PREPARATION OF SEED FOR SOWING. 23 



we cannot make too great sacrifices to obtain seeds well 

 harvested, and that have arrived at their full maturity." 



10. Preparation of the Seed for Sowing, "Wheat un- 

 fortunately is subjected to a disease arising from the attacks 

 of parasitic fungi, which produces what is called ' smut.' In 

 a future part of this series we shall go fully into the subject 

 of diseases of our farm crops ; meanwhile, we give a few 

 remarks upon the means in practical use for getting rid of 

 the smut in wheat, which, if allowed to remain in the seed, 

 greatly deteriorates the produce in quality and quantity. 

 When we consider the fact that when the spores of the 

 fungi, which produce smut, and those which produce 

 ' bunt,' another disease which is even more dreaded than 

 the smut, enter the plants which they attack by means of 

 the spongioles of the roots, we see at once the necessity 

 that exists for securing clean seed ; and further, when we 

 know that the spore-dust which adheres to the grains is of an 

 oily or greasy nature, we also see that the substance which 

 we employ to cleanse the seed should be of an alkaline 

 nature. Lime and urine are the alkaline substances used 

 for dressing wheat-seed for the prevention of smut and bunt, 

 and sometimes sulphate of copper : it is questionable, how- 

 ever, whether the use of the latter is advisable, inasmuch 

 as it is likely to have a bad effect upon the germinating 

 powers of the seed. The following, upon the methods em- 

 ployed in using lime, urine, and vitriol dressing, from the 

 pen of a student at the Royal Agricultural College, and 

 extracted from a recent publication, is so apposite' to the 

 point under consideration, that we make no apology for 

 giving it here : 



" A sack of wheat is placed on the floor in the form of 

 a conical heap, flattened and concave on the top ; a lump 

 or two of lime are then thrown into a bucket, and a gallon 

 or six quarts of boiling or cold water added. A rapid 

 ebullition ensues, during which time it should be well 

 stirred, to insure a perfect slacking of the lime. In this 

 state it is thrown into the concave top of the conical heap 

 of wheat, and well mixed with a shovel till all the grains 



