Oats. 317 



" Steam, conducted into the second vessel by a pipe provided 

 with a stopcock, answers even better, both for heating the 

 water and elevating the temperature from time to time. 



" The basket of seed should, very shortly after its immer- 

 sion, be lifted and then plunged and agitated in the manner 

 described above ; and the operation should be repeated eight 

 or ten times during the immersion, which should be continued 

 fifteen minutes. In this way every portion of the seed will 

 be subjected to the action of the scalding water. Immediately 

 after its removal dash cold water over it or plunge it into a 

 vessel of cold water and then spread out to dry. Another por- 

 tion can be treated similarly, and so on until all the seed has 

 been disinfected. Before thoroughly dry the seed can be 

 sown ; but it may be thoroughly dried and stored if desired. 



" The important precautions to be taken are as follows : 

 (1) Maintain the proper temperature of the water (132 F.), in 

 no case allowing it to rise higher than 135 or to fall below 

 130. This will not be difficult to do if a reliable thermometer 

 is used and hot or cold water be dipped into the vessel as 

 the falling or rising temperature demands. Immersion fifteen 

 minutes will not then injure the seed. (2) See that the volume 

 of scalding water is much greater (at least six or eight times) 

 than that of the seed treated at any one time. (3) Never fill 

 the basket or sack containing the seed entirely full, but always 

 leave room for the grain to move about freely. (4) Leave the 

 seed in the second vessel of water fifteen minutes. 



"The hot-water treatment for oats. The foregoing method is 

 applicable to both wheat and oats. With oats the following 

 slight modifications are probably advantageous : (1) Have the 

 water in the second vessel 143 J F. and immerse the seed five 

 minutes, cooling with cold water afterwards. Where large 

 amounts of seed are to be treated this will prove the most 

 speedy form of the treatment, but great care must be taken to 

 see that every grain is thoroughly wetted. (2) Have the water 

 in the second vessel at 132| F. ; immerse the seed ten minutes 

 and do not cool with cold water, but spread out at once to dry. 

 This last is no doubt the best form of the Jensen treatment for 

 oats, since it requires a shorter time than the regular method 

 and the warmth of the grain aids it materially in drying. 

 Moreover, experiments have shown that seed treated in this 



