Diseases of Cereals : Rust and Take-all in Wheat. 721 



Conclusion. 



I have endeavoured in the time at my disposal to treat of two 

 of the most serious diseases of wheat, and at the same time to point 

 out the most effective measm'es to be taken in overcoming them as 

 far as possible at present. You cannot fail to have been struck with 

 the fact that the modern farmer, if he is to compete in the markets of 

 the worM, must not only attend to sowing with the best seed, 

 applying the proper manures, and cultivating in the most approved 

 fashion, but he must also guard against " the pestilence that walketh 

 in darkness " and the rust that may ruin all his labour. " Give us 

 the rain at the right time and we will grow the crops " I often hear 

 farmers say, bvit what of the rust, the smut and take-all. These and 

 other diseases require to be studied if we are effectually to control 

 them, and I have failed in ray object if I have not convinced you that 

 it is only by the combination of scientific knowledge with practical 

 skill that the best results are to be attained. It is not contended 

 that the farmer should be a scientist, that he should be trained in the 

 use of the microscope and in all the details of chemistry, bacteriology, 

 and botany, but he should know the results of such investigations as 

 far as they apply to his own particular industry. This is technical 

 knowledge, and the Short Courses of Instruction for Farmers and 

 Farmers' Sons inaugurated by the Director of Agriculture, in my 

 opinion, form the connecting link between Science on the one hand 

 and Practice on the other. I regard it as one of the great functions 

 of an Agricultural Department to help the producer with knowledge, 

 to place at his disposal the best and most recent scientific and 

 practical experience, to enable him to make the most of his opportuni- 

 ties. Much of my own work has to be done " behind the scenes," 

 and there is often too much impatience for immediate practical 

 applications, but sooner or later it comes out into the open, and by 

 means of field experiments conducted in co-operation with the best 

 farmers, die practical results are rendered available to all. 



There is one branch of his business which the farmer is apt to 

 overlook, and that is the nature and peculiarities of the plants which 

 he cultivates. The whole duty of the agriculturist does not lie 

 merely in studying the soil and the manures necessary for its fertility, 

 but he should also devote some of his attention to the plants them- 

 selves, how they behave and adapt themselves to the climate, how 

 some are better fitted than others to withstand drought or cold, how 

 some are more prolific than others, and so on. 



It is only by this kind of accurate knowledge, or science, as it is 

 called, that the producer can hope now-a-days to make farming pay, 

 .and the motto of the modern agriculturist should be that of the 

 Royal Agricultural Society of England — " Practice with Science." 



