MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 5 



of side-headed (horse-mane) oats, require much heavier seeding 

 than the smaller varieties. 



For an oat like the Senator probably 4 bushels per acre is 

 not too much. The very small grained, early varieties like the 

 Kherson, Daubeney or 60-day oats require a lighter seeding 

 than the medium varieties. 



At Highmoor Farm we have used 2 and 2^ bushels per acre 

 for the small and medium varieties and 3 bushels for the larger 

 varieties. At Aroostook Farm rate of seeding experiments 

 carried out for two years indicate that 3 to 3^^ bushels per 

 acre with a medium variety like the Prosperity gives the best 

 yield of both straw and grain. 



It is probable that in broadcasting a slightly heavier seeding 

 is required to compensate for grains not covered and for those 

 eaten by crows. This is especially true where the broadcasting 

 is done by hand. 



Treatment for Smut. 



It is estimated that ntore than 60 per cent of the oat acreage 

 in Maine is seriously infected with smut. The spores of this 

 fungus are present on the oat grain at the time of planting. 

 After planting this spore germinates and sends its mycelium 

 into the growing plant. Nothing unusual about the plant is noted 

 until the head appears. It is then seen that the grains are all 

 blighted and that the glumes (chaff) are covered with brown- 

 ish dust-like spores. During harvesting and threshing these 

 spores become scattered over other grains and infect the next 

 year's crop. 



This serious disease can be effectively controlled by simply 

 treating the seed grain wnth a solution of formaldehyde. The 

 oats should be treated just before sowing. The most satis- 

 factory method and the one used by us is to immerse a bag of 

 oats for 20 minutes in a barrel containing one pint of com- 

 mercial formaldehyde (40 per cent) to 50 gallons of water. 

 The oats are then spread out to dry. They should be stirred 

 once or twice but may be sown as soon as they are dry enough 

 to run through the drill. The formaldehyde solution should 

 not be stronger than that given above nor should they be 

 allowed to stay in the solution much over 20 minutes. Other- 

 wise there is some danger of injuring the germination. The 



