[ H7 ] 



perfcdV, till I came to the ear; there the evil began, 

 but from what caiife, or by what means, not the 

 lead veftige could be found. 



As the plants were vigorous, perfe(5lly healthy, 

 and found, till the bloom appeared, and then turned 

 fickly and diftempered, and at length immoderately 

 fmutty, it feemed yery clearly to follow, th^t it 

 could not be owing to any imperfe61:ion in the feed, 

 but entirely to the inclemency of the air, which 

 by fome means or other infeded the grain in its 

 embryo-ftate, and converted the milky fubftance, 

 which conftitutes the meal or flour of the corn, 

 into a black, foetid, unwholefome powder, known 

 by the name of fmut. 



Strongly imprefled with this opinion, I deter- 

 mined to embrace every opportunity of gaining all 

 pofTible information on the fubjed. For fome two 

 or three years the feafons were favourable, and af- 

 forded no opportunity for obfervationj but 1787 

 was an unprofperous year, and gave us fmutty 

 wheat in abundance. Yet though I was very at- 

 tentive to its progrefs after it was difcovered, I 

 gained no additional intelligence refpedling the 

 caufe ; but a full confirmation of my former opi- 

 nion, that the fmut was generally, if not totally, 

 caufed by the inclement and vitiating principles of 



the 



