106 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 
BLOSSOM INFECTION BY SMUTS. 
By C. N. JENSEN. 
In the presentation of this subject, I have deemed it 
wise to take into consideration somewhat more material 
than the title of this paper suggests. It has seemed to me 
wise to discuss the history of the investigations on smut, 
what forms of smut have been considered in the work of 
blossom infection, a very general outline of the methods 
pursued to establish this important point, illustrations of 
blossom infection of various types of plants, together with 
infection by smut of plants otherwise than through the blos- 
som or through the young seedling. 
The difficulty of the control of smuts has always oc- 
cupied the attention of the foremost investigators of smut 
diseases. There have always arisen conditions which seem- 
ingly would not work out according to the known theory. 
The last word as yet has not been said on this important 
subject, but we are far nearer the solution of it than ever 
before, as will be shown as I proceed along in the paper. 
HISTORY.—Smut, in all probability, was known in an- 
cient times, together with rust, under the general term of 
mildew or blight. Later, in historical times, this subject 
has received considerable attention again and again. As 
early as 1733, we find definite remarks by Tull to the effect 
that “Smuttiness is when the grains of wheat instead of 
flour are full of black stinking powder.” Very little that 
is definite can be found, however, in print previous to 1807, 
when Prevost discovered the important fact that the smut 
spores germinated in water and consequently showed that 
the smuts were of the nature of fungi. 
The next step in advance was by Tulasne, in 1847, when 
he investigated methodically the germination of spores in 
water, and proved that on germination it did not give rise 
directly to mycelium, but to a short germinal tube which 
produced minute reproductive bodies. He distinguished 
this tube as a promycelium. A few years later, in 1853, 
DeBary extended our knowledge somewhat of the mode in 
