The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1858-07-23
RUST IN oATs-wHAT IS ITr

| Under this head the Southern Homestead
Of last week makes the following remarks
The subject is one of great interest to far.
mers, and the investigations should be prose.
cuted until the cause of their new enemy is
ascertained if possible:
Throughout the whole Southwestern por-
tion OF the Union the oat crop has suffered
from terrible blight, which from its resem.
blance to the fungous substance that some
times attacks wheat by that name, has been
called rust. So far as we are informed, 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 wide and interest.
ing field to the entomologist, as it invites in.
vessigation in channel, SO far as we can as
certain, heretofore unexplored.
While in West Tennessee. short time SINCE
we took occasion to examine the blade of the
oat under microscope. (kindly furnished us
by the Bailey Troupe and were greatly sur
prised with the phenomena which the glass
revealed. Since then we have followed up
those examinations, by the aid of more pow
erful instruments, at the Medical College in
this city, in company of several scientific gen
tlemen, among whom were Drs Briggs and
Buchanan, of the Medical Faculty.
The cause Of all this destruction of the oat
crop is living worm, too small to be plain
ly seen with the naked eye, A single blade
or leaf Of the oat sometimes contains hun
dreds of them. They lie encased in the tbs.
sues of the leaf or blade where they have
been germinated, 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 begin to
change color and form, getting more Opaque
and dark in appearance until, in the course
of transformation, they become 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.
How this innumerable army Of infinitesi-
NAL worms originated is yet mystery. 1t is
singular fact, however, that wherever the
greatest quantity of rain has fallen, there
the oat crop has Jared the worst. In our re-
cent trip through West Tennessee, we saw
but single field of oats, between the Mssis-
sippi and Tennessee rivers, which was not
total failure, or into which it would not be
folly to put scytheblade. That field was
near Denmark, in Madissn 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
animacule. 1t is also well.known that mos.
ture and heat will produce and multiply ami.
NAL life, millions per hour. and therein we
judge is the secret Of the destruction of the
oat crop. 1t is one of those cases of natural
phenomena which occur only at certain
stage in the growth of plants, and under pc,
cullar states of temperature and weather.
1t map happen next season, or it may not oc-
cur again for many years.