188 



ON SMUT IN WHEAT. 



t>on of smut, and that these experiments 

 form additional proof that the disease is 

 infectious. Theexperiments, Nos. 8, 11, 

 and 24, are on tlie power of lime as an 

 antidote, which perfectly succeeded in 

 Nos. 1 1 and 24, though it was not entirely 

 infallible in No. 8. But, on the whole, 

 the results were what might reasona- 

 bly be expected by those who held lime 

 to be the most effectual, though not in 

 all cases an infallible, remedy. The ex- 

 periments, Nos. 15, 17, 18, and 20, with 

 a mixture of lime and urine, ai'e noticed 

 as very efficacious, but are not held to be 

 sufficient to determine whether the vir- 

 tues of lime are increased or diminished 

 by a mixture of urine: and the same 

 doubts are conceived to apply to salt, 

 though no experiment was made with 

 that substance. Smearing the wheat over 

 with mercurial ointment, as in Nos. 9 and 

 22, was apparently useful in preventing 

 the smut, but was at the same time pre- 

 prejudicial to vegetation, by excluding 

 air and water from the corns: this unu- 

 sual prescription was employed on ac- 

 count of its known efficacy in destroying 

 vermin animalculae; and consequently it 

 would have destroyed the smut, if caused 

 by the depredations of the latter, as some 

 have supposed. The general appearance 

 of the corns was good, and they were 

 found to be heavy. 



According to the best observations of 

 this writer, there were no previous tokens 

 of smut, most certainly no appearance of 

 blue mucus on the chaff, or sickly yellow 

 on the ear; but the smut balls might be 

 distinguished as soon as the ear made its 

 appearance. Mr. Bachelor has, both in 

 this and former years, seen ears com- 

 pletely smutted that had never seen the 

 light, and therefore these could not pos- 

 sibly have been burnt by the cold north- 

 east winds. 



The distinguishing external character 

 of a smutty ear is said to be its dark blue 

 green color, in which it is similar to the 

 stalk below the ear; but the stalks and 

 leaves of sound wheat, and smutty wheat, 

 arc stated to be precisely the same. 



The opinion that smut is caused by 

 cold north-east winds is combatted with 

 much successful argument; and these ex- 

 periments, conducted on the spot com- 



pletely sheltered from such winds, are 

 referred to as decisive of that point, but 

 it is admitted that blasted ears may be 

 occasioned by lightning, or some other 

 atmospheric cause; but as it is certain that 

 blasted ears like those of smut, generally 

 proceed from the same root, it is contend- 

 ed, that to that root we ought principally 

 to look for the cause of the disease: for 

 these diseases may perhaps derive their 

 origin, in part, from seminal infection, 

 and in part from such substances as the 

 root may meet in the soil, or it may be 

 constitutional defect in the seed. 



Nor does it appear to this writer that 

 the blight or withering of the leaves has 

 much to do with the mildew, since the 

 former happens early in the spring, and 

 the latter, late in the summer; and he 

 apprehends it can never be seriously 

 believed that the smut can be communi- 

 cated to the growing crop, though it cer- 

 tainly may to the seed. 



On a comparison of the powder of 

 smut with wheat-flour, by using a micros- 

 cope which magnified the diameter of 

 the object about 120 times, the smutty 

 powder appeared to consist entirely of 

 globules, perfectly similar in size and ap- 

 pearance, and partially transparent, as 

 light was perceptible through the middle 

 of them, and their apparent size, when 

 magnified, was about one-fourteenth part 

 of an inch, and consequently their real 

 diameter about the 16S0th part; but the 

 appearance of wheat-flour was considera- 

 bly different, for this consisted of globules 

 of various sizes, mostly about one-half 

 more in diameter than those of the 

 smuttj'' powder, and among these a quan- 

 tity of smaller particles, of a size and 

 shape scarcely definable. 



Mr. Bachelor has little doubt that the 

 larger parts of wheat-flour are the starch, 

 and the smaller kind compose the vegeta- 

 ble gluten, which possesses much alliance 

 to animal matter. The meal of a blasted 

 ear of wheat consisted of particles much 

 smaller than those of smut, and is there- 

 fore presumed to be a different substance: 

 and though it might be thought, from 

 the disagreeable smell of smut, that the 

 vegetable gluten, (the only psrt liable to 

 putrefaction,) was also the only part de- 

 stroyed by that disease, while the farina, 



