5 '.r& D 'Dale
overrrn by this PCS 80 rli@t IS in all
old flax regions, til s e. li5 | or
produce tic crop Hruts&,.!y. Lille
the methods Of ,.c ao@t 90 rat CT
eXacting, none ui 9.e log s~s are
really difficult 10 carry OFT. One has
only to remember the nature of the
cause of the disease, bow it acts,
and then do certain sinEl ,hi::%S to
prevent the fungus ilc. gett.og a
start on new aetds or in now scots.
The old fields viii haze D be given a
rest from flax until W. ave learned
some way either to gC TIE parasite
out of the SOL, or until we shall lave
developed an immune ;Epe or strain
of flax, that is TO SOY one which can
grow in the dlscas@-infacted soil re-
gardless OF the fungus. Our expert
ments at the coilc.5, and our o3scrva-
tions elsewhere -. tend to slnw that
this may be pos ;;;,!e, though it must
of necessity be S'.r:. %cars BEFORE we
can hope for u. iltS which shall be
generally applicable. In The mean
time let us have some clCai-cut state
ments to act uron.
Flax is not r., ,l"e eXhausting on land
than wheat or ether farm crops.
Flax is attacked by number Of
parasitic fungi which are transmitted
from the crop to the soil.
The soil SO infected can 20 longer
produce good crop ci fax, but will
produce other crup5 as we'll as usual,
if properly handled.
The disease known as wilt il flax is
sown by the seed in the same sense
that smut is sown with wheat or oats.
When once in the soil it spreads
rapidly to all parts adjacent to the
first points of infection. so that soon
the entire area of the field is infected.
When once in the soil it remains
for years.
If flax follows fax on such lands in
close succession then the third or
fourth crop is sure to be almost an
entire failure.
Great success has been reached by
our method of preparing and treating
faxseed for prevention of this disease.
am warranted in affirming that
the results attained in our own ex-
periments and by the farmers who
have followed our advice, show that
the treatment will give results in the
hands of the farmers second in i'm
portance only to those obtained in
the treatment of wheat for the pre-
vention of smut.
The crop can be greatly increased
in yield and the disease can be avoid
ed, but the methods proposed must be
followed very closely or failure will
result, and unlike wheat smut, a per-
manent injury to the land is sure to
follow; that is, it will be spoiled so
far as flax is concerned fro long pc
riod of time.
The Importance of Sound, Properly
Colored Seed.-One cannot overesti
mate the importance of using only
sound, bright-colored, plump. we'll ma
tured seed when sowing this crop.
Under any but the best weather and
soil conditions fax seed at best makes
but a weak first growth from the seed.
Even if weak, improperly cured seed
could produce a strong growth, the
appearance Of this peculiar wilt dis
ease wholly changes matters, for all
seeds, or nearly ALL which have ripen- |
ed on wilted mother plants are inter-
nally infected. Thus every diseased
seed is sure to produce diseased
plant and point Of fungus infection
in the soil. as the treatment cannot be
effective against the fungus on the
inside of such seeds.
Advice as to treatnent-Clean the
seed SO thoroughly that only plump,
bright, colored seeds remain. It is i'm
portant to blow hard enough to in
sure the removal of all dust, sticks
ard chaff, for these also harbor the
spores Of the disease and resist the
treatment. Then treat as follows:
Use formaldehyde at the rate of six
teen ounces of the 40 per cent strength
to forty gallons of water. Spread the
seed upon tight floor or upon can
vas and sprinkle or spray on small
amount of the liquid Ca fine spray
thrown nv a small force n,1mn is hest\ |