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fungus germinate after the seed of the cereal, with which 

 they were entangled, has been sown, The germinating spore 

 throws out one or more promycelium, from the joints of 

 which are thrown out sporidia or conidia. These throwing 

 out minute germinal tubes penetrate the tissues of the 

 seedling of judr or wheat, or whatever the cereal may be, 

 and once inside the tissues of the plant, the fungus grows 

 up along the stem forming hyphae and finally fructifying 

 in the grains of the cereal affected. This is how all the 

 grains on the ear appear smutted. It is curious, the fungus 

 when it develops inside the stem of the cereal, scarcely 

 affects the growth of the cereal. The sorghum grown at 

 the Sibpur Farm in 1898 was nearly all smutted, and yet 

 it was surprising how vigorously the plants grew. But 

 when the cereal plant reaches the stage of fructification 

 the fungus prevents seeding altogether and where the ears 

 of grain should be there we see only a mass of black spores. 

 But these sooty spores wafted by the wind affect healthy 

 grains which get these spores entangled on their surface, 

 and sown unpickled the next year, they again give rise to 

 this fungus. In the case of the maize, smut-swellings appear 

 on the stem as well as inside -the cob. 



1.376. It should be noted that judr stems and grain 

 badly affected with smut are injurious to the health both of 

 cattle and human beings, and death among cattle due to 

 their eating stunted judr, though attributed to the stems 

 containing an excess of nitre, may be also due to their being 

 badly affected with the hyphae of this fungus. But this 

 subject is still considered a recondite one. 



1.377. Dung of cattle fed on judr straw or grain affected 

 with this fungus, is capable of retaining the fungus in an 

 active state of growth for a long time, and if such dung is 

 applied before it is thoroughly rotted by at least a year's 

 fermentation, there will be liability for the manure giving 

 rise to the fungus in the young cereal plants. 



