262 Report of Farmers' Institutes 



that is less than 37 per cent formaldehyde ; by not diluting prop- 

 erly (1 pint formaldehyde to 45 or 50 gallons of water) ; by not 

 using enough solution (at least 4 gallons to every 5 bushels) ; by 

 not cleaning the seed before treatment to remove smutted kernels 

 (if these are too numerous cleaner seed should be secured) ; by 

 not treating all the seed (the seed under foot should be taken 

 care of) ; by not covering the seed well enough after treatment, 

 nor leaving it covered long enough (4 or more hours) ; by permit- 

 ting the treated grain to come into contact with contaminated 

 sacks, floors, bins, drills, etc. (the sacks may be disinfected by 

 soaking 10 minutes in the same solution used for the seed and 

 they may then be used in covering the pile, while floors, bins, 

 drills, etc., may be washed or sprayed with a stronger solution.) 



A new method of treating oat seed with formaldehyde for the 

 control of smut has been devised by Mr. R. J. Haskell of the 

 College of Agriculture in which fifty bushels of seed is sprayed 

 with one pint of 40-per-cent formaldehyde without dilution. The 

 oats are spread out on the floor and the formaldehyde applied 

 with a hand-sprayer or atomizer, after which they are shoveled 

 into a pile, covered well with canvas or blankets, and left for 

 several hours. This method has given very satisfactory control 

 without injuring the grain, in tests at the College and also with 

 about twelve farmers who used the method this year. It has the 

 advantage over other methods of leaving the grain dry and ready 

 to sow as soon as treatment is completed. However, when the 

 formaldehyde was diluted with water enough to appreciably wet 

 the grain, but in smaller quantities than is recommended, con- 

 siderable injury to the grain resulted. 



It is inadvisable to treat the seed with formaldehyde longer 

 than a month in advance of sowing, because of danger of injur- 

 ing its germinative power. 



STINKING SMUT OF WHEAT 



This disease is becoming quite generally prevalent in New 

 York State and often occurs in large percentages. Not only is 

 the grain affected a total loss, but the remaining healthy grain is 

 reduced in value as it is unfit for flour and must be used for 

 other purposes. 



