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^ned quite brown, as if they were ripe -, but upon 

 examination they proved to be abortive ears, with- 

 out any corn in them^ they handled as loofe and 

 loft as corn that had been threfhed. This cir- 

 cumftance furprized me very much. To fee corn, 

 which fo fhort a time before was fo very fine 

 and flourilliing, prove to be nothing more than 

 chaff, was exceedingly mortifying indeed ! I ima- 

 gined the roots had been deflroyed by fome in- 

 fed or reptile i but, upon examination, I found 

 them as found and perfed (as indeed was the 

 whole plant, the ear only excepted) as corn could 

 poflibly be, 



5oon after this, I obferved the fouth fide of one 

 of the fined fields was grown very fmutty. It was 

 fufficiently difcouraging to fee corn five ket high, 

 with ears five or fix inches long, and as healthy 

 and vigorous as ever was feen, in a few days con- 

 verted into fmut. This unwelcome circumftance 

 furniflied opportunities, more than enough, to ex- 

 ercife the mod inquifitive mind in fearch of the 

 caufes of thofe evils, which blaft at once the hopes 

 and expedations of the mod fagacious and in- 

 dudrious hufi^andman. To invedigate the caufcj^ 

 I began by examining the roots of the fmutty ears, 

 .then the dems or draw, the joints, and every part 

 \ip to the ear^j in any of which no defed whatever 



was 



