276 WHEAT AND WOMAN 



although even perfectly clean seed affords some work 

 for the skimmer in the open bath. I might have 

 used this method for my six bags of hand-cleaned 

 seed, but was confronted with the difficulty of 

 hauling the heavy grain-bags in and out of the 

 barrel ; besides, I enjoyed looking at it. The 

 Creegans used the bath I bought from Eaton's, and 

 that was quite the nearest approach to the model 

 of the latest pickling bath which that year was to 

 be seen at Mr. Dillon's hardware store, and was 

 purchased and greatly appreciated by many of the 

 wealthier farmers. The greater number of my 

 neighbours used two barrels, plunging loose wheat 

 into the pickle in the top barrel, and when they 

 considered the immersion sufficient they withdrew 

 the cork and let the pickle run out into the second 

 barrel, threw out the pickled seed to dry, carefully 

 covering the heap with sacks in order to prevent the 

 escape of the fumes of the formalin, and then 

 repeated the process until all the seed-grain had 

 been through the ceremony of the bath. The 

 most primitive and least effective of all methods is 

 the one I quoted in my account of the seeding of 

 1906 ; and my own process is slow and unusual, but 

 excellent in result. 



I turn a bag of grain into a barrel of pickle, and 

 after three editions of stirring and skimming I 

 remove the grain from the barrel in a half-gallon 

 milk-strainer and toss it into a corner to drain, being 

 careful to cover to keep in the fumes of formalin. 

 Of course if I could have afforded to purchase Mr. 

 Dillon's orthodox seed-bath, which revolved, and 

 stirred, shook, and drained forty bushels of grain 

 at one immersion, I should have saved much time ; 



