46 



Jacewski reconanends 30 percent salt solution and w?s the 

 first to work out a practical -way of using Muller's method. By this method 

 the grain containing ergot is placed in a specially perforated Vessel, 

 the vessel is then dipped into the container mth the solution, and the 

 grain stirred up in it with a small \TOoden shovel. A.fter the grain be- 

 comes wet, it drops to the bottom of the vessel vhile the ergot sclerotia 

 always remain on the surface and can be easily separated. The seed is 

 then washed v/ith pure water and spread on a floor to dry. The sclerotia 

 obtained in such a way nay be sold to the druggist. 



Soil treatment 



Several attempts have been made to control ergot by apply- 

 ing chemicals to the soil but the results are not very promising. 

 Griffiths (79) recommends top-dressing with iron sulphate (from fifty to 

 one hundred pounds per acre) of all land liable to the attacks of 

 Claviceps. McAlpine (170) recommends the same treatment, 



WuTtherich (303) showed that iron sulphate in the quantities 



in the qjiantities given above does not in any way affect the germination 



power of sclerotia. He showed that ergot sclerotia could germinate in 



1.4 percent iron sulphate, and that at least a 13.9 per cent solution 



was necessary to destroy them. Both of these concentrations are too 



strong to be applied in the fields. WUtherich also did a considerable 



amount of work on the effect of various chemicals on the germinating 



power of Claviceps spores and conidia, btii since the results are of no 



not 

 practical importance they are'^included here. 



Seed treatment 



ThoroTigh drying of the seed and dry summer weather will, 



according to RcKtowzew, kill the ergot sclerotia. Rieliable work indicates, 



however, that this is not true. 



