THE WHEAT CULTTJEI8T. 413 



carried by the wind from other fields, and in various 

 ways which cannot be guarded against. But no per- 

 son, who is duly sensible that the disease may be 

 checked, if not wholly eradicated, by careful attention, 

 should hesitate to employ all those means of preven- 

 tion which may be in his power. The barn in which 

 wheat has been either stored or thrashed, should therefore 

 be thoroughly aired, and every corner swept ; if also 

 the walls of the interior were well washed with strong 

 lime-water, the precaution would not be improper ; and 

 sacks which have held the infected grain should be im- 

 mersed in a similar solution." 



EKGOTED WHEAT. 



A writer representing the Botanical Society of Can- 

 ada West, records the following suggestions concern- 

 ing the ergot in wheat, in that province. But little is 

 known of ergot in wheat in the States, except in certain 

 localities. The writer says : 



" In addition to the various pests that have already 

 been noticed as affecting the wheat crops this season, 

 there is one .in more than usual abundance, viz. : Ergot. 

 This is a very remarkable fungus, Claviceps purpurea, 

 Fr., which swells up the grain into an enlarged, black, 

 tough mass. If a field of wheat be examined, it will 

 be seen that some of the ears have one or more large, 

 black, horn-like processes projecting from among the 

 grains. These are the ergoted grains. This disease is 

 common in many parts of this province. 



" Ergot of wheat has similar properties to ergot of rye, 

 but is by no means so common in Europe. On the 

 American continent, however, it appears to be more 



