242 



TEST WITH FROZEN SEED SOWN ON BACKSETTING. 



Red Fife, No. 1 Hard., 

 do No. 1 Frozen, 

 do No. 2 do 

 do No, 3 do . 



Matured 



m 



129 days. 

 129 do 

 129 do 

 129 do 



TEST WITH FROZEN SEED SOWN ON FALLOW LAND IN VALLET. 



Red Fife, No. 1 Hard . . . 

 do No. 1 Frozen . 



Matiired 

 in 



135 days. 

 140 do 



SMUT. 



The aggregate loss sustained by the farmers of this province from smut is very 

 large. 



Although the majority of farmers consider that the treating of seed with pre- 

 parations of bluestone, salt, &c., has a beneficial effect, reliable experiments con- 

 ducted in the province to test the different methods were much needed. 



During the past season a quantity of very badly smutted wheat was procured 

 and sown in four adjoining plots, each one-tenth of an acre. Plot No. 1 was sown 

 with wheat not treated. Plot No, 2 was sown with wheat treated with bluestone; 

 1 lb. of bluestone being dissolved in a pail of hot water, and applied to ten bushels 

 of wheat, which was then left to soak for three hours. Plot No. 3 was treated with 

 a salt brine sufficiently strong to float an egg, the seed being soaked in the brine 

 three hours and then dried. Plot No. 4 was tieated by the Jensen or hotwater 

 method, the seed placed in a gunny sack, was immersed in water heated to a tfem- 

 peratui-e of 130 degrees. Fah. then removed to another boiler of water heated to 132 

 deg. and soaked in the latter for 15 minutes. 



All were in adjoining plots and received similar treatment during growth and 

 harvesting; when ripe 200 heads were taken from each plot and examined. Plot 

 No, 1 or untreated gave 6 per cent, of smutty heads. Plot No. 4 or scalded gave 1 

 ])er cent, of smutty heads while none of the 200 heads from plots No. 2 and 3, (the 

 bluestoned and salted) were smutty. 



After threshing, the grain was again examined, and the bluestoned gave two 

 smut balls to the thousand giains of wheat, the salted gave three, and the scalded 

 five, while the untreated gave 29. 



These results would point to the confclusion that none of these methods can bo 

 depended upon to completely destroy the spoi-es in badly smutted seed, but the blue- 

 stone treatment was one of the most successful, its application requires the least 



