On plants about an inch long or of the age shown in Fig

On plants about an inch long or of the age shown in Fig

On plants about an inch long or of the age shown in Fig

These spores cling to the grain and at the next planting are ready to attack the sprouting plantlet. A curious thing about the smut is that it can gain a foothold only on very young oat plants; that is, on plants about an inch long or of the age shown in Fig. 121.

When grain covered with smut spores is planted, the spores develop with the sprouting seeds and are ready to attack the young plant as it breaks through the seed-coat. You see, then, how important it is to have seed grain free from smut. A substance has been found that will, without injuring the seeds, kill all the smut spores clinging to the grain. This substance is called formalin. Enough seed to plant a whole acre can be treated with formalin at a cost of only a few cents. Such treatment insures a full crop and clean seed for future planting. Try it if you have any smut.

Fig. 122 illustrates what may be gained by using seeds treated to prevent smut. The annual loss to the farmers of the United States from smut on oats amounts to several millions of dollars. All that is needed to prevent this loss is a little care in the treatment of seed and a proper rotation of crops.

EXERCISE