742 EXPEEIMENT STATION EECOKD. 



Some experiments with fungicides used for the prevention of stinking 

 smut (bunt), G. L. Sutton and R. G. Downing (Agr. Gaz. N. S. Wales, 21 

 (1910), A'o. 5, pp. 382-397; abs. in Jour. Dept. Agr. So. Aust, 13 (1910), No. 11, 

 pp. 960-965; Gard. Chron., 3. ser., J,8 (1910), No. 1228, p. 22).— The results are 

 reported of further experiments (E. S. R.. 18, p. 1140) at the Cowra Experiment 

 Farm during 1909 on the stinking smut of wLieat, In which a i per cent solu- 

 tion of formalin, a 2 per cent solution of copper sulphate, a 2 per cent solution 

 of copper sulphate supplemented by immersion in limewater, Bordeaux mixture, 

 a 2 per cent solution of copper sulphate to which was added sufficient salt to 

 make a saturated solution, a saturated solution of salt and water, and Fuugu- 

 sine, a trade compound, were used. 



The copper sulphate i)roved a splendid preventive of smut and was also sat- 

 isfactory in preventing re-infection, but it seriously injured the vitality of the 

 seed unless some ameliorating agent was used with it, such as lime or salt. 

 Copper sulphate and lime was not as satisfactory as copper sulphate alone 

 against the bunt, but its destructive effects on the vitality of the seed were much 

 less. It pi'oved advantageous to delay the treatment with limewater, rather 

 than to treat the seed immediately after the copper sulphate soaking. 



Copper sulphate and salt proveil the most effective preventive of bunt this 

 season. It was better than lime in lessening the destructive action of co|)per 

 sulphate on the vitality of the grain, and was the most efficient preventive of 

 re-infection. The solution suggested is made of equal parts of copper sulphate 

 and salt. 



Fungusine as a smut preventive was not quite so good as copper sulphate 

 alone, but was better than copper sulphate and lime, and has absolutely no 

 injurious- effect on the vitality of the grain. 



Bordeaux mixture, formalin, and salt water provetl unsatisfactory as bunt 

 preventives during the season's tests. 



The effect of formalin on the vitality of seed grain, R. Stewart and J. 

 Stephens (Utah Sfa. Bui. 108, pp. I'i5-156). — Since the publication of Bulletin 

 84 on the grain smuts (E. S. R., 16, p. 63), in which the use of formalin as a 

 seed disinfectant was recommended^ many complaints from growers have been 

 received stating that its use seriously injured the germinating power of the 

 treated seetl, that it did not destroy the smut spores, that the treated seed 

 spoiled if not planted immediately, and that the formalin sold in the State was 

 not up to standard and tended to lose its strength. 



The work reported in this present bulletin was undertaken for the purpose 

 of throwing light on these questions, and the conclusions reached are as follows : 

 (1) The formalin treatment is effective in preventing the loose and covered 

 smuts of oats, the covered smut of barley, and the bunt of wheat. (2) As 

 dilute a solution as 1 lb. of formalin to 60 gal. of water reduces somewhat the 

 vitality of the seeds of wheat, barley, and oats, the last-named proving more 

 resistant to its injurious influence than the other two. (3) The best strength 

 of solution for use is 1 lb. of formalin (40 per cent) to 50 gal. of water. The 

 seed may be immersed in this for 1 hour without appreciable injury, and if 

 thoroughly dried, will safely keep for at least 6 weeks after treatment. 



The club root of cabbage and nematodes, G. T. Grignan (Rev. Hart. 

 [Paris], 82 (1910), No. 13, p. 301). — In reply to a communication by Marchand 

 (E. S. R., 23, p. 647) claiming that other plants than the Cruciferae had been 

 found parasitized by Plnsmodiophora 'brassicw, the author states that a subse- 

 quent examination of these plants showed that the malformation on the roots 

 was caused by nematodes (Hctcrodcra radicicoja). 



Root i-ots of ginseng, W. H. Rankin (Spec. Crops, n. scr., 9 (1910), No. 94, 

 pp. 3Jf9-360, figs. 1',). — The author has brought together the available iuforma- 



