CORNSTALK DISEASES. 
251 
caused by the fungus ustilago carbo and the ustilago mavdis ; 
rust, of which the most important is puccinia maydis, and ergot, 
a fungoid disease not only affecting the rye plant but many 
other species of gramina, such as corn, wheat, etc. 
About the time of maturity, the most tender leaves of the 
plant begin to fall off upon the ground and there they become 
covered with small fungi, of the genus penicellium,^aspergillus, 
mucor, ascophora, etc. 
Small sideshoots, developing only rudimentary ears, die early, 
and m going through the process of decay contain innumerable 
numbers of the above named fungi. Now, this is the actual 
condition of the corn-plant as near as I can describe it. 
Burrill, Billings, and others say that they have discovered a 
germ that is the cause of the cornstalk disease. Others say that 
the cornstalk contains so much saltpetre, when grown in certain 
places, that the animals eating it die of saltpetre poisoning. 
Now, after considering the various conditions of the corn- 
plant, let us turn our attention to some of the other plants for 
comparison. 
Clover is subject to the attacks of several fungi, of which the 
most important is the peronospora trifolium, which exerts its ir¬ 
ritating action directly upon the gastro-intestinal mucous 
membrane, or which produces the formation of a toxic substance 
which acts particularly upon the liver and the brain, producing 
what is known as clover disease. 
Straw of wheat and oats when damp and going through a 
mouldy change are affected by various fungi, such as : Tilfetia, 
caries, puccinia, graminis, etc., causing derangement of the in¬ 
testinal and urinary organs, followed by paralysis and death. 
We have already seen that the cornstalks are sometimes affected 
by various fungi, and I am inclined to believe that if the fungi 
on clover produce clover disease, the fungi on cornstalks are the 
cause of the so-called cornstalk disease. I have seen both horses 
and cattle die from eating straw covered with fungi. I have 
seen hogs die from the effect of mouldy flour. I have had con¬ 
siderable experience with the so-called cerebritis or encephalifis, 
