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886 
put at all times it takes from the plant some of the-materia 
~ amount thus taken is very large, necessarily weakening the act 
ear having any smut at all is practically destroyed. It can not be: 
place of ergot, its action on the animal system being the same. 
‘smut ‘is at the time of fruiting. It may be that the great effort on ~ 
- power to resist the parasite, and it is at this time that an abundance _ 
co-operation over wide areas is necessary, since the spores are light _ 
_~ Destructive treatment.—Cutting out should be practiced intelli- 
gently and persistently, and farmers should co-operate. The smut 
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latter prepares for its own growth. At the time of fruiti 
of the plant, and especially injuring such of the grain as is not directly 
infested and destroyed. This is very evident when the smut is formed — 
in the middle of the ear and the grains above are aborted. But an — 
to cattle, because the spores will get into the manure and spread th 
infection. Smutty fodder can not be used for the same reason. The 
_ smut is believed to be poisonous to cattle, and many cases of In-~ 
jury or death have occurred supposed to result from feeding smutt 
ears or fodder. In medicine Corn Smut is used to some extenti 
Rees 
It is worthy of notice that the time of greatest injury to corn from os 
the part of the plant to mature its fruit leaves it less physiological 
of material suited to the growth of the fungus is formed, es 
in the ear. 
pecially 
(h) TREATMENT, PR 
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It is as certain that Corn Smut can not originate spontaneously as é 
that the corn itself must grow from seed. The destruction of the 
spores, then, means the reduction of the smut sooner or later; but 
and may be carried in the atmosphere more easily than ordinary dust 
articles. Any remedy must be thoroughly tried before being ¢on- 
demned for apparent failure (one year is not sufficient), and every — 
source of error must be guarded against. However carefully the ~ 
smut is cut out and burned, if manure with which is intermixed smut - 
of previous years is applied to the land the remedy will probably — 
be ineffective, because the spores germinate in the manure. a: 
. 
should be cut out as early as possible as soon as it gives the first 
evidence of its presence by the swellings it produces and before any _ 
of the spores burst through the epidermis., Corn is probably the 
only crop in which the smut becomes evident long enough before — 
maturity to make treatment effectual, or at least possible. As soon> — 
as the spores begin to break out they will be scattered far and wide 
over the whole field. Any ears that are partly smutted and are 
overlooked till the husking should not be thrown in with the rest of “4 
the corn, for two reasons: They will scatter their spores, and if in a 
large quantities will injure the cattle eating them. If any smutt so 
stalks are standing whenthe corn is cut they should not be cut-wit 
the rest, but kept separate and destroyed. Masses of smut are 
greedily swallowed by cattle with the rest of the corn, and are liable 
to produce disease and death. ~.A’ correspondent of the Country Gen- ~ 
tleman, September 12, 1878, reports the loss of several head of cat- 7% 
tle and sheep from this cause. Diseased parts cut out should be: — 
completely destroyed, not thrown upon the ground nor into a ma- 
nure or compost pile. The spores may germinate and grow for an 
indefinite period, as already shown, and when the manure is applied : 
to the field they will be ready to seize upon young corn and pene- 
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