CORN. 



323 



grinding shell corn, wheat, or other grain, it is only necessary to remove the tubes and 

 fill the feed-box, which will hold from eight to ten bushels. A one-horse mill of this kind 



will grind from twelve to fif 

 teen bushels per hour; where 

 two horses are used, from fif 

 teen to eighteen bushels can 

 be ground in that time. The 

 &quot; Large Giant &quot; has a grind 

 ing capacity for about twenty- 

 five bushels per hour. Such 

 mills are very durable, and 

 not liable to get out of repair. 



Diseases of Corn, etc. 



-The 



LARGE GIANT. 



diseases of corn are 

 neither very numerous nor ex 

 tensive in their results. In 

 ^ *1 some seasons, especially those 

 that are warm and wet, smut 

 |T^^ will sometimes make its ap- 

 ^=- pearance and destroy a con- 

 ^ siderable number of the ears, 

 li Almost every farmer is famil- 

 with its appearance to a 

 certain extent, and its results 

 upon the crop. It does not 

 always attack the grain, as it 

 appears on the tassel, stalk, and even upon the leaves. Wherever it makes its appearance, 

 there is an unnatural growth of a spongy nature, an increased size or swelling of the part 

 affected, which at a later period is broken open, showing the smut, which consists of micros 

 copically small grains the spores or reproductive bodies of the corn-smut fungus. These 

 grain smuts are minute parasitic plants, the portion of which corresponding to the root of 

 other plants lives in the tissues of the corn, causing the abnormal growth. 



How or when the smut-plant begins its work upon the corn is not known, various 

 theories being entertained respecting it, some supposing that the spores are planted with the 

 grain, arid germinate and grow as the plant increases in size; others, that these spores float 

 in the air, and, coming in contact with the corn, germinate and grow upon the surface, send 

 ing their roots through the tissues of the corn-stems and leaves. Whatever may be its mode 

 of growth or origin, it is apparent that wherever it makes its appearance, it robs the plant 

 upon which it grows of nourishment for its own support, and produces, after a time, a num 

 ber of spores by means of which the smut-plant is perpetuated. This disease, or abnormal 

 growth, is most frequently confined to the grains, but may affect other parts of the plant. 

 When the grains are affected, they become at first of an unusual size, and gradually turn 

 dark in color, and soft; finally, the covering breaks, and a dark, dry, dusty powder is seen. 



The results of eating such grain are often very serious, sometimes producing abortion, 

 and even death, among cows, the medicinal effect being the same as that of ergot, or spurred 

 rye.&quot; Its effect is otherwise deleterious upon the animal system, and such grain should 

 never be fed to live-stock of any kind. It is more apt to appear upon broken stalks and 

 leaves than others, and to be most prevalent when the weather is warm and moist, or what 

 is termed &quot; muggy.&quot; Salt sown upon the soil before planting is suggested by some as a pre 

 ventive of this disease, which is not yet fully understood by the best scientific agriculturists. 



