WHEAT CULTURE. 3.'57 



and then remored and drained for ten minutes; then immersed for about 

 three minutes in limewater made by stirring \ lb. freshly burnt lime in 

 10 gallons of water. 



Method of Pickling. — Seed wheat can be economically pickled in butts of 

 about I bushel when the wheat is free from bunt balls ; but when these are 

 present, some method must be adopted which will enable their removal to be 

 affected. If they are not taken out the wheat will probably become re- 

 infected before or during sowing ; it is failure to remove bunt balls which 

 frequently causes wheat that has been treated to produce a smutty crop. 

 Pickling outfits which have a copper vessel for the treatment of the wheat 

 are very hand}', but if one is not available, the wheat can satisfactorily be 

 freed from bunt balls (and incidentally other rubbish) with the aid of a 

 piece of hessian. This is used as a sort of loose lining for the cask, with its 

 edges overlapping the rim. The wheat is poured gently in, and bunt balls 

 and other rubbish which is so troublesome when drilling will float on the 

 surface and can be skimmed off. 



After the seed has been dipped for the three minutes, it should be removed 

 and drained for ten minutes. Planks, hollowed logs or a sheet of bark 

 should be used for the draining platform ; galvanised iron is very unsuitable. 

 The solution can be allowed to run back into the cask, and immediately it 

 ceases to trickle from the grain the butt should be hung up on poles or 

 straddles for a day to dry before sowing. 



The Milestone is best dissolved by tying it in a small hessian bag and 

 suspending it in the water. In this way the bluestone will dissolve in a 

 short time, whereas if thrown into the vessel containing the water it wdl 

 take a considerable time to completely dissolve. Cold water serves the 

 purpose well, and there is no need to use boiling water. On no account 

 should the vessel holding the solution be of a metal other than copper ; the 

 most useful vessel is a wooden cask. 



The process of pickling kills the tiny spoivs or seeds of the bunt which 

 adhere to the outside of the grain ; but bluestone also has the power to impair 

 the vitality of the grain, and even to kill the germ. If the seed is to be 

 sown in damp ground, no further treatment is required ; but if it is probable 

 that germination will not take place for some time, it is advisable to dip the 

 seed in limewater. This is made by stirring* i lb. of freshly burnt lime into 

 10 gallons of water. The mixture is allowed to settle; then the clear lime- 

 water is decanted, and into this the bluestone-treated seed is dipped for from 

 two to three minutes. The lime neutralises the effects of the bluestone, and 

 so preserves the full vitality of the wdieat germ. 



When using limewater, care should be taken to make a fresh mixture now 

 and again, as the constant dipping of the bluestone-saturated butts of wheat 

 will change the solution from an alkaline into an acid one, in which case it 

 would be useless ; and for that very reason bluestone and lime should never 

 be mixed together in a solution used for pickling wheat. 



* Should it be found impossible to obtain freshly burnt lime, it is recommended that 

 \ lb. of slaked lime be mixed with ]0 gallons of water, thus making milk of lime, into 

 which the biitts of the bluestoned wheat should be dipped for a period of from two to 

 three minutes. 



Milk of lime differs from lime water in so far that in the former the particles of lime 

 are not dissolved but held in suspension, whereas in the case of clear lime water the 

 particles are dissolved. 



