The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1896-09-18

Il SAoA - 50 OO1AC6ON O00kO W4SA4 RtAxO
sorng-d1k disease. AS to the theory
KAT this trouble is caused by the corn
smut 1t says:
A very common theory that has been
held for some time is that the disease
Is caused by eating corn smut CUstilago
maidis). Corn smut is a fungus which
attacks the growing cornstalk or a
Of corn. AS the corn natures the smut
Is readily recognized by the presence
OF large dark brown or black masses
OF spores. Cattle will often eat this
corn smut quite readily, whether it is
on cornstalks or corn in the field, or on
fodder that has been cut and cured.
AS the cornstalk disease does not occur
IN cattle that are fed on corn-fodder
even when the fodder contains unusu-
ally large quantities of the fungus, in
olcates that the corn smut is not espe-
clally injurious to cattle, and expert
mental evidence proves c~onclusively
that corn smut is not injurious to cat
tie. In 1868, Prof. john Gamgee. in
investigating the cornstalk disease, fed
experimentally 40 pounds of corn smut
SS"o3 OCSlAuluS Will SIX duu III
creaslng to twelve unces daily. The
smut wa fed with ground grain and
chopped hay. To one COW it was given
wet, to the other dry. The COW that re-
celved the wet ration gained in weight
during the trial, the other lost in
weight, but both remained we'll.
several years ago Mr.. John Booth, a
farmer living north from Manhattan,
being of the opinion that corn smut
was liable to produce the cornstalk dis
ease, took pains to gather the smut
from the field. One night his cattle
broke into the Enclosure where the
smutty corn and smut had been thrown
out and ate all they wished; no injuri-
Gus effects were noticed. The Bureau
of Animal Industry of the United
States Department of Agriculture made
two experiment of feeding corn smut
to cattle under the direction of DR.. F.
L. Kilborne, as follows:
The load Of cornstalks affected with
smut (Ustilago maidis) removed from
he field used in the preceding expert
ment page Az were fed to three-two-
year-old steers placed separately in box
stalls in a barn on Mr.. McCleary's
farm. The animals had been in a corn
stalk field for about five weeks prior to
the feeding. They were fed exclusively
on the smut-laden ~cornstalks and free
smut mixed with a small quantity Of
a mixture of corr meal and wheat
bran for seven days without i'll effects.
Owing to the absence of necessary ap-
planes the weight of the animals and
of the smut fed was not taken. It is
safe to say that these animals con-
sumed a much greater quantity of smut
than the animals which died in the
field. 1t was observed that the ami
mails did not eat the smut readily in
the field, and in this experiment the
animals refused it until apparently
hunger compelled them to eat. The
mixing of mill feed with the pure smut
made it more appetizing, and conse-
quently a much larger quantity was
eaten than otherwise would have been.
The fact should be borne in mind that
the smut used in this experiment came
from a corn field in which several ami
mails had died within five days after
they were turned into it..
(2) In December, 1893, six barrels OF
corn smut were collected from several
corn fields in which cattle had not been
turned, neal Van Meter, Iowa, and
shipped to the experiment stations OF
this bureau. This material comprised
both abortive ears with the husks at
tackled by the smut and the masses of
pure smut found growing on the stalks.
The total weight was 230 pounds, of
which at least one-half was smut.
Two heifers, Nos. 23S and 2S4, Is to 1S
months old, were placed in separate
box stalls. They were bedded with peat
moss instead of straw, in order that
their food should consist exclusively
of the prescribed ration. They were
allowed to run in a small yard Q6 by
80 feeD for about five hours daily.
During the experiment the animals
wished. They were not sailed. The
smut was apparently not relish
ed by the heifers, especially by No. 23S,
so hat it required considerable in
ducement to get them to eat the de-
sired quantity. Beginning on the
morning of January II, 1894, and con-
tinuing until noon Of February 2 Q6h
lays, the heifers were fed morning and
evening with from two to three quarts
Of a mixture Of equal parts by weight
of cut hay and a mixture of corn-meal
middllngs and wheat bran, and 16
quarts Of smut The actual quantity of
the fungus consumed by No. 238 was 81