News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1883-03-08
Smut in Corn.

S. W, Hudson, Mass, writes: Gas
it will soon be time to think of planting,
[ should like to see the matter of smut in
corn more thoroughly discussed. If I
can find no preventive of smut I shall
be inclined to discontinue the planting
of corn. [ may say, first of all, [ have
| seen more smut in one season here ON
half an acre of corn than / saw altogether
in the first fifty years of my life in other
| States. In the spring of 1881 I saw it
stated that soaking the seed in strong
pickle or brine would prevent smut.
That spring I put my seed into pickle as
strong as it could be made with salt and
cold water [ intended to soak the seed
twenty-four or thirty-siX hours, but con-
tinuOus rainy weather prevented the
planting some eight or nine days, during
which the corn remained in pickle. That
year [ had about the usual quantity of
smut. A. this corn was planted on old
corn ground, l thought that this might
have much to do with the smut, but last
spring (1SS2) [ turned over sod ground
or greensward, and noticing in paper
that soaking the seed in a solution OF
blue vitriol would kill smut, [ soaked
the seed as directed by the paper, and
yet the smut was as plentiful as in the
years before. think, in fact, that it
was more thoroughly diffused among the
corn than usual. In cutting a little corn
which I cured for fodder, 1 think threw
out fully SIX or seven per cent. Of the
stalks as worthless because there were,
perhaps, half dozen spots of smut on
on each stalk From my experience I
feel justified in asserting that neither
brine nor sulphate of copper is any pre-
ventive whatever of smut )"
Reply.-Your conclusion, although at
first sight it may seem reasonable, is not
a just one. We may say virtue is
safeguard against vice. That seems
reasonable, but there is not enough viz
tue III the world to prevent vice, because
vice springs up in thousands of quarters
where virtue does not appear. Now,
without the stepping Of the salt or the
sulphate there might have been 20 or 80
per cent. of smuttv stalks, while with it
there was only 6 or 7 per cent. The fine
black dust is the seed Of the smut, and
that is scattered profusely by the winds
everywhere and viii remain i'll the soil
for years, until it finds corn plant to
grow in. The pickle only kills the smut
on the seed and not that which is in the
ground but if the seed is cleansed from
the pest so much is saved. 1t is known |
that picking the seed wheat does pre- |
vent smut in wheat, and the practice is
very common. We don't understand all |
about smut, although we know it is a
fungus and grows from seed but whether
corn, wheat, Oat, onion, and all other .
smuts are the same OF forms of the same
plant we do not know. Nor do We know .
yet complete remedy against it, .
although we do know thA, hy Es. lis, a+ 4,
sdT copper sr1lphate, lime aud other cor
rossve s5iltious We can XII it ON the /
seed, aud SO prevent the seed from cor-
p me- the Infection with it into the soil. /
How to get the soil free from it, when it
is infected by the myriads of smutty
ears and stalks left III the fields or thrown
in the manure yards, seems to be a seri-
GUS difficulty. If every smutty stalk or
ear We're burned up it is very certain that
we might in few years become wholly
free from the pest, because a new supply
of seed would be prevented. 1t is as
certain we can rid ourselves of it as that |
we can get rid of daisies or other weeds
if we try to.-N. Y. Times.