WHEAT IN WESTERN CANADA 45 



the proportions of one pound of formalin to forty gallons 

 of water, and the mixture is then sprayed carefully over 

 the seed or the seed is passed through the liquid by means 

 of a smut machine. The purpose of this treatment is to 

 kill any spores of the Stinking Smut Fungus (Tilletia 

 fcetens) which may be clinging to the kernels and which, 

 if not destroyed, might germinate on the kernels in the 

 soil, infect the seedlings, and cause smut-balls instead of 

 sound kernels to be produced in the heads of the diseased 

 plants. When there is any doubt as to the germinating 

 ability of seed-wheat, the wheat is tested for germination 

 either at home on the farm or in seed-testing laboratories 

 provided by the Dominion or Provincial Departments of 

 Agriculture. 



The seed-wheat is sovrai by using large drills which are 

 from eight to ten feet wide and which are drawn either 

 singly by a team of four or more horses, or several together 

 by an engine driven by gasolene or kerosene. These drills 

 are so constructed that they force the seed evenly into the 

 ground in rows which are from six to seven inches apart. 

 The depth of sowing can be regulated and is usually from 

 one to three inches below the surface. Seeding is usually 

 completed between the middle of April and the tenth day of 

 May, April seeding being preferred when soil and climatic 

 conditions permit of its being undertaken. The seed is 

 sown at the rate of from three-quarters to two bushels per 

 acre, the smallest quantity being used on the lighter soils 

 in the dryest districts and the largest quantity upon the 

 heaviest and richest soils in the more northerly humid dis- 

 tricts. Under most conditions, the amount of seed usually 

 sovm. is between one and one and a half bushels. 



The wheat grower endeavors to prepare the land to be 

 sown, so that it shall be well stored with moisture, free from 

 weeds, firm, and mellow. After seeding in such soil at a 



