1905.] Experiments with Blue-stone and Formalin. 291 



a considerable proportion of the grain sown. He points out 

 that solutions of blue-stone may be used much stronger without 

 serious injury when the ground is well-nigh saturated with 

 moisture than when it contains only a limited amount ; it 

 would therefore be possible to use a solution of a given strength 

 without injury to the grain in a moist season, whereas the same 

 strength would kill over half the grain if sown in a com- 

 paratively dry seed bed. The method adopted in the ex- 

 periments was to infect all the grain with bunt, and to immerse 

 it for five minutes in solutions of various strength, viz., 1 lb. 

 of blue-stone in two to eight gallons of water. When sown 

 under rather dry conditions the highest percentage of plants 

 which grew was 58, and the lowest 23 per cent., whereas the 

 untreated grains averaged 86 per cent. 



Solutions of formalin were also tested, and at a strength 

 of 1 lb. of formalin to forty gallons of water, 71 per cent, of the 

 plants matured. 



Mr. McAlpine, Vegetable Pathologist to the Victorian 

 Department of Agriculture, has also been testing the effect 

 of formalin on seed wheat.* 



The object of the experiment was to find out the most 

 suitable strength of formalin, consistent with the proper ger- 

 mination of the grain. For this purpose a solution was used 

 at the rate of 1 lb. of formalin in 40 gallons of water, gradually 

 increasing this to ij, 2, 2 -J, and 3 lb. respectively in the same 

 amount of water. The wheat used was Rerraf, and six lots 

 of 1,000 grains each were carefully counted out ; one of the 

 lots not being treated was used as a check. Each of the 

 other five lots was steeped for fifteen minutes in its respective 

 strength of solution, then allowed to dry, and placed in moist 

 flannel for germination. Steeping for ten minutes is recom- 

 mended when treating seed wheat on a large scale, but it 

 was considered that with such a small quantity of grain the 

 drying would take place so quickly that, in order to counter- 

 balance this, the time allowed in contact with the formalin 

 should be longer. The check lot was placed in water only for 

 the same period of time, then allowed to dry, and germinated 

 like the others. The results are given in the table below. 



* Agricultural Journal of Victoria^ May, 1905. 



A A 2 



