EN"EMIKS OF FARM CROPS. 105 



directing the spray. The nozzle should be capabi:: of 

 breaking the water up into a fine mist spray, so as to wet 

 the plant completely with the least possible expenditure of 

 liquid. The two more satisfactory nozzles are those of the 

 Nivcr and the Vermorel type. A suitable pump with nozzle 

 and hose may be obtained of any pump manufacturer or 

 hardware dealer at a cost of from $13 to $15. If one with 

 brass fittings be secured it will also serve for the application 

 of fungicides. The outfit outlined above may be mounted 

 on a cart or wagon, the additional elevation secured in this 

 way facilitating the spraying of trees, or for more extended 

 operations, the pump may be mounted on a large water 

 tank. 



PREVENTION OF OATS-SMUT. (Goff.) 



The smut of oats, which causes an annual loss to the 

 farmers of the United States amounting in the aggregate to 

 millions of dollars, may be entirely prevented by treating 

 the seed oats before sowing, at a cost for labor and materials 

 which need not exceed five cents per acre of oats sown. 



Two methods of treatment have been found satisfactory. 

 These we will call for convenience the Formalin Treatment 

 and the Hot-water Treattnent. The first has the advantage 

 of being the simpler, but it requires a small cash outlay for 

 materials. The second requires no materials or apparatus 

 except what the farmer already has, unless it be a good 

 thermometer. 



The Formalin Treatment. — Soak the seed oats one hour 

 in a solution of formalin, made by adding one ounce of 

 formalin to every 3I gallons of water. Place the water in 

 a barrel, or other convenient vessel, add the formalin to it, 

 and pour in one and one-half bushels of seed oats for each 

 3^ gallons of the solution. At the end of one hour, draw 

 off or pour off the part of the solution that is not absorbed 

 by the oats, and spread the oats on a clean floor to dry. 

 They should be shoveled over once or twice a day until dry 

 enough to sow. 



