RUS 



R U S 



concerts to Italian words, is propagated in the chnrch and 

 provinces by national compofers, who had been fent to Italy 

 by the emprefs Catharine to ftudy compofition, and who, 

 when they returned, fet hymns, motets, and fongs in the 

 Slavonian language, which is faid to be nearly as foft and ca- 

 pable of receiving melody as the Italian. Palcha, Lolli, 

 Giornovichi, Bortnianiki, Dielz, &c. contributed to refine 

 inflrumental mufic in Ruflia. 



RUSSING, in Geography, a town of Auflria ; 6 miles E. 

 of St. Polten. 



RUSSWEIL, a town of Switzerland, in the canton of 

 Lucerne ; 6 miles W. of Lucerne. 



RUST, Frederic William, in Biography, born in 1739, 

 mufic-dire&or at Deffau. His tirit inflrument was the vio- 

 lin, then the harpfichord ; but he feems to have played and 

 written for all kinds of inflruments, though chiefly for the 

 harpfichord. He publifhed at Leipfic fix fonatas for that 

 inltrument, and twenty-four variations to a German fong, 

 at Deffau, 1782 ; with many detached fongs and odes for 

 periodical works. 



Rust, in Geography, a town of Hungary, the inhabitants 

 of which carry on a confiderable trade in wine, made nearly 

 as ftrong as Tokay ; 4 miles E.N.E. of Edenburg — Alfo, 

 a fmall ifland in the North fea, about 60 miles from the coalt 

 of Norway. N. lat. 67 5'. 



Rust, in Rural Economy, a diflemper incident to corn, 

 and generally called mildew. (See Mildew. See alfo Blight, 

 and Smut.) The ancients generally thought that it came 

 from heaven, being ignorant of its true caufe. Virgil gives 

 this up as an incurable diflemper, and tells the farmer, that 

 if his corn is blighted he mult live upon acorns, not fuppofing 

 that any remedy could be devifed for fvich a diftemper. Thefe 

 people in general, having no true knowledge of the theory 

 of hufbandry, had recourfe to magic, and ufed what they 

 thought fpells and enchantments on all occaiions. Cato, 

 Varro, and even Columella, are full of thefe ridiculous de- 

 vices. A better knowledge in the real nature of hufbandry 

 has taught us to underftand this matter in a very different 

 manner, and to apply more efficacious remedies to it. 



Wheat is blighted at feafons, firft in the bloffom, and then 

 its generation is prevented, many of the hufks being empty 

 in the ear, and the rudiments of the grains not impregnated ; 

 fecondly, wheat is blighted when the grains are brought to 

 maturity ; and in this cafe they become light, and are of 

 little value for making of bread, having fcarcely any flour in 

 them. 



Under this term of ruft may, perhaps, mofl properly be 

 arranged, and included, that fort of deitruftive affeflion of 

 grain, which is caufed by the fungufes and parafitical plants, 

 which fix themfelves on, and attach themfelves to, the ftems 

 or other parts of it, fo as to diminifh, intercept, or deftroy 

 its nutritive properties and qualities. The injury done in 

 this way is often more dreadful than that from any of the 

 other caufes, as whole fields have been known to be utterly 

 deftroyed, fo as not to contain a fingle grain of wheat in the 

 ear, and, at the fame time, the ftraw rendered totally unfit 

 for fodder, as being little better than a caput mortuum, pof- 

 feffing neither ftrength nor fubftance in it. The evidence of 

 different places fully confirm the exiftence of fungi, as injuri- 

 ous in this manner ; as from fome it is ftated, that, as the 

 wet weather continued, the ruft or fungus made a rapid pro- 

 grefs from the ear downwards, until, in many inftances, it 

 covered the ftem from the ear, as far as it was unfheathed. 

 From others it is faid, that the ruft or fungus prevented 

 thofe grains which the maggot had not deftroyed from being 

 perfefted, in a greater or lefs degree. From ftill others it 



is afferted, that thefe parafitical plants multiplied fo much 

 upon the ftraw, and on the hufk and chaff of the ears, that, 

 in many cafes, whole fields put on an univerfal blackened, 

 rufty appearance. From different other perfons, various 

 other circumftances of this nature are alfo related to be met 

 with. 



The bell means of preventing and removing affeftions of 

 this nature in this fort of grain crop, are fuppofed to be 

 thofe of cultivating only the forts of wheat which are the 

 hardieft in point of quality, and the leaft liable to difeafe ; 

 the fowing of the wheat earlier than ufual in the feafon ; the 

 introduction of earlier varieties of it ; the giving of a fuffi- 

 cient quantity of feed ; the draining of the land where it is 

 inclined to be wet ; the rolling and treading of the land by 

 live-flock immediately after fowing; the ufe of fowing dif- 

 ferent forts of faline fubflances as a manure ; the proper 

 regulation and improvement of the courfe of crops ; the 

 change of feed, by bringing it frefh from other countries ; 

 the extirpation of the difeafed ftems, ilalks, or blades early 

 in the feafon ; and the inftantly cutting down of the crop 

 when it is decidedly affefted. See Rotation of Crops, Sa- 

 line Manure, Treading, and Wheat. 



It is fuppofed, that, by means of one or other of thefe 

 methods, when properly improved and applied by ingenious 

 naturalills and farmers, there can be no doubt but that this, 

 as well as the other difeafes in wheat crops, may, in a great 

 meafure, be either wholly remedied, or their effefts be fo far 

 reduced as to be of little national confequence. Sir John 

 Sinclair's Inquiry into the Blight, Ruft, and Mildew in 

 Wheat. 



The ruft or mildew alfo attacks, and is highly injurious to 

 many forts of garden vegetables as well as fruit-trees, fuch 

 as thofe of late peas, &c. and peach-trees, &c. 



On the fuppofition of the difeafe, in thefe cafes, arifing 

 from the feeds of fungi, and to be promoted immediately 

 afterwards, and in continuance, by the want of a fufficient 

 fupply of moiflure from the foil or ground, with an excefs of 

 humidity in the air, particularly when the plants are expofed 

 to a temperature below that to which they have been ac- 

 cuftomed ; the prefident of the Horticultural Society of 

 London was led to purfue the following mode of cultiva- 

 tion with the late autumnal crops of the pea, by which the 

 table may be as abundantly fupplied during the month of 

 September and that which fucceeds it, as in thofe of June 

 and July ; and the plants be nearly as free from the difeafe. 

 The ground is firft dug up in the ufual manner, and the 

 fpaces which are to be occupied by the future rows of peas 

 then well foaked with water. After which, the mould upon 

 each fide is collected together, fo as to form ridges feven or 

 eight inches above the previous level of the furface of the 

 ground, which are alfo well watered. The feed-peas are 

 then fown, in fingle rows, along the tops of the ridges. The 

 plants quickly fhew themfelves above the furface of the 

 land, and grow with much vigour, on account of the great 

 depth of itirred mould, and the abundant moitture. There 

 is water given in rather a profufe manner, once in the courfe 

 of every week or nine days, even when the weather proves 

 fhowery, but if the ground fhould be thoroughly drenched 

 with the water of the autumnal rains, there will be no further 

 trouble neceflary. The plants, under this mode of manage- 

 ment, continue perfeftly green and luxuriant, until their 

 bloffoms and young feed-veffels become deftroyed by the 

 frofl s ; and their produce will retain its proper flavour, which 

 is conflantly deftroyed by this difeafe. 



The pea, which has conflantly been cultivated in this in- 

 tention and manner, is a very large kind, the feeds of which 



are 



