140 TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY REPORT. 
accepted method of using formalin on oats is to sprinkle the seed 
thoroughly with a solution containing one pint of formalin to 45 
gallons of water. 
ONION. 
Smut! is a fungus disease which attacks onions grown from 
seed, killing many of the seedlings outright and stunting others. 
In Orange County, where the onion is an important crop (about 
1,570 acres being grown annually), smut has been very trouble- 
some. At a Farmers’ Institute held at Goshen, N. Y., in March, 
1896, there was a lengthy discussion of onion smut and its treat- 
ment. The Station mycologist, who was present, explained the 
transplanting method which the Connecticut Station’* had shown 
to be a complete preventive of smut. The growers present were 
unanimous in the opinion that transplanting would not be practical 
for their conditions. They were positive that it would prove too 
expensive. Moreover, the market to which they cater requires 
small onions, so that the increased size due to transplanting would 
be objectionable. As a result of the discussion a resolution was 
passed requesting the Station to undertake some experiments on 
the treatment of onion smut. 
It was decided to make a thorough test of the sulphur-lime treat- 
ment discovered at the Connecticut Station,’* to determine whether 
it was applicable to farm practice. The Connecticut experiments 
had shown good results but were on a small scale. 
The Orange County experiments were begun in 1896 and con- 
tinued five years.1° In the first season little progress was made, 
owing to an unfortunate selection of land for the experiment. In 
1899 the conditions of the test were better but not entirely satis- 
factory. The first object sought was the proper quantity of sul- 
phur and lime to use. To this end, sulphur and lime (equal parts 
by weight) were applied in the drills with the seed in quantities 
varying from 125 to 1,500 pounds per acre. The best results were 
obtained on plats receiving 125 and 250 pounds per acre, where 
the gain over untreated plats was at the rate of 15,000 pounds of 
pnions per acre. The second object was to determine whether sul- 
phur alone would give as good results as the mixture of sulphur 
* Urocystis cepule Frost. 
* Conn. Sta. Rpt. 19:176-182 (1806). 
* Conn. Sta. Rpts. 1889:146-153; 1890:103-104. 
* Bul. 182 (1900); same in Rpt. 19:69-96. 
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