Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1878-09-12

remedy has been discovered it has not yet
reached us. If it is over discovered, it will be
by q careful investigation of the principles and
conditions that enter into and OBJECT tho oharac
ter aud growth of tho plant. Vidwing the sub
jeot in this light, have gono to considerable
expense of time, money and labor to search out
if possible tho cause of tho existonoo of this
terrible destroyer, and though not through with
my Investigations nor thoroughly satisfied with
their correctness, I lay them before the reader,
II for no other reason than that they may stimu-
late inquiry on this important subject.
Take green stalk Of wheat into your mouth
and chew it and you will readily perceive that
there are at least two ingredients in it with the
tasto of which you arc perfectly familiar, viz:
sugar and salt, the sugar boing very peroeptible
to tho taste, the salt barely 80. By analysis it
will bo found that the sugar or sweet constitu-
ent contains in addition q substance called
"gluten," o liquid called ssalbumen' nni o
substance called starch. Tho salt principle, when
analysed, produces common salt, little phospho.
rus, nitro or saltpctre and somo traces Of lime,
with the addition Of a coloring matter and othcr
elements too tedious TO mention here Take q
blado Of wheat on which the rust has just begun
to show itself; place it under the lense of
microscope and you will discover that what ap.
pcared to your eyes as moro brown spcck, is
really living, organized growth, vegetable in
its character and Of the fungi or mushroom
this fungi or parasite, If you please, get here?
If you will carefully remove the fungi and again
oxamino with tho microscope you will perceive
that tho external coating Of tho blade has been
ruptured either by attrition or abrasion or somo
other sufficient cause to produce break in tho
delicate membrane that envelopes tho blade.
Through this break small portion Of this sweet
juice Of which spoke has exuded, and coming
in contact with tho oarbonio acid Of the air,
fermentation Was produced, and the product of
that fermentation was, or Is, this brown fungi that
you 500 on the blade of wheat Now in short
space, soy in few hours from its appearance on
tho blade, it arrives at maturity or tho capacity
for reproducing itself. Every breath Of DIR or
drop Of water passing over It wafts or carries
tho small dust.like sporules from blado to blade,
and wherever it finds lodgmcnt its poison is 50
active, that Immediately other ruptures Of tho
delicate membranes, are produced and now fungi;
till with favorable conditions Of weather, whole
fields are swept over in few hours.
What is tho cause Of this dreadful disease?
For ON answer wo can only present some data
gathered up in the past, and IL that data should
reveal tho cause, tho question Is in great mea-
sure answered. First, it Is notorious that rust
is most prevalent in wot or damp warm spring
seasons. The reason Of this seems to be that
the plant being unduly forced forward in its
growth, imbibes greater quantity Of sweet or
saoarine juice than it is capable Of using in tho
development OF grain, at tho same time on in-
sufficient quantity Of siicous matter is produced
to form sufficient oxtornal coating or nom.
brano for tho stalk and blade, the forced growth
of tho plant and tho poverty Of tho soil In what
l might coll ''soluble glass;" Ito convey my idea
in more simple lauguage,) not furnishing suffi-
cient hardness or toughness to tho external
membrane to prevent its rupture or abrasion by
tho moving Of the blades over and across each
other. It seems to me evident that if somo
means could be discovered by which the stalk
could be made harder, viz: giving it thicker
coat, that tho chance for rust would bo in great
measure obyiated; and thus one great draw. back
on wheat culture removed. believe it is gene
rally known that littlo complaint is made Of rust
by farmers who reside in those districts whose
soil Is Of that character known as "calcarious'
that is, containing lime, and yet we know that
the simple application of lime to our soils does
not always result in preventing rust. One rea-
son may be assigned for this: Tho process Of
making limo deprives 1t Of salt, which is its
natural oonoomitant in soils whore it exists in
in the proportion Of say quart to q bushel Of
lime, would moet tho necessary condition to in
sure satisfactory roturn That is, combine
say, from 200 to 400 pounds of lime and salt in
tho above proportions with suitable quantity
Of barnyard manure. That rust is tho result
Of fermentation and that fermentation in gone
ral can only bo produced by the presence Of
some saoarine or sweet substance, will be clear
to any inquiring mind that will take the trouble
to Investigate the subject. Hence anything that
will prevont fermentation and giyo sufficient
hardness or toughness to tho stalk and blade to
preserve 1t from abrasion or rupture OF tho ex-
ternal coat by uttrition or other causes, must bo
in tho nature Of thngs long step towards a
remedy for rust Chemistry hos taught us that
most Of tho alkalies or potash producing elements
In nature are destructive to fungoid development
and the reverse is true whore potash is absent
from the soil. In all strong now lands alkal
Is abundant, hence tho idea that new lands aro
best for small grain, especially wheat Even
tho bottom lands Of our section, unfayorablo as
they naturally arc in many respects to tho
growth of wheat, produced largo yields Of this
cereal when first cultivated Then tho soil oon-
tainod large proportion Of alkali. Successive
and excessive cultivation has absorbed this ele7
mont, and whoat on these lands has become q
failure. Tho old fold lands rcforred to above
owe their superiority not to the fact that thGy
IRE old fields, but to tho modo Of treatment by
"hion IhiS AmPoTtaht oohstit1oht SpotaSnl Is
supplied CEREAL. 4
[From the Mcmphis Avalanche, August8o.l
TO the Dregs. ~
IT rs A. LONG, DEEP DRAUaHT OF SfCK-
NESS AND OF DEATH. 81
a .Gg &a4 So ----t IS, i. 3f'
We are doomed. Itis hard, as we writo
in this dark, dismal night Of, death; not to
realize the full meaning Of that briof sen,
tenoe. ~ is bard for any man Of tho few