Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 76, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 March 1914 — Page 2

UNCLE SAM, M. D. Specialist in Cereal Diseases

(Prepared by the United States De part- : ment ot Agriculture.) The total annual loss from cererl diseases in the United States is estimated to be $45,000,000. Moreover, over one-half or nearly $25,000,000 of thie loss is caused by preventable diseases, remedies for which have been developed and placed in usable form for the fanners by state and federal authorities. The department of agriculture, through the office of cereal investigations of the bureau of plant industry, has specialists in grain diseases •working in laboratory, field and greenhouse in an effort to solve many scientific and practical problems of disease control which confront the grower of cereals. The state experiment stations of Minnesota, Kansas I and Washington are co-operating with the department with a view of controlling and eliminating plant' diseases that are causing such an enormous loss in the grain fields. In addition, a well-equipped laboratory is maintained at Washington, where microscopic, cultural and other studies of the disease-causing organisms are carried on during the greater part of the year. While rusts and smuts of cereals are perhaps the most widely distributed and most harmful diseases which have been studied, there is another class of “cases” which our plant doctors must now consider. These diseases are commonly called scabs, wilts, blights, and a number of other popular names. They are nearly all of them properly called soil diseases, because their spores have the power of living in the soil, as well as pn the straw, leaf or seed of their host plant. They are caused, as is the case with rusts and smuts, by parasitic fungous plants which get their nourishment from our cultivated green plants. Among the preventable cereal diseases to the stinking smut, or bunt in wheat, common in all grain-growing sections and especially troublesome in the Palouse country of the northwest, where it is harder to control, owing to the fact that it lives over winter in the soil. The estimated average annual loss is two per cent, of the crop. This emut is easily distinguished in the field when the grain is almost ripe. The smutted plants are usually slightly stunted and the heads stand more erect than the heavy, sound heads. The chaff is spread apart more or less by the dark, swollen kernels, ’giving the head an open appearance. When the tough membrane, or skin, of such a kernel ie broken, a dark, smeary, dust-like mass is disclosed which has a peculiar fetid odor like that -of de‘Miayed, fiah..„„». o L The smut can be controlled and practically gotten rid of by any one of the seed treatments which have been worked out and recommended for a number of years by the state experimient stations. Of these the formalin treatment is probably the best. There are several ways of applying this treatment It may be either sprayed on the grain or the grain may be soaked in the solution. The following method of treatment is recommended by the Washington experiment station: Construct a water-tight trough 8 feet long, 14 inches deep and 24 inches wide. Fill this two-third’s full of the formalin solution, which has been made up by dissolving one pint (a pound) of 40 per cent, formaldehyde in 40 gallons of water. Into this pour sloVly the seed wheat until the trough is nearly half full of grain. Then stir thoroughly with'a long-handle ehovel in order to float to the surface any smut balls that may have been carried in by the grain. These should be skimmed off and destroyed. Leave the grain in the solution about onehalf hour. It may then be lifted out and piled up on a granary floor or on the bottom of a wagon box and covered with moist sacks, where it is left over night. On the following morning ft will be ready to sow. If it is desired to sow’ the grain in a dry condition, it will be necessary to spread the treated seed out on the floor to a depth of two or three inches, stirring frequently in order to hasten the drying process, If the seed is sown wet, allowance should be made for its swu.len condition by getting the drill to sow a larger quantity per acre. The oat smut, another destructive disease, is widely distributed, some fields having shown as high as 30 per cent. of smutted heads. Estimated average annual loss is about two per cent, of the crop. This smut is most easily noticed a little before the grain is ripe, when smutted plants are found to be ehorter and to stand more erect than sound ones. In place of the kernels there are dark masses of smut duet which, sometimes, are covered by the chaff or glumes and sometime? are left fully exposed and are then soon

Fox a God In Japan.

Hiet Takahashi, the quaint son of Nippon, who attends William Jewell college and / labors betimes in the Advance office, Is always talking interestingly to his fellow employes •bout his country and its r.ustoms and ruftystitions. Chief anving the the fear of the fox, which is believed to have supernatural powers. Thrones called "Inari Jlnsha,” in which the fox is enshrined u a deity, are numberless. The name of the deity written in Japanese char-

