Curing Grain Of Smut

Having noticed in your paper how people east of the Kockies treat wheat :o prevent smut, I will teil how we of the Pacific Ooast States do. Take a barrel of forty gallon capacity, fill with water, two-thirds full, then take of blue vitrtol (sulphate of copper) dis solve in warm water one pound to 400 pouinds of wheat; pour this int o the barrel; have the wheat in burlap bags tJiat the water may get in and out easily; eet the bag of wheat in tbc barrel, leave two or three minutes to become thoroughly saturated, then take out and lay in a trougfr drainng back to the barrel; when through drippimg is ready for sowing or cac be laid away and sowed months afterwards. As the water is taken up by dippiing so often, add more water, aleo occasionally add more vitriol to keep up the strength. I have treated all kinds of graim subjeet to smut, im this manner and am never troubled with sniut, and 1 have raised graiu for the past thirty years. The fiirst grain erop I ever tried to grow, proved that the a.bove treatment would prevent smut. I thought it was a humbug like mamy other notioos among farmere and I soweii about half my erop with wheat mot treated. The product fi-om that piece was more than half smut. The balance I sowed with wheat that a neighbor had left and wfehed to exohajige and which he had treated as. above and the product from íIUls iiece. was as clean from smut as you evei saw. The land was all plowtd about the saane week and the wheat was all sowed and harrowed the same day and the land was all of the same character, also the wheat same kiind. Blue vitriol acts much in the same ma:nner tluat qufck Urne does in destroyilug tflie germs of smut, and whenever a farmer get a ILttle aceustomed to its use aind lus faith settled in lts favor, he will cling to il ever af tër. It is not so very dangerous to handle, although poiMonous. One should be eareful and not get it into tlie eyes oc let cattle or horses drink the water out of the barrel. I have fed to pigs and chickens out of wheat treated as above that I have had left, but would not dare try othei stock with it. It will not hurt pigs or poultry. This treatment may be in vogne among farmers in the east, "out I have yet to read of such and 1 read several agrieultural publications of tbe eat. I should have addec furthier that blue vitriol is a necessary article of trade witli our merchants and they keep it on sale ii large q-ua.ntitis and it is used f o inothing else that I am aware of.-