56 
Colorado Experjinient Station 
Ergot of rye. 
Since tlie ergot bodies live over in the 
soil, rye should not be planted on the 
same soil two years in succession. All 
ergot bodies should be separated from 
seed grain before planting. This is best 
accomplished by a process known as 
‘^salting.” The principle of this process 
lies in the fact that the ergot bodies are 
lighter than normal kernels and wi]l 
float in a solution of salt water in which 
the normal grain will sink. The grain 
is poured slowly with constant stirring 
into a barrel of salt water the strength 
of which should vary with the particu- 
lar lot of grain. The ergot bodies are 
skimmed from the top and destroyed. 
The solution is then drawn off and the 
grain washed with water to remove the 
salt, dried and planted. For more 
specific directions see Part 111. 
Take-All (53) — A disease of uncertain cause which closely re- 
sembles a serious disease of cereals common in Europe and Australia 
has been recently discovered in the United States. It was found in 
close association with the flag smut of wheat which fact adds strong- 
ly to the evidence that it is the same trouble that is so destructive in 
the old world. This fact, however, has not yet lieen definitely estab- 
lished. 
In fields but slightly infested small jiatches of dwarfed plants are 
found scattered here and thei*e. The plants in these patches if not 
killed outright take on a characteristic liluish green color. In some 
fields the infestation may lie so severe that practically all the plants 
are so affected. In such fields many ])lants are completely killed. The 
roots become badly rotted and the stems at the surface of the 
ground turn brown. If affected plants survive early attacks and 
produce heads no grain is foianed and the spikes take on a whitish 
color. This characteristic gives rise to the name “ White head” 
sometimes applied to the disease. 
