. Agriculture for beginners. s they comefrom the threshing machine. These spores cling to the grain and at the next plantingare ready to attack the sprouting plantlet. A curious thing about the smut is that itcan gain foothold only on veryyoung oat or wheat plants; thatis, on plants about an inch longor of the age shown in Fig. grain covered with smutspores is planted, the sporesdevelop with the sprouting seedsand are ready to attack theyoung plant as it breaks throughthe seed coat. You see, then,how important it is to have seedgrain free from smut. A sub-stance has been found that wil
. Agriculture for beginners. s they comefrom the threshing machine. These spores cling to the grain and at the next plantingare ready to attack the sprouting plantlet. A curious thing about the smut is that itcan gain foothold only on veryyoung oat or wheat plants; thatis, on plants about an inch longor of the age shown in Fig. grain covered with smutspores is planted, the sporesdevelop with the sprouting seedsand are ready to attack theyoung plant as it breaks throughthe seed coat. You see, then,how important it is to have seedgrain free from smut. A sub-stance has been found that will,without injuring the seeds, killall the smut spores clinging tothe grain. This substance isformalin. Enough seeds toplant a whole acre can be treatedwith this formalin at a cost of only a few cents. Suchtreatment insures a full crop and clean seed for futureplanting. Fig. 92 illustrates what may be gained by using seedstreated to prevent smut. The annual loss to the farmersof the United States from smut on grain amounts to. m^^>M Fig. 92. Treated andUntreated Wheat THE DISEASES OF PLANTS 109 several millions of dollars. All that is needed to preventthis loss is a little care in the treatment of seeds. EXERCISE Count the smutted heads on a patch three feet square and estimatethe percentage of smut in all the wheat and oat fields near yourhome. On which is it most abundant ? Do you know of any fieldsthat have been treated for smut. If so, look for smut in these how they were treated. Do you know of any one who usesbluestone for wheat smut ? Can oats be treated with bluestone ? At planting time get an ounce of formalin at your drug store orfrom the State Experiment Station. Mix this with three gallons ofwater. This amount will treat three bushels of seeds. Spread theseeds thinly upon the barn floor and sprinkle them with the mixture,being careful tliat all the seeds are thoroughly moistened. Coverclosely with blankets for a few hours and plant very soon after treat
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