522 THE SMALL GRAINS 



piled in a heap and allowed to drain. It is then spread 

 out and shoveled over frequently to facilitate drying. 

 Steeping in the copper sulfate solution is done in the 

 same manner, but the grain should not be allowed to 

 remain in the solution longer than 10 minutes. A simple 

 farm device for smut treatment is shown in Fig. 162. 



Sometimes a copper sulfate solution of only 2 pounds 

 to 50 gallons of water is employed, and the seed is soaked 



FIG. 162. A simple farm device for seed treatment for smut. 



for 12 hours, the solution being stirred occasionally, 

 after which the grain is dipped for 5 to 10 minutes in 

 limewater made in the proportion of 1 pound of quick- 

 lime to 10 gallons of water. The limewater treatment is 

 applied to check the injurious effect of the copper sulfate 

 upon the seed. 



565. Sprinkling the seed with fungicides. The 

 sprinkling method involves much less labor than dipping, 

 and is claimed to be just as effective. For this method 

 the copper sulfate solution is prepared in the proportion 

 of 1 pound of the crystals to 10 gallons of water, the 

 whole quantity of grain is piled in a heap on a clean floor, 

 and the solution is sprinkled on it with an ordinary sprin- 



