410 



THE WHEAT CULTUP.I5T. 



twenty gallons of cold water. Procui'e a wicker basket, 

 of suitable shape to go into the tnb, large and strong 

 enough to hold a bushel and a half of wheat. Place the 

 basket in the liquid, and gently pour into it the wheat. 

 By adopting this precaution, the light and imperfect 

 grains, chaff, or small seed will float at the top ; and 

 may be skimmed off the sm-face. Having proceeded 

 thus far, lift the basket, and allow it to di-ain over the 

 tab. Empty the same, and proceed with the next lot. 



While the seed is soaking, let it be stirred with a 

 stick, for a few minutes. By this means, all the light 

 and imperfect kernels may be worked to the smiace, 

 and skimmed off the sm'face of the water. For each 

 four or five bushels of wheat, dissolve one pound of blue 

 vitriol in water sufiicient to cover and properly soak the 

 wheat. Some farmers say, let it remain in this soak 

 twenty to twenty-four hours, and sow immediately after 

 taken out of the soak. But there is great danger of 

 soaking the seed too long. It requires but a short time 

 to destroy the sporules of smut. So soon as the spores 

 are destroyed, the seed should be removed from the 

 soak, or steep. The seed should not be kept in the 

 liquid long enough to moisten the germs. The main 

 point is to remove the material that adheres to the ex- 

 terior of the kei'uels. Spread the wet seed on a floor, 

 and sift lime, or gypsum, or ashes over the surface ; and 

 rake it in. This will render the seed diy, so that it can 

 be sowed, or drilled in, without difficulty. 



A Xorth Carolina farmer says, that the best prevent- 

 ive of smut is, to make a brine strong enough to bear 

 an egg ; pom- this as hot as the hand can bear into a 

 half-l)arrel tub ; put in half a bushel of the wheat you 

 are about to sow ; stir it up well in the tub ; let it set- 



