Staunton vindicator and general advertiser. (Staunton, Augusta County, Va.) 1858-1860, 1858-09-04

turner's department..
Rust i'm Oats---What is il?

Under this head the Southern Homestead
makes the following remarks This subject
is one of the greatest Importance to farmers,
and the investigation should be prosecuted
until the cause Of their new enemy is ascer-
tanned, if possible:
| Throughout the whole southwestern por-
ton of the Union, the cat crop has suffered
from a terrible blight, which from it's re-
semblance to the fungus substance which
sometimes attacks wheat by that name, has
been called rust. So far as we are inform
| ed, rust in oats has hitherto been unknown
We have never heard Or read of anything of
the kind, in any section of the country
The fact that It is thus unusual, opens a
wide and interesting field to the entomolo-
gist, as it invites investigation in channel,
so far as we can ascertain, heretofore unex-
plored
While in West Tennessee, a short time,
we took occasion to examine the blade of
the oat under microscope, (kindly furnish
ed US by the Baily Troupe) and were great
ly surprised by the phenomena which the
glass revealed. Since then we have follow
ed up those examinations, by the aid of the
more powerful Instruments at the Medical
College il this city. in company with sew
eral scientific gentlemen, among whom were
Drs. Briggs and Buchanan of the Medical
Faculty
The cause Of all this destruction of the
cat crop is living worm, too small to be
seen by the naked eye. A single blade or
leaf of the oat sometimes contains hundreds
of them. They are encased in the tissues
OF the leaf or blade where they have been
terminated beneath the epidermis or thin
pellicle over the exterior portion of the blade,
and as they progress in development, the
skin of the leaf is raised into curious puffy
blisters. The growth of the worm subse-
quently ruptures these, and it escapes to
feed on the plant. When first released from
their covering, they are of beautiful, clear,
red color, almost transparent, but soon be-
gin to change color and form, getting more
opaque and dark in appearance, until in the
course. Of transformation, they become a
black bug, with legs and wings, when they
attack the head or grain of the oats
Under the microscope, the dust which re-
mains on the leaf closely resembles that on
the wings of butterflies.
ILOH tuIS ILL uuICIdUiC army OF luuUItlSSe-
NAL worms originated is yet mystery. It
is singular fact, however, that wherever
the greatest quantity Of rain has fallen, there
the oat crop has fa-ed the worst. In our
recent trip through West Tennessee, we saw
but single field of oats, between the Mis-
sissippi and Tennessee rivers, which was not
total failure, or into which it would not
be folly to put scythe blade That field
was near Denmark, Madison county and
was sown very early. 1t is well known that
more rain has fallen in West Tennessee,
this season, than in any other part of the
State hence, the extreme wet weather must
have had some agency in the production of
this animaloule. It is also well known that
moisture and heat will produce and multi
ply animal life, millions per hour, and there
in we judge is the secret Of this destruction
OF the oat crop. Tt IS enc Of those cases Of
natural phenomena which occur only at a
certain stage in the growth Of plants, and
under peculiar states of temperature and
weather. 1t may happen next season, or it
may not occur again for many years.