PICKLING SEED WHEAT.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1712, 1 April 1913, Page 8

PICKLING SEED WHEAT.

1 ' "SMUT "PREVENTION—A NEW METHOD. " A notf'''jitothod. of treating seed wheat ■ fotithe'prevention of bunt or smut is. desjcnbed; 'by . th.6 : United States Department of - Agriculture.. The, treatment is known as the' "Siir-' treatment," in which the solution! employed is stated to be easily prepared, cheap, capable of being kept for any.'iengtß'ofi.tiiue, and if. properly ap'pliedjUdl bd'completely effective. It is made by. thoroughly mixing 151b. of Hour of. sulphur -With ilb. of powdered resin, "to"whioli -, i3 ! atldcd, little by little, about ■Gi(xuarts" of--water till the whole is in . tho ; fol'lh''of',a thick paste; 101b. of dry. powdered (98- per cent.} caustic soda (concentrated jye) should then be stirred in j'igprprisly: yhjle the whole mass turns . red'clisfi..!. .brown and boils violently. !Efio.u^H l Ml'..water is added to bring the solution up ,to six gallons. This stock solution should be kept in tightly-corked bottles, and'bllould be well shaken before being used.

The seed wheat is treated with Sar solttJioif'as follows:-—Either one quart of the solution is diluted with 50 gallons ox water and the grain soaked therein for about 12 hours, or else a strong solution (one gallon of the stock to 5U gallons of water)"'is used and the grain soaked for only two h'Alfi'i?." In cither case the grain must bo stirred several times during- the .treatment, and spread out to dry afterwards. . If the grain contains much smut, it should first be washed with water, iu order to skim oil' the smut balls before it islput in the Sar solution to soak.

In making the solution it is important tliat too., much water- should not be "added to tlie.resin 'and sulphur, but only just enough to make a .stiff paste. This paste should lie made in a barrel or large ;kep"holding at least six times tho bulk 'of- thb'paste,Ms when the caustic soda is ■added i't' boils'violently for a minute or • two,', arid ' will run over the fides of the AT'ssel unl?W.,it is of ample size. Before •'making', the paste six gallons of water slioUld', ( te."measured into the barrel, and the water accurately marked, so that-whenj'the lmiterial is mixed the oxaqE,,|u,antity*of water may be added. TliG-jvl\eat',?hould be put into barrels, 'or, t.'preferablyj- a large tank having a bunKh.pl?;At, ! the bottom, protected on the gauze-so that the liquid can be drawn off. The barrel or tank can.; then be filled with water in tho first instance. After this has been drained off the diluted;solution should be poured ovei' ! the- wlieat-'until it is covered several inches'deep,' 1 and should then be stirred :&>; fensnte TSll'-'the grains being wetted.. The "strong -mixture mentioned above may .ba lised-several times, but it should not ,be empldyed'the second day, as it rapidly loses its 'strength.