11 



For loose smut of tvheat, soak the grain four hours in cold water, 

 set away in wet sacks for about four hours, then immerse the see. I 

 five minutes in water heated to 132 degrees Fahrenheit. In sowing- 

 use double the usual quantity of seed treated by the last named 

 method to make up for the part killed by treatment. In all these 

 cases sow the treated seed in soil which has been freed from the gcinw 

 by a rotation of crops. The rust, wheat scab and corn smut make 

 their attacks on the above-ground portion of the plants. The corn 

 smut has been prevented by spraying the growing corn from time 

 to time during the growing season with Bordeaux* mixture. To be 

 thoroughly effective the spraying must be repeated after each rain 

 and at intervals of about ten days in dry weather. It must also be 

 continued throughout the growing season. Some degree of sucei'ss 

 has attended the spraying of wheat to prevent rust. 



It is manifestly impracticable, however, in regular farm practice, 

 to spray large fields of wheat and corn. We must therefore resort to 

 preventive measures. These are (1) selection of varieties lenst hable 

 to attack, (2) adoption of a rotation of crops extending through 

 three or more years so as to more fully rid the soil of the disease 

 ' germs, (3) removal and burning of smutted stalks as soon as the smut 

 appears, (4) co-operation, by the farmers of the neighborhood, in these 

 measures, because if the germs are allowed to develop on one farm 

 they will be blown onto adjoining farms and thus spread the disease. 



12. Injurious Insects. Last but not least are the insect pests. 

 These little marauders sometimes cause losses amounting to more 

 than all the taxes of the State. As the crops of corn, oats, wheat, rtc , 

 cover such large areas the farmer cannot destroy the insect pests by 

 using insecticides as the fruit growers do. He must, therefore, re,--(UT 

 mainly to preventive measures. Some of the means which farmers 

 may employ in combating insects are (1) rotation of crops, (2) chang- 

 ing time of planting or sowing, (3) burning of stubble and rubbish 

 after crops are harvested, (4) fall plowing, (5) destruction of volun- 

 teer wheat, (6) breaking up of meadows in two or three years after 

 seeding, (7) making barriers or traps to head off or capture migrat- 

 ing insects. 



Perhaps the best general preventive of insect depredations is rota- 

 tion of crops. Certain insects, like the corn-root worm, can be quickly 



*To make Bordeaux mixture, dissolve J pound of blue vitriol in three gallons 

 of water, then slake J pound of quick lime and add it to the blue vitriol solution. 

 Stir thoroughly and pass the solution through a fine sieve or straining cloth to 

 remove all coarse particles. 



