Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-04-03
EXPLAINS WHEAT RUST
Mark Alfred Carleton, Cerealist
Draws Interesting Lessons
From Epidemic Of 1904
GRAINS RESISTANT TO RUST
Bulletin Just lssyed Under Authority
of Secretary Wilson, Goes Into De-
tails Concerning Which Varieties of
Wheat Are the Best To Cultivate
Moisture Largely Responsible. -

Washington, April 3.-Interestlns
lessons from the grain rust epidemic
of 1904 are contained in a bulletin just
issued under authority of Secretary
Wilson and prepared by Mark Alfred
Carleton, cerealist in charge or cereal
Investigations for the bureau of plant
industry of the department Of agricul-
ture.
By far the most important thing to
he learned from the general rust at
tack of 1904, which was seriously felt
in North Dakota, South Dakota and
Minnesota and in parts of Iowa, Wis
consin, Nebraska and Kansas ana TO
tho north in Canada, is held by Mr..
Carleton to be that certain KINDS OF
wheat and other grains are suff1c1ent-
ly resistant to rust to give GOOD aV-
erage yield when the disease is at us
worst This lesson was not thorough
ly learned until last year. Other les
sons are constant, and thru selection
of seed, good drainage and clean Gull
tiyation Of the SOIL and the fact that
certain rusted grasses spread the rust
infection.
Durum Varieties More Resistant.
Mr.. Carleton finds that while wheats
of the durum varieties are more re-
sstant to rust than the common var
tiles, there is great variation in this
varieties
themselves, and also among the COM
mon varieties. All durum varieties do
not resist rust in the same degree, and
on the other hand a few of the COM
mon varieties are immune to a slight
extent even in a bad rust season. The
variety, Imuillo, is given as standing
first in rust resistance, and the
variety, Velvet Don, second. Both are
durum varieties.
The Importance of growing hard
winter wheats is emphasized in Iowa
and other states. TT has now been
determined" says Mr.. Carleton, "by
actual trials that it is possible by the
use of the hardest varieties to grow
winter wheat all over Nebraska and
Iowa, in the greater part of South
Dakota, and even in portions of Wis
consin, Minnesota and North Dakota.
I'm previous publications Of the de-
partment of agriculture attention has
been called several times to the fact
that winter wheat, when it can sur
vive the winter, will always produce
a much better crop on the same farm
than spring wheat. At the same time,
if the proper varieties are used the
quality of the grain will be just as
good on an average as the hard spring
wheats. It has been stated with par
ticular emphasis that winter wheat, by
having a stronger root growth and
starting out more vigorously in the
spring and ripening much earlier, is
able to escape to a great extent the
disastrous effect of a rust epidemic,
as we'll as the attacks of other fungi
and insects. 1t will also often escape
the effects of drought, which usually
sets in about harvest time or little
earlier.
A Practical Demonstration.
1.-THE ability of winter wheat to es-
cape rust has been shown very clearly
the past season. In many cases this
from rust as the durum varieties, but
because of it's earliness, while the dur
UNI Wlleats resisted the rust"
AS to the rust resistant oats, there
has not yet been found the degree of
rust resistance in oat varieties that
exists in certain wheat varieties Many
variet 'es of so-called rustproof oats,
that in the south resist rust to a con-
siderable degree, when taken north,
are found to succunlb to rust ravages.
They way out of the difficulty recon-
mended for the farmer in the Month is
to use very early varieties. At the
present time, two of the most valuable
varieties in the United States are the
Sixth Day and the Early Burt OATS the
former having been introduced by the
department Of agriculture in recent
years from Southwestern Russia.
Explains Wheat Rust.
Mr.. Carleton gives this explanation
of what rust is:
"There is a rather common and err
roneous belief among many farmers
that rust is caused by the bursting of
the stem or leaf of the plant by too
much accumulate Of sap within,
this sap acquiring a reddish color on
coming to the surface. 1t should be
thoroughly understood that rust is
plant, just as an oak tree or sun
flower is a plant, altho it propagates
bv means of spores instead of seeds.
These spores are carried by the wind
and grow only when they alight upon
a living plant After terminating and
passing thru the epidermis to the IN
side of the plant new spores are pro-