G41 



netting, say 12 luesbes to the inch ; or mi iron Iranie could bo made at a trifling cost, 

 over which the wire netting could be Htretched. This would allow the water to pass 

 freely, and yet prevent the passage of the seed. A sack made of loosely woven 

 material (as gunny sack) could perhaps be nscd instead of the wire basket. A per- 

 forated tin vessel might be preferable to any of the above. 



No,w dip tlie basket of seed in the first vessel ; after a moment lift it, and when the 

 water has for the most part escaped, iilunge it into the water again, I'epeating the 

 operation several times. The object of the lifting and plunging, to which might be 

 added also a rotary motion, is to bring every grain into contact with the hot water. 

 Less than a minute is required for this preparatory treatment, after which plunge 

 the basket of seed into the second vessel. * * * 



The important precautions to be taken are as follows : (1) Maintain the proper tem- 

 perature of the water (132.5° Fah.), in no case allowing it to rise higher than 135° or to 

 fall below 130°. This will not be difficult to do if a reliable thermometer is used and 

 hot or cold water be dipped into the vessel as the falling or rising temperature demands. 

 Immersion 15 minutes will not then injure the seed. (2) See that the volume of scald- 

 ing water is much greater (at least six or eight times) than that of the seed treated 

 at any one time. (3) Never fill the basket or sack containing the seed entirely full, 

 but always leave room for the grain to move about freely. (4) Leave the seed in the 

 second vessel of water 15 minutes. 



Summary of important points (p. 130). 



(1) Oat smut is a disease caused by the attack of a parasitic fungus, called Ustilago 

 avenw. 



(2) The disease is spread by the spores which become inclosed in the hulls of the 

 grain, or perhaps rarely by spores in the soil. 



(3) lu case of a few varieties there was found " hidden" smut, that is, smut which 

 was concealed by the normal outer glumes or chaff, yet each grain was comj)letely 

 destroyed. 



(4) Tiie amount of smut in 1890, as based on several careful counts, was between 

 6 and 7 per cent. The consequent loss estimated for the entire State is $1,743,827.88. 



(5) The extent of damage to the crop is not limited to the amount of visible smut, 

 since treated seed gives an increase in yield at least twice as great as would result 

 fronj merely replacing the smutted heads by sound ones. 



(0) In all ordinary cases the disease can be entirely prevented by treating the 

 seed 15 minutes in water raised to a temperature of 132.5° Fah. 



(7) The smut may also be prevented by immersing the seed 24 hours in a one half 

 per cent solution of potassium sulphide. This statement, however, is based on a very 

 few experiments of this year only. 



(8) The other fungicides tested, when destroying all or nearly all the smut, greatly 

 injure the stand. 



(9) Seed from clean fields will produce a crop free from smut, but if the adjoining 

 fields are smutty the oats will gradually become infected. 



Kentucky Station, Bulletin No. 32, March, 1891 (pp. 20). 



Strawberries and vegetables, C. L. Curtis. — Brief descriptive 

 notes aiul tabulated data for 43 varieties of strawberries, and notes on 

 20 varieties of peas, 8 of beans, 7 of lettuce, 11 of radishes, 9 of toma- 

 toes, 5 of cabbages, 8 of sweet-corn, 4 of celery, 5 of water-melons, and 

 13 of musk-melons. 



