The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1864-06-24
The Rust of Wheat and its Remedies


by Lewis Bollman, of Bloomington, Ind,
published in the report of the Commits
sioner of Agriculture, we extract the fol-
lowing remarks in relation to rust:
"The Oldest of our histories, the Bible,
frequently aludes to it as common among
the Jews, and represent, it as one of the
punishments inflicted on that disobedient
people. They we're warned that disobedi-
ence would be followed with blasting and
with m:ldew and when thus punished,
the prophet Haggai says: l. smote. you
with blasting aud with mil lew, aud with
hail, in all the labors of your hands yet
yc turned not to me, saith the Lord. -
The Hebrew name for the rust, .yarcoon,
meaning yellow color caused by mois-
ture, Is indicative of the cause and appear
auce of the disease then as we find them
now. The Grecian and Roman writers
have transmitted to US like names and eau
SEES.
The Greeks called it erusitee, and the
Romans rubyo. Ovid describing the ru.
bigalia, religious festival established by
one of tho earliest rulers of Rome, makes
the priest say, IF the sun fervently heats
the moist stalks, then, o dread goddess, is
the opportunity for thy dread wrath. Be
merciful, | pray, and withhold thy rustng
hands from the crops" In all times, and
among every civilized people, this disease
existed, and moist stalk heated by hot
SUI is the cause of it; hence heavy dews,
precipitated by clear, cool nights, succeed
ed by hot sun during the day, soon de-
velops the disease now US it did in the
most ancient periods. 1t was not until
the microscope was invented that the true
nature of the disease was known. There
is species of plant which lives on the sap
of other plants, called parasite. The rust
and smut are plants of this character
The microscope shows the fact that rust is
a perfectly formed plant, having roots,
stems, and branches, and producing seed
too small for the unaided eye to discover.
These exist in nnumerablc quantities in
the atmosphere, awaiting the condition es-
sential to their termination and develop
ment. What these are we have already
seen.
In the language of Ovid, they are the
sun fervently beating on the moistened
stalks. When this moisture proceeds from
showery weather, no danger need be APP
pretended; but when from dews precipi-
! tated by cool nights, then the rust rapidly
develops itself, Whether the moisture in
drying so rapidly causes contraction of the
outer portion of the stem so as to produce
splitting, or whether the GOODNESS Of the
night causes it is not certainly ascertained.
Be this as it may tue result is the samoan
imperceptible spIttingo the straw through
which the sap oozes out. The invisible
aud multituiinous seeds of the rust attach
themselves to this sap, and burying them
selves u it}rapidly vegetate, striking their
rootsfn the openings of the straw, thus di.
vertipg to themselves the sap of the plant,
which should 60 to the filling out aud ri
pening of the grain. Hence it so rapidly
shrivels, aud often becomes worthless.
"What is the remedy against this evil?
The Romans sacrificed red bitch on The
altar of the Goddess Rubigo, the priest en-
treating her to withhold her rusting hands.
If the farmers could be persuaded to sac
ritice all bitches to the goddess, then an al
tar ought to be erected to her on every
farm, for the indirect benefit to the wheat
crop by increased sheep husbaudry would
more than compensate all losses from
the rust.
"The Jewish prophets regarded the
blasting and mildew as punishment of
the sins of the people But, regarding
the remedy for rust through the micro
scope, we find that it is not in all stages of
the growth of the plant that the straw is
liable to split under heavy dews and a
hot sun. 1t is not in its growing state
but in its ripenng stage only, that this re-
suit is produced. Hence, whatever rapid
ly shortens the ripcning stage lessons the
danger.
"For this purpose there is nothing
equal to stable manure, the precise effects
OF which on the soil and on the wheat crop
will be stated under the head of manures.
Another remedy is in immediate harvest
ing when the crop is affected by the rust.
The following instructive experiments
On this point l ird in Mr., Klipparts es
say on wheat. Mr.. George d. Hendricks,
of Preble county, Ohio, writes Mr. Kip
part as follows In 1912 had large
field seriously oti 'cred Ly rust, and, hav-
ing read in the GeaesSee Farmer the me-
cessity of earl y cutting, put hand era
die to work aud left wns absent few
days, and, on my return, found my hand
had only cut few dozen of sheaves, avow-
ing that it was so green he knew it would
be worthless. Itheu procured hands, and
had the field cut, but too late for more
than half crop, whilst the portion cut at
first was plump, and had well filled
grains"