228 FARM FRIENDS AND FARM FOES 



With this malady the individual kernels of wheat are affected 

 rather than the whole head. Such kernels appear whitish 

 or bleached in contrast to the yellow of the healthy grains. 



CORN SMUT AND ONION SMUT 



The curiously swollen kernels on ears of Indian corn 

 affected by the Smut are probably familiar to every boy or 

 girl brought up in the country. The swelling is due to the 

 growth of a parasitic fungus that develops among the grow- 

 ing tissues, making the plant cells abnormal and finally 

 destroying them. In place of cells of healthy tissue enor- 

 mous numbers of tiny blackish spores are finally produced. 

 These are the reproductive portions of the parasitic fungus. 

 These blackish spores are so fine and light that they are 

 readily scattered by the wind or are easily floated from place 



to place by running water at 

 times of rain or flood. Un- 

 der favorable conditions as 

 to warmth and moisture each 

 spore is able to germinate 

 and produce other or second- 

 CORN SMUT ar y spores, which in turn are 



able to penetrate the tissues 

 of the young corn plant and start the disease anew. 



The greatest injury by Corn Smut occurs in gardens 

 where corn is grown season after season and the smutted 

 ears are left upon the soil. The first step in prevention is 

 to destroy promptly all the parts of corn plants that are 

 producing the disease, thus checking the development and 

 dispersal of the spores. Rotation of crops is also helpful. 

 The sorts of Smuts with which most people are familiar 

 are those affecting grains in which the fruiting kernels show 



