1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1373 



RUSTS AND SMUTS 



As bee-keepers we are all very much in- 

 terested in these fungi. They furnish proteid 

 food for our bees which answers as well as 

 pollen, and they are of great economic im- 

 portance to the world, as they are terrible 

 parasites, and sweep off the higher plants 

 with the very besom of destruction. In their 

 polymorphic stages they are full of'lnterest. 



WHEAT RUST. 



The wheat rust, Puccinia graminis, is one 

 of the best known, and well illustrates the 

 character of the group. As stated, these 

 rusts are fatal parasites to higher plants as 

 wheat and asparagus. They work their 

 harm by sending microscopic threads of 

 growth, called "mycelia," through the tis- 

 sues of the host, and these in their growth 

 absorb the substance of the victimized plant, 

 and kill it. 



Who has not seen the red color on leaf and 

 stalk of the wheat in the summer? This red 

 powder, which used to color the shirtsleeves 

 of the binders with red, is simply spores 

 which develop at the ends of the mycelial 

 threads which push to the surface. This was 

 first thought to be a separate plant, and was 

 called a name which now gives name to these 

 spores. They are called uredo spores, or 

 summer spores, and this stage the uredo or 

 summer stage. These spores are light, and 

 are borne by the wind or other means to 

 other older wheat-stalks, and these send my- 

 celial threads down into the dead stem and 

 come to the surface as before, and produce 

 black spores, which have thicker walls, and 

 can endure the winter's cold. For the same 

 reason as before, these are called teleuto 

 spores, or autumn spores, and this stage takes 

 the same name. It is likely that the kind 

 of spore is determined by the condition of 

 the stalk. An old dead stalk produces a 

 black thick-walled spore, and this carries 

 the plant over the winter, which no other 

 spores can do. 



These black spores are double-celled, and 

 in the spring each cell sends out a stem 

 which has several cells, and each cell sends 

 out a second stem which bears spores at the 

 end. These are small and light, and are eas- 

 ily carried by the wind great distances. 

 These may be too early for the wheat; but if 

 they fall on the wheat I think they produce 

 the summer or uredo stage. They usually 

 or often fall on the barberry, and produce 

 mycelia as before. So the barberry falls be- 

 fore this same rust. On the surface of the 

 under side of the barberry leaves little cups 

 appear, and these are known as cluster-cups. 



In these, chains of spores are produced, 

 which for the same reason as before are known 



as accidio spores. These blow on to the wheat, 

 as it is now summer, and the wheat-plants, 

 even of spring-sown grain, are well advanced. 

 These produce the uredo stage and the round 

 of life is complete. 



BEES USE THE SPORES. 



The bees use all of these spores in lieu of 

 pollen. Thus we may see the red or black 

 or greenish colored bunches on their legs as 

 they come to the hives. We have noticed 

 above that all stages are parasites, except the 

 growths in the early spring from the black 

 teleuto spores. The light spores from these 

 are easily carried by the wind as well as by 

 the bees. 



ASPARAGUS RUST. 



This rust is a native of Europe, and was first 

 noticed in our country in 1896. It passes 

 through all the stages that we have studied 

 in the wheat rust, so is polymorphic, but 

 works on only the one plant so far as we 

 know. From its host, which it quickly vic- 

 timizes, it is called Puccinia as])aragi. In 

 the summer the asparagus is red, later black, 

 and in the spring the cluster-cups are seen, 

 and the chain of spores. Thus our bees may 

 get proteid food from the asparagus in four 

 or five forms: Real pollen, or the dift'erent- 

 colored spores of this asparagus rust, each of 

 which probably serves its needs equally well. 



This asparagus I'ust spreads with amazing 

 rapidity. As just stated, it appeared in the 

 East in 1896, and was extremely fatal to the 

 asparagus-plants, especially on light land, 

 where the plants were generally grown. It 

 reached California in 1900, and now vexes 

 the asparagus-growers all through the rich 

 asparagus regions of the State. It is inter- 

 esting to study the way of its transit. It 

 came to California via Texas and Arizona, 

 and so landed in Southern California. From 

 here it went north, and in a year was at the 

 great island region of the San Joaquin and 

 Sacramento, where there are thousands of 

 acres of this excellent succulent. 



It only remains to be said that there are 

 three ways that are found successful to bat- 

 tle with this foe. It is found that dew is ab- 

 solutely necessary to germinate the spores. 

 Under trees, then, there will be found no rust. 

 In the spring the plants are kept cut, and 

 so germination of the early cluster-cup stage 

 is impossible, so that, if all volunteer plants 

 and strays are kept down, then there will 

 be entire exemption from attack. Sulphur 

 dusted on the plants will kill all the spores, 

 and there will be no germination. This is 

 thrown on when the dew is on the plants. 

 In very dry regions, like the Coachella and 

 Imperial Valleys, of California, where there 

 are no dews, there can be no rust. Thus in 

 these regions we may expect great groves of 

 this very profitable plant (asparagus), which, 

 with the alfalfa, will make it a great bee-re- 

 gion. 



^^ 



THE WEST COAST FOR BEES. 



I am getting such frequent inquiries from 

 all over the United States regarding the Pa- 

 cific Coast region, and its rank as a bee 



