The Greeley tribune., 1909-10-21
Tre.tu,cnt Of Seek, Gr.,p

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At present all farmers of this dis
trict are storing their seed grain for
the coming season and the latest bul-
letin by Alvin Keyser OF the Agri-
cultural college will be of interest
to all az 1t explains the method OF
preventing smut in the stored seed.
The unusually large amount of
smut in grain, especially In wheat in
the plains region during the season
of 1909. has caused very great loss
to growers. To prevent the spread
of the disease, calls for vigorous
measures by the farmers.
There are two kinds of smut af-
fecting wheat. loose smut and stink
ing smut. Treatment of the seed
viii almost entirely prevent sinking
smut.
1t requires both treatment and
cultural methods to prevent loose
smut.
Both kinds of smut are fungus dis
eases. In each case the disease gets
into the plant at or soon after germ
nation while the plant is young
The spores OF sinking smut are
carried almost entirely by the seed,
consequently any treatment of the
seed which kills the spores will pre-
vent the appearance of the smut.
The spores of loose smut of wheat
are also carried by the seed, but
they may also be in the soil, If wheat
damaged by loose smut occupied the
land the previous year. Treatment
of the seed will kill the loose smut
spores on the seed. but will not kill
the spores in the soil. Consequently
loose smut is liable to appear where
wi 4,
the seed may be thoroughly treated
The only way to successfully kill the
spores of loose smut of wheat is to
rotate the crops on the land. That
is to say, grow some crop other than
wheat on the land for at least one
year.
Treatment of the seed will prevent
stinking smut of wheat and the smuts
which affect oats and barley. Treat
ment of the seed, together with ro-
tation of crops will prevent loose
smut OF wheat
There are number of methods of
treating seed grain to prevent smut.
Several of these have considerable
merit. The cheapest. safest, most
easily applied and most uniformly
successful is the formalin treatment
Obtain 16-ounce Cone pound)
bottle OF formalin, 40 per cent.
strength at the drug store. When
everything is ready for treating the
seed, make up the treating solution
by carefully mixing the formalin
with water at the rate of 8 ounces
Gone pound) of formalin to 40 gal
Ions of water. This would be one
ounce of formalin to 9 Y gallons of
water.
The seed may be treated with the
prepared solution in one of two ways,
the sprinkline method or the dipping
method. If the shrinking method is
to be used, prepare clean place on
the floor or ground and spread down
a large canvas or muslin sheet.
Sprinkle the sheet thoroughly, using
garden Sbrinkler Now place the
grain to be treated upon the sheet i
and sprinkle it thoroughly. When
the surface is good and moist. shovel
tie grain over as concrete is mixed.
so as to moisten all of the grain.
Custinue this sprinklins and mixing
un:n the grain is al we'll moistened.
Now cover up the grain with sacks
or blankets and allow it to stand for
at least two hours. At the end OF
this time uncover the grain and
spread it out so that it may dry
thoroughly The terminating power
is liable to be injured unless the
grain is we'll dried after treatment.
The dipping method is performed
by putting the solution in barrel
and then dipping the grain held in
gunny sack into the solution. allow
ing 1t to remain ten minutes, taking
1t out and permitting it to drain un-
til the superflrous liquid drai.s back
into the barrel. A ter draining, the
grain is placed in pile and covered
with sacks or blankets. IN the same
manner as in the sprinkling method,
and allowed to stand two hours, aft
er which it should be thoroughly
dried before planting.
One pound of formalin to forty
fnllors of water is sufficient to treat
$500 pounds of grain. Smaller
amounts OF grain will require about
two gallons of the solution to every
Ion mounds of grain,