182 BOARD OP AGRICULTUEE. [Jan , 



Now. I believe that in the case of corn, smut will undoubt- 

 edly be propagated by throwing down the smutty ears. I 

 have been inquiring into this matter for a number of years, 

 and it seems to be a fact, that in the older portions of the 

 United States, where it has been the habit of farmers, if they 

 found a smutty ear, to throw it upon the ground, (possibly 

 the hogs are turned in afterwards, and they eat the corn, and 

 tlie smut is left on the ground) smut has increased. I will 

 venture to say that persons who hear me whose recollection 

 extends back twenty-five years will say, that twenty-five years 

 ago they never saw a field of corn that had one per cent, of 

 smutty ears in it, but in 1877 and '78, there was smut on the 

 corn in this State to such an extent that the smutty corn was 

 stated as high as fifteen per cent. While I have no knowl- 

 edge of anything that would absolutely prevent it, I have no 

 doubt whatever that it will be diminished in quantity to a 

 considerable extent if the smut is destroyed. 



Mr. Spurr. One question Mr. Halsted did not answer; 

 that is, if a man of common intelligence can go through a 

 piece of corn and cut off this smut so that there will not be 

 enough left to injure cattle ? 



Mr. Halsted. I think he could. I cannot answer that 

 question positively, because I do not know liow much it takes 

 to injure cattle. If I knew that, then I might be better able to 

 answer the question. But a man of average intelligence can 

 gather all that he can see, and he can see all of the large 

 quantities; he can see any car that is smutty at all. He 

 might miss a good deal of it that is covered up by the leaves, 

 because this smut forms and breaks out a great many times 

 at the joints, and the leaves at the joints will cover and hide 

 from view the smut that is there oftentimes, and in that way 

 the smutty corn would get to the barn and to tlie manger. 



Mr. Cheever, of Sheldonville, Mass. I wish to add my 

 mite to this discussion. Prof. Brewer has told you that he 

 has known of no instance where the soaking of seed corn in 

 sulphate of copper has been reported upon favorably. 1 wish 

 to state one case where there was a favorable result. Two 

 years ago I received some sweet corn seed of a new variety, 



