20S 



GExNEbEE FAliJMEK. 



5EPT 



Eust on Wheat. 



Dr. Lee — Dear Sir: I notice your editorial 

 on the subject of " Rust on WJieat,^^ in the Au- 

 gust niu-nber of the Genesee Farmer, but am not 

 convinced that the cause is truly gamed, much 

 l'?5? vroxten. Inde"--"! it is no new thing, that the 

 learned, when w^^ .'.ed to a theory, are less like- 

 ly to accodu: ;o- lacts that conflict with such the- 

 ory, tlian a common observer. Of late it has 

 been assumed by the savans of the age, that most | 

 of the troubles in the vegetable kingdom are oc- 1 

 casioned by ^\fifngi, or parasitic plants." Now I 

 it is a little strange that when these writers, I 

 among other things, impute the potato rot to the i 

 same cause, they do not set about accounting for 

 the absence ol every reason why these fungi i 

 have not played these naughty tricks with that] 

 favorite vegetable, until within a year or two of 

 the present period. The fungi are not a new 

 creation, and ii'they are such a mischievous gemis 

 as represented, what has restrained tlsem in by- 

 gone years ? 



But to return :^o the subject of "Ruston Whea'." 

 Allow me to meet some of the difficulties you 

 find in your theory, and in this case in particu- 1 

 lar, by the theory I have assumed, and which | 

 was publis'h.ed over my signature some two or j 

 three years since in the Genesee Farmer. They 

 are difficulties that the ablest of the fimg; advo- 1 

 cates will find somewhat indigestible ; and it is 

 very probable they will continue to call it a 

 '■' mysteriovs calamity," so long as tlicy hold of 

 their present opinion. From observation and j 

 inquiry I am fully satisfied tiiat rust on wheat isj 

 a natural and not a " mysterious" I'esult — an ef- 

 fect following certainly from a known cause — a 

 moist atmosphere and a hot sun, at a particular 

 crisis. These two causes create a vigorous sap, I 

 which rushes rather than flows to the head of the 

 plant ; the kernel is filled to its utmost tension, 

 not with rich chyle, but limpid sap ; ever)' vesi- 

 cle swollen, the article can contain no more — it 

 bursts, the sap exudes, turns brown in drying, 

 and is then — rust. Hence, 1 conclude that the 

 shrunk or shrivelled kernel owes its leanness to 

 the bursting of the cuticle, which prevents the 

 proper nutriment from reaching it. 



I premise that this theory meets the difficulties 

 which you seem to admit h.eaded you, in account- 

 ing for the strangeness of the cmc you report, 

 and which you term "mysterious." " The 

 wheat was on dry gravelly land, a side hill, it 

 was sparse, small stem and leaf," open to the di- 

 rect rays of the sun upon tlie soil, and " is nearly 

 destroyed," while that on the intervale ground, 

 standing tall and thick, escaped. 



Now i think it is evident, that the warm hill 

 side land, " thin crop and small growtli," would 

 feel the force of the sun's rays in a three-fold 

 degree, compared with the intervale " thickly 

 covered ;" and that the rush of sap in such 

 v.ea.her as described, would be felt by the 



wheat on the hill side, in about the same ratio. 



Observing farmers, familiar with the wheat ci-op, 

 know that previous to the appearing of the rust 

 spots the scarf-skin is split, and several have as- 

 sured me that the click or noise of bursting is 

 distinctly heard when they visit the wheat field 

 at this critical juncture. I state another fact to 

 sustain my theory : A farmer of my acquaintance 

 had a fine field of spring wheat, the soil was of 

 uniform quality, and the exposure the same, it 

 looked well ; upon about six rods he had early 

 spread a good coat of straw, which protected it 

 from the direct rays of the sun, — the soil was 

 common sandy loam, not rich, and the wheat did 

 not stand thick. Warm wet weather came on, 

 frequent showers and siinshinr. and the crop be- 

 came badly rusted, v.ith the exception of the 

 piece which had the straw top-dressing, this 

 toholly escaped. The reason seems very obvi- 

 ous — the sun had less power upon that piece, the 

 ground of course was less heated, and there was 

 consequently a less flow of sap. 



Once more and I submit the case. If rust be 

 fungi, please account for the fact of its seeds fill- 

 ing the atmosphere at this juncture, and its dis- 

 crimination in selecting, lodging, and growing 

 on a particular pari of the wheat stalk, usually a 

 small distance below the head, (mauger all the 

 efforts of the rain to wasli it off,) instead of every 

 part of the stalk. Upon the theory I advocate, 

 that rust is the inspissated juice which has flowed 

 from the wound and dried upon tlie stalk, it is 

 easy to account for this portion of the stalk being 

 rusted, as here is the bursted scarf-skin, and here 

 runs to waste not only the surplus of sap, but the 

 richer matter or chyle which forms the kernel. 



I hope many farmers will try the straw remedy 

 next year on a portion of their wheat fields, and 

 report to you the result. J. H. 



Rome, N. Y., Aug. 1846. 



The Potato Disease. — A Remedy. 



Mr. Editor : — Although the cause of the potato 

 disease has not yet been satisfactorily ascertained, 

 yet if there is a remedy or preventive, it is im- 

 portant that it should be known. At our County 

 Fair, in October last, I was surprized to see a 

 neighbor of mine bringing in a basket of as fine 

 Mercer potatoes as I ever saw. 1 said to him, 

 " Neighbor H., 'now did you procure such fine 

 potatoes ? — mine were almost an entire failure." 

 [lis reply was, "I cultivated them scientifically." 



Some time afterwards I called on iny neighbor, 

 reminded him of his statement, and ask( d him to 

 explain. His reply was, in substance, as follows : 



The soil on wliich the potatoes grew, was a 

 sandy loam — has been under cultivation twenty- 

 five years, but never had a load of manure, (barn- 

 yard manure,) applied to it at all. The crop of 

 1844 was wheat. In the spring of 184.5 the land 

 was plowed once only, about 4 inches in depth — 

 furrowed out 3 J feet apart — potatoes cut small, 



