THE FARM.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 128, 31 May 1901, Page 3

THE FARM.

SMUT IN OATS AND BARLEY,

Writing upon this subject in a recent issue of the "Agricultural Gazette" (England), Mr, John Wright-

son says: There was a great deai of smut last season among- both outs and barley. The oars are already involved when they emerge from the sheathes, and as they generally appear Drat, tfip prospect is rather disconcerting. To sec black, sooty heads protruded instead of healthy ones is not pleasant, and suggests calculations as to the'percentage of the crop likely to be lost. After a while the healthy ears overtop the diseased ones, the first heavy shower disperses the spores, and the incident is,, perhaps, forgotten. We have long learnt to treat seed wheat with a dressing of sulphate of copper in order to prevent smut, but n o one (?) tliinks of applying the same means to oats or barley. A question on the subject, which appeared with a short answer last week, suggests more careful consideration of "an important practical point. Why should we not pickle oar spring seedcorn? Wheat is properly described as bare grain, while oats have a bulky husk, and barley a close-ntting1 and adherent chafV, both of which are obstacles to contact with the seed itself, and especially with the germ. Again, in oats especially, the loose and open, character of the seed absorbs too much of the solution used, and, according to Mr. J. L. Jensen, the germinating1 power of the seed is injured. Various dressings were used by him with only partial success, such as sulphate of copper; the same with lime, sulphuric acid, lime and salt, etc.

After trying dry heat Mr. Jensen in 1887 and 1888 wa^ successful in the application of heat through the medium of water, and so complete was the immunity obtained by this simple process that his figures may be quoted with advantage: Oats, unprotected, out of 4000 plants 294 were smutted. Oats dipped for five minutes in water at 127deg. F., out of the whole crop none were smutted. Oats dipped for five minutes in water at 133deg. F., out of the whole

crop none were smutted,

With barley a different method is necessary, on account of the closelyiitting nature of the chaff. It is found that the dipping in hot water must be preceded by a few hours' soaking in cold water, and, not to dwell too long upon the scientific aspect of the matter, it was found that by first soaking the barley for half a day or a day, and then dipping into heated water five minutes, absolute immunity from smut was obtained. These resiilts were shown in an experiment as follows:

2000 unprotected barley plants had 45 smutted. 2000 treated with warm water as above, none smutted.

In fact, in the whole field of protected barley only a sing-le smutted grain was found. Barley will not, however, stand a greater heat than 127deg. Fahr.

Simple as the above results are, there must be practical difficulties when a temperature is to be kept up and not exceeded, while at the same time repeated dippings of fresh quantities of barley or oats quickly cool the water. Hence the suggestions for carrying out the method are of great importance, and I therefore will quote fully from Mr. Jensen's article on the method he adopted and recommends: "An oriSnary boiler, such as is found on every farm, is filled with ■water, and heated to boiling point. "Two vessels of sufficient size are placed near it. These may be designated 1 and 2. Supposing the boiler to contain 35 gallons of boiling water, if 12J gallons of cold, and the same quantity of boiling, water be put into each vessel, we shall have twentyfive gallons of water at 132deg. Fahr. in both of them. The exact temperature may be readily obtained by adding a little more hot or cold water as the thermometer shows it to be required.

"A basket containing three-quar-ters of a bushel of corn, which must not be more than 8 inches in depth, is now clipped into No. 1 four times; this will take rather more than half a minute, and will reduce the temperature of the water Bor 9 deg1. It is now to be clipped rapidly five or six times into No. -2, which will take about one minute, and then dipped once per minute for. three minutes longer—i.c:, five minutes altogether in the two vessels. This will reduce the temperature of the water in No. 2 from 132deg. to 129-130deg. "If steeped barley be used, the original temperature of No. 1 should be 129-130deg.; but with unsteeped grain for oats, barley or rye, it does not matter if the original temperature be 133-136 deg. 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 corn in it, taking care that the cold water falls not only upon the centre but round the edges, so that the corn 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 used in replenishing the boiler. The requisite temperature (132deg. Fahr.) of vessels Nos. 1 and 2 must be maintained throughout the process by adding boiling water from time to time from the boiler and transferring from them a similar amount back again into the boiler. The temperature must be regulated by a thermometer, which, when used, must be plunged deeply into the water. The basket must be completely immersed each time; then lifted quite out of the water, so as to allow it to drain for four or five seconds before it is dipped again." The basket recommended by Mr. Jensen is shallow and cylindrical, about 12 inches .deep, and lined with coarse canvas. It is provided with a cover of canvas, stretched over a ring of such dimensions as to fit into the mouth of the basket, and protect the corn, and keep it from floating on the water.

The above description of Mr. Jensen's process is very practical, and presents no difficulty. The grain on the floor after the process is complete would probably be found to dry quickly through absorption of the adhering moisture, and it ought to be drilled immediately. The process would, in fact, be carried out each day in anticipation of the next day's drilling.

It is curious that such a simple method should not have been more generally adopted. Tfc entails labour. it is true, but if it were more generally employed, some convenient form of hand winch Avould be forthcoming to facilitate the repeated dipping of the basket in the heated water. The subject is of interest at the present time, and is worthy of the notice vi correspondents. Smut is undoubtedly an evil. If a crop is examined which has been attacked, a number of bare spikes will be found below the general level of the healthy heads, and the percentage loss on the total crop will be considerable.

JOHN WKJGHTSOX