Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1897-08-07
INSTRUCTING THE FARMERS.

Democrat.
INSTRUCTING THE FARMERS.
Synopsis of Scientific Talks by Clemson
Professors.
There was a comparatively large
attendance on the Farmers institute,
held in Yorkville, last Wednesday,
under the auspices of faculty OF
professors from Clemson college.
There were present, during the day,
as many as 80 representative farmers
from different sections of the county,
and all listened with careful attention
to all that the learned professors
had to say.
The exercises took place in Bratton's
Hall and the courthouse-the former
place in the morning and the latter
place in the afternoon-and consisted
of lectures by the following professors
on the subjects named: DR.. A. P. An
derson, professor of botany, on "Plant
Diseases :" S. S. Shiver, assistant pro-
fessor of chemistry, on Commercial
Fertilizers;" J. w. Hart, professor OF
dairying, on "Dairying," and w. r.
Morrison, professor of history, on "1n-
dustrial Education"
DR.. Anderson was the first speaker.
He began at the beginning with an e1.
PLANTATION that when he spoke of
plants, he not only meant the visible /;
but also such as could not be seen
with the naked eye, of which latter
class there are probably as many as
the former.
Generally speaking, plant life is di.
vided into two great classes-"green"
plants, such as trees, cotton, etc., and
"colorless" plants, which include the
various kinds of fungi. The principal
difference between the two kinds of
plants, is that the green are able to
make and take their food from the at
mosphere, while the "colorless" exist
as parasites on the "green," or as
"saphiolites" on organic matter. A
plant which gets its living from a liv-
ing plant is a parasite, and continuing
to exist on the organic matter left at
the death of the living plant, becomes
saphiolite.
AS familiar example of the para
site, DR.. Anderson mentioned the cedar
apple. This is fungus which attacks
the tree, and is both benefit and an
injury. For instance, the tree, in its
effort to get rid of it, puts on an abnor-
NAL growth. The injury comes later
to other plant life. This fungus thrives
on the cedar tree only in the winter.
With the coming of the spring rains,
it exudes as yellow substance, which
dries up and becomes microscopic
powder. In this shape it becomes a
menace to other plant life. For in
stance, borne by the wind, it alights on
apple trees and produces apple rust,
or upon ounce trees and produces
ounce rust.
Although there are many different
kinds of lower plant life having their
origin in bacteria, which can only be
distinguished under the microscope,
all are not injurious. Indeed, many
are of more benefit than higher forms.
For instance, take those bacteria which
carry the elements of decay. They
attack logs and branches of trees, ETC.,
and finally reduces them to humus,
the best of all fertilizers. Were it not
for this process such accumulations
would be piled up until there would
be room for nothing else. And not
only is there benefit here. Take
clover and the pea. They are among
the best nitrogen gatherers known.
They have no original means of taking
nitrogen from the atmosphere; hut
furnishing, as they do, perfect means
for the propagation of certain kind
of bacteria, they are thus provided
with the means of taking up nitrogen
in such form as makes it available for
food.
The science of plant diseases, DR..
Anderson explained, is only about 40
years old. Pasteur had made great
discoveries, and others developing
along the same line-bacteriological-
had made great progress but still the
science is only in its infancy.
One of the most common forms of
disease is rust-apple, grass, barley,
wheat and oat rust. All are very
much the same. AS the cedar tree is
the "host" plant for apple rust, so also
is the barberry and other plants, the
hosts of wheat rust. Just as apple
rust spends its winters on the cedar
tree, the wheat rust spends it's winters
on the barberry plant. There is no
known remedy for rust on wheat, ex-
cept to destroy the host plant. If the
barberry is killed out in winter, then
the rust will be reduced on the wheat
the following summer.
Smut is another disease of the same
general character, except instead of
attacking the stalk of corn, wheat, or
barley, etc., it attacks the grain itself.
Just where smut comes from is not
definitely known. 1t is believed, how
ever, to be preserved through the win
ter in very much the same manner as
rust. 1t attacks the grain when it is
first sown, goes on up the stalk as the
stalk grows, and is ready to continue its