Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-03-27
SIN Tut.
The Spores Which Do Their Destructive
Work In Wheat.

There are two kinds of smut on
wheat. For one there is a very efficient
and, in every case, practical remedy;
for the other no preventive has been
discovered. They are both species of
vegetable parasites of the great group
of fungi. Both kinds are propagated
by seed-like granules, called spores,
which, indeed, constitute the most of
the sooty material known as the smut.
The spores are exceedingly small, and
only to be seen by the aid Of a good
microscope. Of course there are mil
lions of them in the black stuff pro-
duced on one head of wheat; yet, small
as they are, each one may terminate
under the proper conditions and repro
duce another year the whole amount
found on one wheat plant. The tissues
of the latter become more or less filled
with the fine white thread which makes
up the vegetatlve structure of the smut
plant, and these threads (mycelium),
absorb nutriment from the wheat stem,
etc.; then penetrate the wheat grain
and produce there the spores. There
is thus one crop of smut each year, as
there is one generation of the wheat.
Both kindsdevelop their sooty spores
in the young wheat kernel, but with
one the latter retains pretty nearly its
proper shape. though. perhaps, some
what swollen. 1t may, however, be
crushed between the thumb and finger,
and is then found to be of a greasy or
putty-like consistence, and possessed of
an offensive odor. The head of wheat
scarcely shows externally the serious
change that has taken place in the kerr
nels. This disease is called bunt, and
perhaps should be so named generally
to distinguish it from the next. The
second kind of smut is distinguished
from the foregoing at once by the APP
pearance of the affected heads, which
can readily be discerned among the
maturing healthy ones. These first
are slender, the chatf open, and the
protruding mass of black material, oc-
cupying the place of the wheat grain,
is soon powdery, and is readily carried
in the air as a fine dust. There is moth
ing to be seen of this in the threshed
wheat, unless n examines with a mi
croscope for the scattered spores. Fol
this last kind of smut there is, unfortu-
nately, no feasible remedy. There is
still need of careful scientific investiga-
ton as to the life process of the fun
gus, and methods Of destroying it.
For preventing bunt, the kind first
described, we have only to treat the
seed grain with a solution of blue
vitriol "copper" sulphate) or, as often
called, bluestone. For this purpose,
dissolve the bluestone, one pound for
every four bushels of wheat, in suffi-
Gent water to wet thoroughly the grain
as it is piled on the barn floor. or 9TH
er suitable place. After stirring we'll,
the seed may bedeft over night in a
heap, then sown the next day, tirstdry-
ing if necessary by mixing a small
quantity of air-slaked lime. Other
substances are found useful by destroy
ing the spores in a similar way, but
none are so e%fficacious as the bluestone.
Glauber's salts (sulphate of soda). cor
rosive sublimate, arsenic, or even COM
mon salt are more or less effective. 1t
must be understood that this treatment
is for killing the spores attached to the
seed wheat, and care must be taken not
to permit contamination in other ways,
asby leaving affected heads on thetield,
where successive wheat crops are to be
raised, or by application of unferment-
ed manure from cattle fed infected
food.
The whole question of remedies for
parasitic fungi imperatlvely demands
skilled experiments and researches and
no better use could be made of public
money than to set competent men at
work under pay of the State or Nation,
or may be in offering prizes for COM
petitiye results of Investigations. The
work is necessarily slow and expensive,
but certainly is promise of vast pec'm.
iary saving to those directly interested
in the harvests as the outcome of such
investigations.-Prot: BurriM, in Prai.
rie Farmer.