1 9th of July, near Leamington, after ten days of very wet and 

 cold weather and complete absence of sunshine. The beginning 

 of August is the time most usually given, and just as the 

 ripening process commenced. In Wiltshire, near Chippenham, 

 Mr. Selman noticed it " in the second week in August, just as 

 we commenced reaping, and it developed rapidly during the 

 time the wheat was being cut." The first appearance of the 

 black form of mildew in the neighbourhood of Ely, was on the 

 ist of August, according to Mr. Martin, of Littleport, who pre- 

 viously observed a large amount of yellow rust on the flag. 

 Messrs. Maiden, of Cardington, near Bedford, give the " 3rd of 

 August ; grain commencing to harden, and straw turning," as 

 the time the black form of mildew showed itself on their 

 wheat. Mr. Clare Sewell Read noticed this form "just before 

 the wheat was cut towards the end of August," and Mr. 

 Palmer, of Revell's Hall, Hertford, states that the wheat was 

 cut early on the 2nd of August, when it was still green, and 

 before the black form of mildew had developed. The black 

 form, the Puccinia graminis was extensively present upon 

 straw forwarded some weeks later on. Mr. Alfred Smith, of 

 Rendlesham, Suffolk, who has furnished much valuable informa- 

 tion, gives the period of this appearing of the black form as 

 " about a week or ten days before cutting. Began to cut 

 August 4th Carter's Earliest of All; and the I3th August, 

 other varieties. The first appearance was after a rainy day 

 or two.' 1 



The Nature of the Soil, and the relative Mineral and Organic 

 Constituents. 



From the replies received it is apparent that the attributes of 

 the soil did not affect materially the attack of the mildew. 

 Light soils of a gravelly and sandy composition were as much 

 affected as those of a heavy, clayey, and alluvial nature. To 

 take a few typical instances where the injury done by mil- 

 dew was great. The soil of Mr. Clarke's farm at Scopwick, 

 Lincoln, is a " light heath, waterpit stone, and black soil, with 

 gravel subsoil to the latter " ; while that of Mr. Pell's " Aus- 

 tralia " farm, in Cambridgeshire, is " black fen land ; subsoil, 

 gravel." Upon Mr. Hunt's holding in Come, Lincolnshire, the 

 soil is heavy land with a gault and clay subsoil. The land upon 

 Mr. Ellis' farm at West Barsham, Norfolk, is "very varied, 

 ranging from a gravelly, very light soil, to a strong clay, in- 

 cluding, between the extremes, strong mixed soil resting on 

 chalk, but there was little difference in the amount of blight, 

 with the exception of the wheat following beans, where the 

 attack was very serious." In the return furnished by Mr. Obed 

 Hosegood, of Dillington Farm, Somerset, whose loss was from 

 eight to ten bushels per acre, " the soil affected most generally 

 is sandy, light soil." Mr. Kimber, of Abingdon, Berks, whose 

 estimate of loss is from 15 to 20 per cent., states "the 

 soil is chiefly of a sandy, friable nature, but in some of the 



