86 BARLEY 



Hot Water Treatment for Smut. Place the barley in 

 gunny sacks and submerge in cold water for 12 hours. 

 Remove and drain for an hour, then submerge for 5 

 minutes in a cask containing hot water, held at a constant 

 temperature of 130 degrees Fahrenheit. It is well to warm 

 the barley before placing it in the hot water by submerg- 

 ing it in water at a slightly lower temperature for a minute 

 or two, otherwise the temperature of the water in the cask 

 will be materially lowered. Boiling water should be kept 

 near at hand, and added at intervals to keep the temperature 

 nearly constant. In adding the boiling water, it should 

 never be allowed to come into direct contact with the 

 barley, as the vitality of the seed will be injured or de- 

 stroyed. 



After the hot water treatment, the seed should be 

 spread upon the barn floor to cool before sowing. It 

 should be sown the same day or the day after treat- 

 ment, otherwise it will sprout and difficulty will be found 

 in getting it through the seeder or drill. 



The margin of temperature which is effective for the 

 destruction of the smut spore is so narrow that the operator 

 must be supplied with a good standard thermometer and 

 watch the process closely. If the water in which the seed 

 barley is submerged is but slightly above 130 degrees, the 

 seed will be injured, and if a few degrees lower the smut 

 spores will not be killed. On account of the liability of 

 error it is advisable for barley growers to treat only a suffi- 

 cient amount of seed to sow two or three acres and save 

 seed for future sowing from this particular field which will 

 have little or no smut in it. The closed smut of barley is 

 readily eradicated by the formaldehyde method, if treated 

 as recommended for oats in Chapter VI. 



