532 



NEW ENGIANI) FARMER. 



Nov. 



citing the attention and astonishment of man- 

 kind. 



But this progress results from no supernatural 

 power. It is rather an illustration of human ca- 

 pability, acting in conformity with natural laws, 

 and in harmony with the benevolent designs of 

 the Great Husbandman for the amelioration of 

 society, and the display of His infinite wisdom 

 and love, "sought out of those who take pleasure 

 therein." It exhibits the conquests of mind over 

 matter, the dominion of man over nature, im- 

 proving, adorning, and elevating her to the high- 

 est and no!)lost purposes of her creation. 



Inspired with these sentiments, let us take en- 

 couragement, and press on in the career of im- 

 provement, ever remembering that study and ex- 

 perience make the inan ; and that, for the highest 

 attainment and the greatest success, we must de- 

 pend upon the culture of the mind as well as of 

 the soil. 



"Survey the flobe through every zone, 



From Lima to Japan, 

 In lineaments of liglit 'tis shown 



That Culture m;ikes the man. 

 AU that man has, ha;!, hopes, can have. 



Past, promised, or possessed, 

 Are fruits whirh Cultoue gives, or gave, 



At industry's behest." 



Wilder's Address. 



SMUT IN CORN", WHEAT, AIID OTHER 

 GRAINS. 



We have either given our corn-fields more 

 special attention within a few years than we ever 

 did before, and thus noticed the large amount of 

 smut in them, or the smut itself has greatly in- 

 creased. What is smut, and what causes it, and 

 what will prevent it ? ai-e interesting and impor- 

 tant questions. Some years ago, these questions 

 were pretty thoroughly discussed here and in 

 France. M. Philippar, professor of agriculture 

 in the Normal school of agriculture, Versailles, 

 France, asserts that smut is a parasite plant, be- 

 longing to the mushroom tribe of the genus Ure- 

 do. M. Poiteau declares that it is a local disease, 

 contagious by touch, and not a parasite plant. M. 

 M. Tillet and Tezzien, M. Benedict Provost and 

 M. de CandoUe have written much upon this 

 subject, and have all expressed their opinion that 

 it is a parasitical plant, of the mushroom kind, 

 and agree in the main and more essential points 

 ■with M. Philippar. 



A parasitical plant is a plant that derives its 

 aliment from that ou which it grows. A fungus, 

 a parasitical plant or production of a cellular 

 texture, having no flowers, and deriving its nu- 

 triment from the atmosphere, and nourished also 

 from the stalk, stem or spawn. Its propagation 

 is effected by means of small and very curious 

 seeds, spores, or sporules, enclosed in skinny in- 

 teguments, called sporidia, or spore cases. An- 

 imal and vegetable substances in a state of incip- 

 ient decay, are those which most generally pro- 

 duce fungi, but those of the simplest organiza- 

 tion frequently locate on tissues. Of this class, 



we may enumerate common mouldiness as being 

 the most familiar and best known. Of this, how- 

 ever, there are two types — the first of which, when 

 examined by a microscope, is found to exhibit 

 jointed threads, and to consist of a cellular struc- 

 ture, the small cavities or cells being arranged 

 "end to end," apparently independent of each 

 other, and capable, under certain contingencies, 

 of reproduction. The second type presents the 

 aspect of a thread-like structure, the spores being 

 elevated on the tops of the threads, or processes, 

 and sometimes very thin and minute capsules or 

 cases, which explode and thus cause the disper- 

 sion and dissemination of the seed. 



The ordinary puff ball found in our fields is 

 but a fungus, yet in a more elevated phase of de- 

 velopment than either of the cases named. There 

 is a determinate figure, and the mass is composed 

 exclusively of cellular tissue. If we cut a puff ball, 

 we shall discover that the interior, or central sec- 

 tion is all spores, and this as it matures and dries, 

 leaves only the dusty spores, which, in their ri- 

 pened condition, give character to_ the ball. We 

 may here remark, that fungi are respectively 

 eatable, poisonous, medicinal and intoxicating, 

 and sometimes luminous. A French writer of 

 eminence, M. Poiteau, declares smut to be a lo- 

 cal disease, contagious by touch, and not a para- 

 sitical plant. In commenting upon the theory of 

 M. Poiteau, a late able writer observes : 



"His arguments for and against his opinion are 

 given at great length. We shall, in a concise man- 

 ner, bring them before our readers ; and first, his 

 reasons for deciding against the 'mushroom,' 

 theory. When smut was first declared to be a 

 plant, the labors of the microscope, applied to 

 botany, were very imperfect ; matters were de- 

 clared to be uredos, erinees, and erysiphes, which 

 have since been discovered to be insects' nests or 

 tissular maladies to which the plant was subject. 

 Hence it followed that as microscopic botany be- 

 came better known, these pretended plants grad- 

 ually disappeared from the following editions of 

 botanical works. Now these plants have been gen- 

 erally classed in the category as the 'smut ;' and 

 as these have been proved to be 7iot of the 'mush- 

 room' race, so may smut also." 



The opinions of some living agriculturists are 

 cited by M. Poiteau, who consider smut to be 

 "an irritating humor, placed in the plant by the 

 puncture of an insect, invisible ;" on account of 

 its smallness ; but he gives no proof that this 

 can be the case ; he only asserts that such is 

 the opinion of men worthy of being listened to, 

 from their experience and habits of observa- 

 tion. He brings forward the fact mentioned 

 by BosE, who says, "A most remarkable thing, 

 is that if the thick oil which is taken from sjn.ut 

 by distilling it, by holding it over a hot fii- is 



