148 N. H. AGR. EXPERIMENT STATION. [Bulletin 145 



Spread the oats upon a clean floor or in a wagon box to a depth 

 of about 3 inches. With an ordinary sprinkling can or by 

 da.shing it with the hand from a bucket sprinkle the formalin 

 solution over the layer of oats until the top is quite wet. Stir 

 with a garden rake or shovel and repeat the sprinkling and stir- 

 ring until all of the oats have been moistened, which will require 

 about one gallon of solution for each bushel of grain. After the 

 wetting has been completed stir the oats frequently so that they 

 may dry rapidly without any germination being started. The 

 oats may be treated either during the winter or just previous 

 to sowing. Whatever receptacle is used for the oats after treat- 

 ment should also be treated — if sacks, immerse them in the solu- 

 tion and then dry, if a bin sprinkle some of the solution on the 

 sides and floor. 



This method of treatment is easy, simple and cheap. Formalin 

 may be purchased at any drug store for 50 to 60 cents per pound, 

 thus making the cost for material only about 1 cent per bushel 

 of grain. The cost of labor ought not to exceed 2 cents per 

 bushel, making a total of 3 cents per bushel for the treatment 

 complete. 



From the results obtained here and from observations made 

 elsewhere in the state it is estimated that the average amount of 

 smut in oat fields grown from untreated seed is at least 5 per 

 cent. This means that the annual loss from this cause alone is 

 20,000 bushels for the state, which at the average price of 60 

 cents per bushel is $12,000. Surely "an ounce of prevention is 

 worth a pound of cure." 



BARLEY. 



In 1908 the station happened to have on hand some extra sam- 

 ples of different varieties of barley obtained upon the Chicago 

 market the year previous. These were sown in one-twentieth 

 acre plots on a heavy clay soil, at the rate of 2 bushels per acre, 

 on May 13. The plots were manured and 350 pounds per acre 

 of a "4-10-5" mixture of chemicals used. All the varieties 

 came up nicely, but on account of the severe July drouth the 

 straw was short and the heads did not fill well. 



In 1909 five varieties were obtained from New England seeds- 

 men and were sown May 13 in one-fifteenth acre plots on a stony 



