lo -May, 191-.] W'luat and its Cultivation. 273 



The results of these experiments are thus summarized — 



" As a smut-preveiiti\e fungusine gave practically as good results 

 as any method tried, and had no injurious effect on the 

 germination of the seed. . . . In preventing rein- 



fection it was correspondingly efficient."" {Agricultural 

 Gazette of Xew South "Wales, April. 191 r.) 



This result is in accord with the results of experiments conducted at the 

 Parafield Wheat Station (South Australia) during 1909, where,, in com- 

 parati^'e tests, fungusine ac(]uitted itself remarkably well. {Vide Journal 

 of Agricidtiirc of South Australia, January. 1910 — Bunt Tests — A. E. "V. 

 Richardson). 



Hot Water Treatnieni. — This has been recommended at -s-arious 

 times, but, in practice, though the treatment is efficient, the method is 

 very cumbersome, slow, and unwieldy. The method consists in immersing 

 the seed for 10 minutes in hot water at a temperature of 130° to 132° F. 

 The practical difficulty is to keep the temperature constant. A considerable 

 lowering of temperature results immediately the seed is introduced, but this 

 may be avoided bv pre-heating the .seed in a ^•essel of water, the temperature 

 of which is approximatelv 130° F., before immersing it in the main bath. 

 It is a method, howe\"er, which requires skilful handling and careful 

 supervision. 



Methods of Pickling. — Seed-wheat mav be pickled with formalin cr 

 bluestone, either by immersion for a stated time in a solution of given con- 

 centration, or by pouring the solution o\er several bags of wheat on a 

 cement floor, and shovelling over the mass until every grain has been 

 thoroughly wetted with the solution. 



The advantage of the barn-floor method of pickling is the rapidity 

 with which it may be done. The disadvantage, however, is that it is not 

 possible to remove any bunt balls that may be present, and reinfection may 

 subsequently take place. This, as pointed out abo\e, is of more con- 

 sequence with the formalin pickle than with the bluestone, for the reason 

 that formalin appears tO' be less able to prevent reinfection than bluestone. 

 With fungusine, the floor method is the only one possible. Pickling by 

 immersion is less expeditious, but, on the whole, it is more efficacious. 

 The whole of the grain comes in contact with the pickle, especially when 

 the vessel containing the grain is agitated. Moreover, any bunt balls which 

 may be present can be removed by skimming, and danger of reinfection 

 avoided. Several patent picklers are now on the market for expediting 

 this work, and with these much of the old-time drudgery associated with 

 pickling is avoided. "With bluestone pickling the apparatus needs to be con- 

 structed of copper and wood. 



M.A MURING OF THE WhEAT CROP. 



The manurial requirements of the wheat crop under diverse soil and 

 climatic conditions, the comparative merits of different forms of artificial 

 manures and the principles upon which the maintenance of soil fertility 

 depend may be reserved for discussion in subsequent articles. 



After-treatment of Wheat. 



A'er\ frequently the crop requires some kind of attention after sowdng, 

 and the treatment will vary considerably with the type of growth made, 

 the character of the season, and the nature and preliminary treatment of 

 the seed bed. 



Rolling the crop after it has grown some 6 inches — 8 inches is frequently 

 practised. 



