193 



and that the loss that season probably reached $5,000,000 or about $45.00 

 for every 40-acre oat field. 



Oat smut is now known to occur in all but 21 of the 103 counties of 

 the state. Its distribution, as shown on Map 16, is so general that one 

 may reasonably suppose that it actually occurs in every county. 



In 1922 an examination of 121 oat fields was made to determine the 

 amount of loose smut present in the average field. These fields were 

 distributed among -43 counties and included 1242 acres. The average in- 

 fection amounted to 8.36 per cent, which is equivalent to a crop reduc- 

 tion of the same amount. A similar examination was made in 1923 of 

 111 fields distributed among 41 counties and including 1596 acres. The 

 average loose-smut infection was 5.54 per cent. 



The value of seed treatment as a means of loose-smut control was 

 apparent in several instances. In 1923 eight fields in 6 counties and in- 

 cluding 170 acres, had been planted with treated seed. The average in- 

 fection found in these fields was 0.42 per cent, or 5.12 per cent less than 

 the average found in fields generally. In terms of the average yield of 

 the state the grower whose oat seed was treated should have secured a 

 yield per acre 1.73 bushels greater than the grower whose seed was not 

 treated. 



Seed treatment is accomplished .most easily and satisfactorily by 

 using formalin according to the "dry" method. Formalin, or 37' per 

 cent formaldehyde, diluted with an ecjual quantity of water, is sprayed 

 over the seed, as it is shoveled from one pile to another, at the rate of 1 

 quart to 50 bushels of seed. The seed is then covered for 5 hours and is 

 then ready for planting. 



Corn 



In terms of acreage, and in terms of money value, corn is the most 

 important crop grown in Illinois; and the importance to the nation of 

 Illinois' corn crop compares favorably with that of other states. In the 

 years 1920 to 1923 (Surratt, A. J., Illinois Crop Summary, Dec. 1, 1922, 

 Circ, 323, p. 60) Illinois was second only to Iowa in acres planted to corn, 

 and production during those years was also second only to that of Iowa. 

 The yield per acre for the state as a whole is, however, remarkably low, 

 ranging during those years from 34 to 35.5 bushels. Practically every 

 state in which similar conditions are approximated is reported to have 

 much higher yields jjcr acre, 'ihe extensive reach of Illinois from north 

 to south may be responsible jn some measure for this difference, since low 

 yields occur in the extreme south and high yields in the north. The 

 greatest corn acreage lies in a district running east and west through 

 the central two-thirds of the state, and here the yields are neither very 

 high nor very low. 



In spite of the fact that corn constitutes by far the most important 

 cereal crop in Illinois its diseases appear not to be so well understood or 

 so amenable to control as those of wheat. The diseases of corn include 



