The Columbia Democrat. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1837-1850, 1842-09-03
ON RUST AND MILDEW.

OlN hOoA hlNO
Your committee in their endeavor to in.
vestigate the subject Of mildew and rust on
wheat, and wha, may bs in some measure
preveniives, will frsIpresent TO your con-
sidera,ion some circumstances which have
occurred under our observation, 10 show
that il is not in the power of us short sight.
ed mortals, with dur puny arm, 10 contend
against the over ruling providence of God:
occurrences arise which are not in the pow
er Of mar TO foresee, govern, or CONTROL
in confirmation of this view Of the subject
we present the following cases.
One of our farmers had an extraordinary
piece of wheat, which he thought out oi
danger, it was so near ripe. On very hot
day, between the hours Of one and three
o'clock there came small cloud over which
completely drenched the field OF wheat. A
ieath.like stiffness succeeded: the cloud
passed away: the sun shone intensely hot.
The owner in this state of the case, went
to examine the wheat, as it was much
pressed down by the shower;he immediate
ly observed con.inu al ticking, or swapping
noise in every direction in the wheat. The
straw was fine and bright, but upon exami-
nation he perceived it bursting in short
splits of fourth of an inch long. and the
sap exuding in thousands of places. A day
or two after, the whole field was darkened
with rust and the wheat of very little value.
II does not appear that these circumstances
take place while the wheat is growing, but
only at this criticalstate of ripening.
On my neighb& Whites farm some
years since was one OF the heaviest pieces Of
wheat straw ever saw, remarkably fine
and nearly ripe. had also good piece
advancing fast to maturity, on close warm
morning, a small cloud of fog arose from
the meadow and gradually covered the two
fields, bu. was not general fog: being
very still it remained lowering over the
fields until the hot sun dissipated the vapor.
Being acquainted with the above case,
was alarmed for the wheat and watched
over it with deep interest When the sun
had somewhat dried the straw, and warmed
it, the straw began to burst with continual
ticking noise, the sap exuding at all these
liuAsplits. In day or two the fields
were black with rust except some small
spots, which are worthy Of notice. An
acre or two Of mine was so near ripe that
the wheat was. tolerable good, and the rust
Whites field there were some trees which
kept the intense heat of the sun from the
straw; there was tolerable wheat, also.--
The rest of the fields would scarcely pay
for gathering and threshing.
A question ofimpoitance arises on these
two cases. Was this injury fungus, the
very fine seeds of which float abou. and
attach themselves to the straw, as some of
our learned Agricultural writers tell us, or
is it the sap of the straw that ran out and
was dried on the straw, and was reddish or
black according to its state of ripeness or
fulIness of sapl
Your committee are decidedly of the
opinion that the sap being lost at this criti-
cal time of ripering is the true cause of the
shrinking of the grain.
Some of our most judicious Agricultural
writers have taught us that the leaves of
Indian corn above the ear cannot be taken
of at the time Of ripening, without detri-
ment TO the corn, causing it TO shrink in the
grain.
Your committee made an experiment on
this case, when the corn was nearly rjpe
stripping some rows, and leave Others,
over several acres. At husking time il
was evident that on the rows that were
stripped, many of the ears were consider
able shruhk IN the grain. SO much so as to
'be loose on the cob, the ears on the rows
that were not stripped showing in the most
satisfactory manner the damage sustained
by removing the leaves above the ears.
Your commi,te think they are fully sus.
tanned in their conclusion on the wheat, bv
the parallel case of injury sustained bv
the corn in The removal of the leaves, which
at .Eis critical time has the only nourish.
ment to sustain the corn in ripening. So
oil the wheat straw; the bottom is dead in a
great degree. but from the upper Joint to
the top.is full Of nourishment to sustain the
wheat ia ripening, and this is the par,
that suffers the loss OF sap. The under
part OF the straw is ripe. land passed through
the state in which il can suffer loss, and
we often find it bright and tough al The
bottom, when the top will scarcely make !
'band.
These two cases fully demonstrate the
'impossbRily Of any management, in rhf
power OF man, always to insure a crop o
wheat sale against the destructive effects n
rust. Yet a kind Providence has Ie(t n.
30 many means by which VIC NAV reducs
this loss and in soma uaoa,m.o