304 



Report of the Horticulturist of the 



The cost of material for the least expensive treatments which 

 entirely prevented the smut is herewith given: 



Cost of Fungicides for Pkevention of Oat Smut. 



HOT WATER TREATMENT. 



This treatment is really a very simple operation, but some- 

 thing about the thought of doing it seems formidable to many 

 persons, and they hesitate to try it. The Station has recom- 

 mended the following plan as easy, cheap and practical. Heat 

 the w^ater in a large kettle and near the kettle sink a barrel in the 

 ground so the top will be a foot or more above the surface. Pour 

 part of the hot water into the barrel and take the temperature 

 with a good thermometer — be sure to have a good one — and add 

 either cold or hot water until a temperature of 138° is reached. 

 The dipping is done by putting about a bushel of oats in a course 

 gunny sack, tying this to one end of a pole and resting the pole 

 over a post, thus making a lever, by which the sack of oats may 

 be raised or lowered very easily. When the oats are dipped into 

 the water at 138° the temperature is immediately lowered and 

 hot water must be added at once to keep the temperature about 

 133°. Keep the seed moving all the time and take out at the 

 end of ten minutes. Spread the oats on a barn floor or other 

 convenient place and shovel them over three times a day for a 

 few days; then they may be sown with a force drill; or, when 

 they are taken out of the hot water, pour cold water over them, 

 spread them out to drain, and in two or three hours they may be 

 sown broadcast. As the oats absorb considerable water it is 



