LABORATORY EXERCISES 211 



and small grain on the experimental grounds, making careful note of 

 any differences in vigor of growth. 



4. Make up solutions of formaldehyde, mixing it with water in the 

 proportions of 1 to 400, and 1 to 200. Figure how many gallons of water 

 would be used to 1 pound (a pint) of formaldehyde at each of these 

 rates. Treat small lots of seed for smut in each of the following ways : 



(1.) No treatment. 



(2.) Soak 15 minutes in the 1 to 400 solution. 



(3.) Soak 15 minutes in the 1 to 200 solution. 



(4.) Soak 30 minutes in the 1 to 400 solution. 



(5.) Soak 30 minutes in the 1 to 200 solution. 



(6.) Sprinkle till thoroughly wet with the 1 to 400 solution. 



(7.) Sprinkle till thoroughly wet with the 1 to 200 solution. 

 In the soaking treatments, the seed should be stirred sufficiently so that 

 it is all thoroughly wet. After it has been soaked the required time, it 

 should be drained and dried. The seed which is sprinkled should be 

 covered with a heavy cloth over night and dried the following day. 

 A germination test should then be made of each sample. Some of them 

 will probably show some injury from the treatment. If the seed is 

 known to be infected with smut to some extent, it will be interesting to 

 grow small lots from the different samples on the experimental grounds 

 and determine the effectiveness of the different treatments. 



5. Plant lots of oat grains in a box or in the open ground, covering 

 them 1, 2, 3, and 4 inches deep. Determine the percentage of germi- 

 nation at each of the different depths. 



6. Let each student bring a sample of oats from home and score it 

 according to the score card (Sec. 255) or, if preferred, the card used in 

 your state agricultural college. Write the reasons for the markings 

 given. If several samples can be scored by each student, so much the 

 better. Check up each score carefully. 



SUPPLEMENTARY READING 



Farmers' Bulletins: 



250. The Prevention of Loose Smut of Oats. 



388. Methods of Seeding Oats (pp. 12-16). 



395. Sixty-Day and Kherson Oats. 



420. Oats: Distribution and Uses. 



Bailey's Cyclopedia of American Agriculture, Vol. 1 1, pp. 485-494. 

 Burkett's Farm Crops, pp. 170-178. 

 Hunt's Cereals in America, pp. 280-317. 



