Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1883-05-19
The Smut of Wheat.

Inc Term smut Is popularly applied
to two-quite different diseases of the
wheat plant. In this country it
generally means disease which leaves
the, grain nearly its normal size and
shape, but filled with a black and
sinking dust; this is the one doubtless
referred to by a Wyoming inquirer
accordingly it alone will be considered
here. 1t may, however, be well to
say that the wheat smut of books, and
also of the English farmers is
that which turns the whole head into
black, dusty powder, and is known
in some parts of this country as blast,
black blast, black blight, etc. The
names under which the wheat smut
is generally known in England are
burnt or sinking smut, and under
these it has often been described. 1t
is true disease, and like many of the
diseases of animals and man, it is the
result of the growth of parasitic plant.
This wheat parasite known to bottan-
lists as Tilletia carries consists Of slen-
der threads of microscopic size which
insinuate themselves between the cells
and tissues of the young wheat plant,
drawing therefrom the nutrient matters
and thereby reducing considerably the
general vitality of the affected plant
AS is well known. an ordinary plant
consists of a great number of cells,
each resembling a microscopic
bladder, filled with protoplasm, water
and some other substances. Were our
eyes stronger the interior of a young
wheat plant would appear not much
unlike barrel of potatoes, the potatoes
representing the cells. The cells in
the plant, much asthe potatoes in the
barrel, have empty or vacant places
between one another. Now if we i'm,
agine some slender plant growing up
between the potatoes in the barrel and
drawing nourishment from them, we
will have crude illustration of the
way that the smut parasite attacks the
wheat plant. The parasite, however,
not content with growing in between
the cells of the wheat plant, and so
robbiHg them, actually penetrateS them,
thrusting in branches and sucker here
and there in order to more certainly
secure their nutritious contents.
When the wheat begins to head the
parasitic threads push their way into
the young kernels, and there find an
abundance of food. Here the parasite
reaches its highest development, and
produces an abundant crop of its
minute black spores, to serve as seed
for the next years crop. A wheat
kernel thus filled with spores is gener.
ally little shorter and thicker thar
healthy grain, and is always dark
greenish color. Upon crushing it, g
most offensive odor is given off by the
black dusty mass of the interior. Now
if we put some of this black dust under
good microscope, we shall see thai
it is made up of round bodies, the in
dividual spores, which in these low
plants answer the same purpose as the
higher ones. When the smutteC
grains are broken, as many are ii
threshing, the spores adhere to the tof
of hairs on the normal grains and arr
thus sown with the latter. l have re
peatedly examined the good kernels O
wheat which was somewhat affected by
smut, and found that scores of spore,
adhered to them, especially in thu
hairs and the deep fold which rum
lengthwise upon the grain. Wher
once they become attached they remain
with great persistence, and it is very
difficult indeed to separate them, s,
that a few crushed smut grains ma,
pretty thoroughly inoculate a consider
able quantity of wheat.
1t has been demonstrated repeatedly
that the disease is propagated by tn,
spores, and that the sowing of seeC
containing smut spores is followed, I'm
der favorable conditions, by a new crol
of smut. The spores can be readil!
terminated, and the process of growtl
watched for fome distance, but, will