REPORT OF TEE CHEMIST 153 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



The formalin treatment lowers the percentage of vitality; the effect being more 

 noticeable on the older (1902) wheat. In one instance the stronger solution (9^ ozs. 

 to 10 gals.) reducsd the vitality to a greater degree than the weaker solution; further 

 work will probably confirm this result. Investigations carried on in the Farm labora- 

 tory in 1890-93 showed that bluestone similarly affected the vitality of the wheat; the 

 stronger the solution, the more injury to the grain germ. 



Milky or slightly polymerized formaldehyde is apparently less injurious to the 

 germ than the fresh material, but it is only with the 1904 wheat that the difference is 

 Avell marked. 



Some years ago, the writer showed that bluestone continues to act injuriovisly 

 upon the germ of the wheat, and therefore, that it was highly desirable that the grain 

 should be sown as soon as possible after treatment. The same is no doubt true in the 

 case of the formalin treatment. In this connection. Dr. Chas. E. Saunders, Cerealist, 

 C.E.F., has furnished me with some valuable data that he recently obtained. He 

 states that in the case of wheat, oats, and barley, the seed being treated with formalin 

 solution 9 ozs. to 10 gallons, the vitality of the treated grains was after 11 months 

 found to have been entirely destroyed. To study further this ' after effect ' of for- 

 malin, samples of the treated wheats have been preserved and will be examined from 

 time to time as to vitality. 



It is of interest to note that the formalin treatment was not so severe on the life 

 of the germ as the bluestone solution. It is quite possible, of course, that a more 

 dilute solution of bluestone, say, 1 lb. to 5 gallons, would have been equally efficacious 

 in destroying smut and less injurious to the wheat. 



It does not appear that the vitality of the wheat (1904) had been impaired or 

 weakened by the rust. It is not, therefore, advisable to neglect the treatment of grain 

 simply on the count that it is rusted. 



MILKY (polymerized) FORMALDEHYDE AS A SMUT PREVENTH'E. 



In order to ascertain the relative values of the various treatments in smut pre- 

 vention, samples of these treated grains (with the exception of those from the solu- 

 tion 9 ozs. to 10 gallons) were sent to the Experimental Farm at Brandon, Man., to 

 be sown. They were sown in rows 6 inches apart and 30 inches long. Under date of 

 August 28 Mr. Bedford writes : ' I have carefully gone over all the grain you sent me 

 for smut test and I find that there are 159 smutty heads in the lot marked ' 1904, un- 

 treated,' but not a solitary smutty head in any of the others." 



From this it might be concluded that all the treatments had been equally efficaci- 

 ous. There is this unsatisfactory feature, however, about the results, that the un- 

 treated 1902 sample, which contained a slight amount of smut, gave no sign of smut 

 in the plot. 



Slight polymerization of the formalin, as indicated by millviness, does not ap- 

 parently materially affect the virtue of the material for the destruction of smut, but 

 it will be necessary to repeat this work another season before making any definite 

 statement on this point. 



CYANIDE FOR FUMIGATION PURPOSES. 



It is a matter of considerable importance that the quality or strength of the 

 cyanide used in the fumigation of plants and shrubs for the destruction of the San 

 Jose scale should not fall below that called for. The value of this chemical so used 

 is entirely dependent upon the amount of hydrocyanic acid gas evolved on the addition 

 of acid. 



The examination of a number of samples of ' potassium cyanide ' in 1902, showed 

 that at that time considerable differences in strength, i.e., hydrocyanic acid content. 



