The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1875-11-04
smut in Wheat.

rye, corn, and closely allied cereal
GRASSES. They are known under
few common names, such as smut,
rust and mildew. These minute
fnngoid plants have been known to
farmers in all ages, but it is only
within the past century that any
thing definite has been discovered
with regard to their structure or
mode Of reproduction. Before the |
invention of our higher power mi-
.croscopes it was impossible for man
to study such subjects, hence all
that has been written in regard to
these plants previously may be con-
sidered sheer guess-work. tits GER
tainly true that some of the more
practical of the ancient Roman agri-
culturists discovered that soaking
seed wheat in the urine of animals
and other solutions tended TO de
crease the quantity of smut, while
some of the more theoretical and
and superstitious among them res
orced to prayers, and sacrifice to the
gods as preventive measures, and we
presume the latter were just as eff
cacious in preventing the spread or
appearance of the disease as some
of the practices resorted to at the
present day.
But through the investigation of
our later microscopists much Of the
mysterious character formerly At
tributed to or surrounding such
subjects has teen cleared up,
and we now know that rust, smut,
and mildeW are true plants, capable
OF reproducing their kind, the same
as species belonging to higher or
ders It is also known that there
are hundreds of distinct species Of
these microscopic plants, each re-
naming distinct through successive
generations, and as anvsrying in
character as species of higher or
ders. The smut found upon corn
(Ustilago maydis) is q distinct spe
cies from the common wheat and
grass seed smut (U-segetum J, or the
common bunt in wheat (Tilletia
carries J, and because farmer is IN
able to distinguish one from the
other it does not follow that they
are not distinct, or that their habits
are a mystery to scientific micros-
copists.
1t is quite a prevalent belief
among farmers that these minute pa
rasitic plants are produced through
a kind of spontaneous evolution,
having no fixed or certain origin or
organs Tor perpetuatIon Of their spe-
cies, which in fact is far from the
truth, inasmuch as it is POW posi-
lively known that all these lower
orders of fungoid growths produce
spores which, although different in
form and structure, are at the same
time equivalent to seedRin plants of
higher type. Smut in wheat.
therefore, is the product OF the
spores (seed of smut, and each spe
cies remains distinct as the different
species Of oaks OF naples when
grown from seed. To eradicate
smut from a wheat-growing region
would be perhaps an impossibiliity,
as the spores are so minute that they
are scattered by the wind, in fact are
present IN the very air we breathe,
during the harvest season. They
are carried into the barn upon the
straw, rest upon the grain in the bin,
and are not injured by cold or dry
ness. Sleeping seed wheat in brine,
lime water, and similar solutions
tends to destroy the spores attached
to the grain itself, and in a measure
adds to the vigor and health of the
plants grown therefrom; hence these
operations are considered beneficial
in preventing smut. busting the
young growing grain with lime early
in spring, or light applications of
salt, have also been found. beneficial
in destroying various parasitic pests
belonging to the animal as well as
the vegetable kingdom.
Still, in the face of all the labOrs
of scientific microscopists and my
cologists, and the wide dissemina-
ton of their discoveries through
agricultural books and the press,
there are hundreds, thousands Of
| farmers who believe smut and sim
liar parasiUs are caused by insects,
or sowing grain at the wrong time
of the moon. One of the best illus
trations ofthe widespread ignorance
upon this subject which has come
under our notice for some years is
the report of committee appointed
by the Pulaski Grange OF Tennessee.
We should not have considered this
document worthy Of a moments
thought, had it not appeared in the
columns of several of our leading
agricultural journals. The gentle
men OF this committee,in endeavor-
ing to enhghten the public as to the
cause of smut in wheat, say
There is a small brownish bug,
about the size of the Buffalo gnat,
which makes Its appearance soon
after harvest time, and deposits its
eggs in the cleft of the wheat grain.
The eggs are, of course, sown with
the wheat in the fall, and when ger
mination takes place these eggs are
enveloped in the plume and carried
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