St. Landry democrat., 1881-10-15

which was sown with smut last year
from previous crop OF corn, in which
the main root, the aerial roots, the stem
in many places, the leaves, the ears. the
abort.vc ones as well, and the tassel, are
each and all badly affected. The corn is
totally unit for use, and has been cnt
down and destroyed before the spores
were mature enough to be spread. The
smut first appears as a white granular
substance, very much like that of an
unripe puff ball, but soon develops the
peculiar well-known black, powdery
spores, which are the fruit of the
mature plant. Upon examining the
parts of the affected plants where the
smut first appears, the substance of the
stem and leaf is seen under the micro
scope to be filled with threads of myce-
lium and small patches of the granular
substance, which consists of cells filled
with spores in process of development,
IN ovoid vesicles very much like the
ovoid grains of the wheat and other
trusts. except in wanting color. When
the spores are ripe, these vesicles or
egg-shaped spore cases burst, and the
smut appears like brown dust collected
in masses. Separately the particles of
smut are too small to be seen, except
under high power. The whole plant.
when badly affected, seems to be filled
with the mycelium Or white threads of
the fungus upon which in places appear
clusters of these colorless spore vesi-
cles. .tE
1t is undoubtedly a parasitic disease
0f n nv inf
from the soil. and offers striking
similarity in character to those para
site diseases of animals which are pro-
duced from infection by certain organ
isms (cells or spores), which are taken
into the blood through the stomach or
lungs. To my mind, it appears that
corn smut should be classed with pear
blight. ach-Yellows, the potato rot,
the rust of aWberries, beetS, ETC.,
and the rust and smut of wheat and
oats. All along we have been cons der
ing these to have been accidentally
communicated by spores falling upon
the leaves or bark from the air; but |
am sure, from invest CATION during the
past five years. that the disease springs
from the soil and enters BY the roots,
and that we may SOW the disease, even
with the seed.
Just here it might be pertinent to
suggest to your readers to consider this
matter as they are preparing to SOW
wheat. 1t is a frequent practice with
careful farmers to prepare their seed
by sleeping it in corrosive liquid. such
as solution OF sulphate of copper.
strong brine or lime water, or by dress
ing the moist wheat with cauStic dry
lime just previously air-slaked. The
reason for this practice may not be
clear. If few grains OF wheat or oats
are examined under a good microscope,
the rough skin will nearly always be
found to have more or less of grains of
smut pom them. and if the seed is thus
sown, we sow the disease as effectively
as if we feed to hen some food fouled
with the droppings of another fowl that
has the chicken cholera, or as if we our
selves take into our stomachs some
water fouled with cesspool matter which
produces typhoid fever with the great
est certainty. So that, SO far as the
seed wheat is concerned, we may, by
this precaution, prevent smut in the fu-
ture crop, and the same will undoubt-
edly be true as regards seed-corn.
But precautions are also due in re-
gard to. feeding smutGy; corn or fodder
to stock, and these gshould not be neg
lected. Perhaps the best thing to do
is. when the corn is cut, to keep all the
smutty corn by itself and burn it. d, Tho
spores are practically imperishable, as
are the germs of the animal parasites
referred to, and fire is the only safe
method of dealing with them. If we
would be rid OF these diseases we must
+" stamp them out. III. SteaOart, in
Country Gentleman.