OATS 177 



widely scattered and so destructive and yet so 

 easily prevented by simple remedies, there should 

 be no hesitation in doing this work and in keeping 

 it up year after year. Not long ago a prominent 

 New York farmer, a friend and myself were walk- 

 ing in the country and came to a field of winter 

 oats. They looked fine and promised to make a 

 fine crop. " Do you know," our New York com- 

 panion remarked, " it is wonderful what can be 

 done by treating oats for smut." 



"In what way?" I asked. 



" In not only preventing it, but also in greatly 

 increasing the yield and weight. I have only re- 

 cently treated my oats, but I am sure it adds 10 per 

 cent to the commercial value. A neighbor of mine 

 didn't believe in doing this. Last year he borrowed 

 my drill. In the drill was perhaps a bushel of seed 

 left over from my seed oats. My seed had been 

 treated and I told my neighbor to use them and 

 then later compare with his own if treating seed 

 was, worth anything anyway. Well, gentlemen, 

 that test completely convinced not only that neigh- 

 bor, but several others as well, and now nearly all 

 seed oats are treated in our neighborhood." 



At maturing time, examine a few heads in the 

 oat field. You are sure to be surprised at the num- 

 ber of diseased heads. I have often counted from 

 30 to 40 in every hundred affected with smut. This 

 is a tremendous loss ; and, just think of it, for a few 

 cents per acre seed can be treated and the disease 

 entirely eradicated. Smut ripens just at the time 

 the plant is in the flower. Being loose and light, 

 it is easily blown by the wind, thus leaving the 

 heads bare of grain and black. 



The most common way of treating seed oats 



