KXI'KlflMKN'l' S'l'A'rioN KKTOiri". :.17 



Mutilated Corn. 



A to^t was in;)(k' ol" ivmovi.'ig a portion ol" ihr stnn-li irom grains 

 of torn. This was done by first soaking the grain> until they were 

 soft, when the edges were easily cut away, leaving only the eml^ryo 

 and the closely-adhering portion of the food material. Such muti- 

 lated grains, when placed under favorable conditions of warmth aiul 

 moisture, ])r()diKe(l tlie first root and young stem with greater rapidity 

 than corres])ondi!ig grains that had been left whole. Plate XL (lower 

 third) shows five seedlings of sweet corn forty-eight hours after the 

 endosjierm had been n'moved, while in the lower row are grains from 

 the same lot as the first, and treated in the same Avay, excepting that 

 they had been left uncut. It is seen that the up^x^r row has produced 

 thr(,.> times as much root capacity and young stems of considerable 

 length. In the lower row the stem growth is only slight. 



This greater growth of the mutilated grains seems dite to easier access 

 nf water, and the consequent more rapid formation of the solution of 

 suhstanc-es necessary for initial growth. In the long run the seeds, 

 Tol)bed of their substance, will sufl^er from lack of parental food. 



THE POWDERY MILDEWS.* 



The powdery mildews, of which there are at least thirty-five kinds 

 in the United States, are recognized as forming a white powder u])on 

 the surface of the infested plant. The lilac is a shrub so common 

 and generally attacked that it may be taken as an instance of showing 

 the appearance of the mildews in question. After midsummer the 

 previously smooth, clean, dark-green foliage takes on a gray color, cis 

 if coated with a whitish road dust. 



The mildew consists of microscopic threads, that grow along close 

 to the surface of the leaf, and send \\\) sliort. upright stalks, bearing 

 minute spores, which, in large numbers, give the appearance of flour 

 dusted upon the plant. Later in the season the white coating may 

 be replaced, in large part, by a second form of spore-production, 

 which is usually lirown. Thus there are two sorts of spores, one 

 being nearly white, in mass, and produced rapidly in summer for 



* Mildew is an old English word that has a similar form in the German Mehlthau, 

 meaning meal-dew. One can easily imagine the fine meal or flour having fallen in 

 minute quantity upon the affected herbage. 



