in Oats and Barley. 
413 
atljacent plots, whereas in actual practice tlie oatfields would 
be scattered about the farm. So long as the amount of smut 
does not exceed ^ per cent, it is hardly necessary to dress the 
seed. It must, however, be remembered that some varieties 
are more susceptible to smut than others. 
Practical Application of Heat to the Seed-corn, 
"We have seen that smut can be prevented in oats and barley 
by dipping the seed in heated water without injuring its vitality. 
This is easily practicable in the following manner. The grain 
to be dipped is placed in a shallow cylindrical basket about twelve 
inches deep lined with coarse canvas, and provided with a cover 
made by stretching the canvas over a ring of such a diameter 
as will pass inside the mouth of the basket. The canvas should 
overlap the ring by about an inch all round. An ordinary boiler, 
such as is found on every farm, is filled with water and heated 
to boiling point. 
Two vessels of sufiScient size are placed near it. These may 
be designated 1 and 2. Supposing the boiler to contain 35 
gallons of boiling water, if 12|- gallons of cold and the same 
quantity of boiling water be put into each vessel, we shall have 
25 gallons of water at 132° F. in both of them. The exact tem- 
perature may be readily obtained by adding a little more hot 
or cold water, as the thermometer shows to be required. 
A basket containing three quarters of a bushel of corn, which 
must not be more than eight inches in depth, is now dipped into 
No. 1 four times ; this will take rather more than half a minute, 
and will reduce the temperature of the water eight or nine 
degrees. It is now to be rapidly dipped five or six times 
into No. 2, which will take about one minute, and then dipped 
once per minute for three minutes longer, i.e. five minutes 
altogether in the two vessels. This will reduce the temperature 
of the water in No. 2 from 132° to 129°-130°. If steeped 
barley be used the original temperature of No. 1 should be 
129°-130°; but with unsteeped grain, for oats, barley, or rye, it 
does not matter if the original temperature be 133°-13G°. 
The seed-corn must now be cooled. This is best done by 
placing the basket on the top of a third vessel and pouring a 
couple of buckets of cold water upon the com in it, taking care 
that the cold water falls not only upon the centre, but round 
the edges, so that the com may be uniformly cooled. The 
basket is now emptied on the floor, and the corn spread out in a 
thin layer, so that it may cool completely. The water used in 
cooling the corn will have its temperature raised and may be 
