267 
THE PRODUCTION OE ERGOT IN WHEAT, RYE, &c. 
By Edward J. Lance, Frimley, Surrey. 
At the time of the ripening of wheat, another disease will 
show itself, but which is principally detected in the threshed 
grain. This is a conversion of the corn into an elongated 
black seed. This is the ergot; a disease best known amongst 
rye, in the ear of which grain it will grow out an inch in 
length, of a bent form, from which it receives its French 
name of ergot — ( Les ergots d’un^Coc.) This disease, although 
much the most common amongst rye and the lower grasses, 
such as lolium festuca , dactylis , &c., yet is often found amongst 
the w heat in certain seasons and particular soils ; but the 
cause of its growth is yet wrapped in mystery. This disease 
is but little known amongst farmers, because they wdll not 
observe nature by the help of the microscope, or they 
might often observe these and other diseased grains on the 
floor of the barn,&c. To a casual observer, they appear amongst 
the w heat grains as the excrements of mice, or a dark weed- 
seed. A thresher or a farmer may have been in his practice 
for sixty or more years and never have observed the disease ; 
as a person said to me the other day, wLen I showed the 
disease , — “ there ! I never saw such a thing in all my life 
before.” This arises from the w 7 ant of exercise of the 
intellectual faculties. About seven years ago, w 7 hen at Alton 
Market, after a w r et summer, a farmer, much advanced in 
years beyond myself, residing at Wyke-Wordham, Hants , 
put into my hands a quantity of dark grains, and requested 
to know T w r hat they were. These were grown on the pecu- 
liar silicious soil of the “malm” rock, which break out from 
under the chalk ranges in Hants. These were no other 
than the ergot grains grow T n in the w T heat, but in such a 
situation they are so scarce as not to be knowm. 
From the rye, the disease is very well knowm amongst 
medical men, as the ergot of rye, often abundant in parti- 
cular seasons and certain soils. 
My experience goes to show that it is not in a wet clay 
soil that the disease most prevails, for I have generally met 
w 7 ith it in dry sands, where rye is mostly growm. It is not seen 
before the crop is ripening, and then it appears at a distance, 
as if a fly had settled on the ear. I have gathered a handfnl 
of these ears, have put them into a cupboard, mice have 
eaten away the sound grain, but have ever left the ergotted 
ones untouched. In particular I have been able to collect 
