The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1863-02-19
farmers department.
Smut in wheat.


made by you concerning diseases Of
wheat, &C., / enclose my experience, nf-
ter investigating tho cause of rust and
smut 10 wheat in this latitude.
have time only to give you a few
practical hints and observations; ig you
think we'll Of them you may use them
in any way you think proper
Having made experiments with many
varieties of bearded and beardless sorts
of wheat, 1 succeeded best with board
cd variety familiarly known as NJ diter-
ranean, and Que of the smooth head or
beardless variety called Canada white
wheat, having a deep purple stalk
Rust and smut in wheat are attributa-
bic to causes about which there is a
great diversity of opinion, even with
practical farmers of the present day
The rust is not common in dry, hot,
clear seasons, but when the Spring is
wet, the finest fields of wheat run great
hazard of being destroyed by rust, es
pccially in bottom lands that arc rich,
if infected with decaying weeds, stub
Bile or stalks; rust generally appears up
on the breaking out Of the sun in the
morning, after close and sultry weather,
during which. there has not been any
dew.
Smut is disease Of the cars Of grow
ing grain, by which the substance
which should form -four, becomes en-
tirely changed into black powder, sim.
liar to a puff ball or dusty mushroom,
has disgusting smell, and before the
grain ripens can be easily detected from
this peculiarity, without entering the
field, if much infected. As the name
indicates, few heads of this diseased
wheat will infect a whole crop of seed
wheat with smut. In 1856, my entire
crop of wheat was more or less affected
with smut, both sorts, red bearded, and
white smooth head, but red bearded be
ing the hardest variety, was least af
fected. was then taking two agricul-
tural journals, and being very anxious
TO find a specific, tried several expert
ments, in different fields. soaked
some of the wheat, before sowing, in
blue stone water, at the rate of one
pound of blue stone to fifteen bushels
of wheat.
Some ia strong briue-and some af.
ter soaking in strong brine, was dried
with new lime. The result Of the lat
ter preparation was an entire success
The wheat soaked in blue stone water
had very little smut in t--that soaked
in brine alone had some smut; the
wheat soaked in brine and rolled in new
lime had no smut in it, while fields
sown by my neighbors without any prep
aration were almost rendered. worth
less.
Some of my neighbors got seed of me
and sOwed; their wheat had three or
four times as much smut in the next
harvest than the seed wheat had, prov.
ing satisfactorily that the sooty sub
stance contained in a single head of
smut wheat would infect large qnan-
tity of grain with its fungi am of
opinion that many difficulties in the
way of successful wheat crop could be
overcome by judicinus selection of
land, proper and thorough breaking Of
the land In due season, early sowing,
narrowing, &c. Select elevated ground,
Of a southern or southeastern expo.
sure, prepare the land WE'LL by break
ing with large plow, deep and close;
barrow in the grain. Fallow or clover
land is best when free from weeds and
stubble.
I have prepared my seed wheat in
the same manner every year since with
perfect success.
An author remarks, wherever tho
farming is Of the best kind and where
the drainage is good, mildew and rust
will not be found in any alarming de-
gree. Just as the clean skin of animals
is a defence against nauseous living
parasites, so, by an analogous method,
the soil will be rendered free from the
destructive fungi, which causes blight
in this great staple. Improved domes
tic habits in our peasantry are we'll
known as tending to check the spread
of epidemic diseases, and in the same
way better system of cultivation will
avert diseases from our gardens and
fields.
am aware that unless a writer upon
any subject is capable of convincing
those to whom he addresses his epistle
that he understands the causes, nature
and history of his subject, ne is deemed
incapable of pointing out proper rem
edy; but in answer to such, permit me