Williston graphic., 1919-03-27

as they are coming through the soil.
60 In this region smut does not re-
main in the soil in form to do ma
terial amount of damage to follow
ing crops. a. 1t has been said
by some that seed wheat that is two
or more years old will not produce
smut, even though smutty. This, by
experiment, I have proved to be er-
roneous. Smutty wheat kept two or
three years, produced as much smut
as year all wheat of the same strain.
(5) The formaldehyde treatment has
proved a success.
What To Do: Procure the plump
est, best colored grain you can get
for seed. Use no other. Feed in
ferior grain, in so far as it should
be used for that purpose, to stock.
If in doubt whether grain will ger
minte or not, it is easy to test it.
1t is, however, hardly a wise pro-
cedure to use any grain for seed
purposes which looks so poor as to
cause one to doubt whether it will
grow. Grade out all small or shriv-
eled grains. This will also remove
the weed seeds. Treat all seed used.
Treat every year-it pays.
How to Apply the Solution: There
are two we'll tried ways Of applying
formaldehyde to seed grain, the
"Sprinkling and shoveling" and the
"dipping" method. Both methods
may be varied to suit the kind of
grain and conditions. The sprinkling
method is simplest and least expen-
sive. The dipping method is most
certain. There are number of ma
chimes on the market which dc good
work by the dipping method.
Strength of Solution: Doctoring
seed grain follows principles laid
down by human physicians. The right
substance and the correct strength
must be used and it must be prop
! erly applied. Half strength or
doubled strength will not do. A dose
is dose. If less than the strength
recommended is used, the disease pro-
ducing spores will not be destroyed.
J. If stronger solution is used than
that given, the grain may be injured
or killed. Use formaldehyde, l pound
(16 ounces) to 40 gallons of water.
Wet the grain with this solution in
any manner which allows all grains
to become evenly wet over entire sur
face. Sprinkling and shoveling is as
effective as dipping, if well done.
Place the grain in tight box, or on
tight floor space or canvass. Spray
or sprinkle on the solution. Shovel
and rake over the grain thoroughly.
Leave piled for an hour or 80 until
the excess moisture is absorbed.
For Wheat: Dip, sprinkle and
shovel, or run through dipping ma
chine. Use it in any way, so all
the grains become evenly wet over the
entire surface. Avoid using too much
solution. Too much only softens and
swells the grain outside Of the and
swells the grain and is of no use. All
one wishes is to kill the smut spores.
These are on the outside of the grams.
1t takes three-fourths to one gallon
of solution per bushel of dry wheat.
For Oats, Barley and Millet: In
case of each of these grains, the smut
spores are lodged inside the chaff
scales. Thus the treatment must he
thorough enough to allow the solu-
ton to soak beneath the scales. Dip
ping is all right, but it is found that
it pays to shovel the grain over sew
eral times to insure the even distri-
button of the liquid. If the sprinkling
and shoveling method is used, the
grain should be shoveled over thor
oughly and be wet up once or twice
more. These grains take about one
and one-half to two gallons of the
solution per bushel.
Corn Smut: Many farmers arc
alarmed by the rapid spread Of corn
smut in this region. Corn smut
spreads largely after the same man
ner as loose smut of wheat. Like
loose smut of wheat it is not pre-
ventable by treating the seed: The
way to combat corn smut is to pre-
vent the ripening Of the smut mass
es. Go through the fields as soon
as the smut masses begin to show
and cut off the stalks or parts of the
stalks showing the smut. Collect
the smut masses and burn them. DO
not let the smut masses get into the
manure by feeding it to the cattle,
for thus the spores multiply and get
spread back on the land. Rotate
Do not plant corn on the same field
twice in succession unless you intend
to cut out the smut masses with great
regularity:
For Flax, to Prevent Wilt and
Canker: Clean the seed so thorough
ly that there is nothing left but
plump seeds. The treatment does not
kill the fungi which are in the old