CHAPTER V. 



Blights caused by animalculffi and insects — Tliose to be here 

 noticed true parasites — Blight called car-cockle, pepper-corn, 

 or purples— Why called peppercorn Appearance of an affected 

 ear— Contents of a diseased grain— Its similitude to a cottony 

 mass of fibres — Moistened with water, it is found to be amass 

 of eel-shaped animalculce — Hence cMed vibrio trit'ici, or eel of 

 wheat — Account of it in Baker's work on the Microscope — 

 Mr. Bauer's observations and drawings — Vibrio belongs to the 

 class Infusoria— Natural history of the vibrio — Its ejrgs — The 

 w ay they enter the plant— Length of time the vibriones retain 

 vitality — Best method of examining thera by the microscope 

 —Remedy— Surprise on seeing them for the first time. 



The fungi described* in the previous chap- 

 ters are those to which the principal fungal 

 diseases of wheat are due ; and that portion of 

 this treatise being completed, it is time to pro- 

 ceed to the consideration of the ravages of 

 certain minute animalculee and insects whose 

 effects are known to the farmer, without his 

 being generally aware of the real character of 

 the causes which produce them. The blights of 

 this kind proposed to be investigated are such 

 as are the results of the attacks of true and 

 extremely small parasites. For the notice of 



