74 



Stinking Smut or Bunt in Wheat. 



grains rolled in this until they were quite black ; when applied dry the grains 

 were simply rolled in the dust from the crushed sniut-balls until they looked 

 as if coated with soot. The results are given in the following Table : — 



Table IV. 



-Infection with Spores applied Wet and Dry and in 

 Various Quantities. 



As far as conclusions can be drawn from a single experiment, the wet 

 infection was a little more effective than the dry, and the increased quantity 

 to a given quantity of seed decidedly increased the chances of infection, as 

 might have been anticipated. Since this experiment was carried out I have 

 come across the record of a somewhat similar one made by Gleichen as far 

 back as 1781, and for the details of which I am indebted to a suggestive 

 Bulletin on the " Smut of Wheat and Oats," by Professor Arthur. Gleichen, 

 who seems to have been the first to test the method of infection experi- 

 mentally, soaked one lot of seed in water and then rolled it in smut spores 

 until completely coated, while another lot of seed was rolled in smut without 

 previous wetting. The results are given by him for clean and smutted heads, 

 and not for stools, but still they may be compared in a general way with 

 those already given. 



1. Wheat sowed wet with Stinking Smut 

 2. 



3. „ „ dry „ 



4. ,, ,, wet ,, ,, 

 5. 



Per Cent.'of 



Loss. 



48. 



59.5 



25.5 



22.6 



35.6 



In the four trials with wet seed there was a loss of 41 per cent., and in 

 the single trial with dry seed 25| per cent. ; so that the wet infection was 

 here also the most effective. 



The Spores after Harvest. 

 This is usually spoken of as the wintering of the spores, but as in our 

 climate the wheat is reaped towards the end of spring and in early summer, 

 the term is inappropriate. The sowing takes place in the autumn months, 

 so that the spores pass the summer either on the grain or in the soil. 