blown about by the wind, leaving the stalk of the head bare. ' , < Oat smut may be prevented by a similar seed treatment to the one given for the stinking smut of wheat. ■ There is not as much danger from smut balls remaining in the treated seed, but if any smut masses are seen they, of course, should be skimmed off and destroyed just as in the case of wheat smut. The covered smut of barley is another cereal disease with an estimated average annual loss of two per cent, of the crop. This smut is most noticeable several days after the barley has fully headed out. The smutted heads are darker in color than sound heads and the kernels are composed of greenish-black masses of smut. These are not blown away by the wind but remain until the grain is harvested and threshed, when the smutted heads are broken up. Many of the smut masses are not blown out by the threshing machine but remain with the grain, smearing it with smut The spores of the smut get on to sound seeds and are lodged in cracks and crevices of the seed coat until the seed germinates in the spring, when the young smut plant also begins to grow inside of the barley plant. This smut also can be prevented by treating the seed with formalin in the same manner as for the stinking smut of wheat and oat smut. The kernel smut of sorghum is serious in crops of kafir, broomcorn and the sweet sorghums (cane), particularly in the ari’d regions of the West and Southwest. It is not so easily observed by the farmer as are most of the other grain smuts. The young smut head takes on a gray or whitish appearance, and as it develops the smut masses in the kernels become dark brown or black. Usually smut masses are not broken and blown about to any extent in the field but remain as they are formed until harvest and threshing time. They are then broken up and the smut spores get on to clean eeeds, where they stay, just as in the case of stinking smut of wheat, until the seed is planted and the spores grow and infect the young seedlings. As in the stinking smut of wheat, careful seed treatment will kill the smut spores on the outside of the seeds. The treatment recommended is as follows: Mix one pint (one pound) of fullstrength 40 per cent, formaldehyde with 30 gallons of water and use this solution in the same manner as directed for stinking smut of wheat. The loose smut of wheat is widely distributed wherever wheat is grown. The estimated average annual loss is one per cent, of the crop. This smut is most noticeable at the heading time of the grain. In smutted heads the kernels and chaff are replaced by dark sooty masses, which are soon blown away by the wind, leaving bare stems that are usually not noticed at harvest time. The smut matures and ripens its spores when the wheat is in bloom, that is, soon after heading time. The spores do not remain inclosed by the chaff, but are loose and are immediately blown about by the wind, fall on healthy wheat heads and some of them get on to the young ovary or seed of the wheat flower. Here they germinate and send little filaments or germ tubes into the young forming kernels. As the kernels grow and en-

LOOSE AND STINKING SMUTS OF WHEAT.

A, Normal Head of Wheat, Showing Kernels Below. B, Head of Wheat, Affected by Stinking Smut, Showing Smut Balls at a. C, Loose Smut

acters signifies fox, and from this it came to be believed that the deity really was a fox. Its natural cunning is greatly enlarged upon and it is believed to be capable of misleading and deceiving human beings. —Liberty Advance. . «.

Enjoys It

Gp.be—There goee a fellow who enjoys ill health. Steve —Enjoys it? What is he, a hypochondriac? Gabe —No, he’s a physician.

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER, INIL

large tiny smut plants are formed inside of them, but remain hidden and allow the kernels to develop and fill out like other, seed. The loose smut cannot be prevented by the ordinary formalin seed treatment, as it lives over the winter inside of the seed instead of on the outside of the seed coat. The only seed treatment which has proved to be a preventive for this smut is the hotwater treatment. This is a delicate operation for the average farmer to perform, as the death point of the wheat seed itself is so close to the death point of the smut in the seed that very accurate thermometers and careful handling are necessary. The estimated average annual loss of loose smut of barley is two per cent, of the crop. The time of appearance and other characteristics of this smut are almost Identical with the loose smut of wheat described above. This smut cannot be prevented by the formalin treatment because the smut passes the winter inside the seed. , Th? hot water treatment will prevent it, but it is not recommended for the average farmer who must treat a large amount of seed in a short time at his busiest time of the year. The study of corn smut is receiving considerable attention by the department, The losses are variable, being largely dependent upon the locality and the season, but are often serious. No adequate means of control are at present available, though it is known that the losses from corn smut are less where a rotation of crops is practiced and where care is taken not to feed smutted corn tb livestock and then use the fresh manure on corn land; because corn smut spores pass through the digestive tract of farm animals uninjured and can live and multiply in the manure. Each of the cereal crops has one or more kinds of rust affecting them. The black, or stem, rusts of wheat, barley and oats are the mose serious. Each of these three crops has an early or so-called leaf rust, which nearly always is present, but seldom does serious damage. The rusts, as their name would indicate, first appear as reddish or yellowish spots on the leaves or stems of the grains. The stem rust forms long spots of this yellowish powder, which turn black as the grain ripens. It is this black rust stage with which most farmers are familiar and which they fear the most The rusts are perhaps the most serious of all cereal diseases, for no practical preventive measures are at present know, other than the use of wheats of the durum group, and the selection and breeding of new varieties reslsteht'ldrusL' No seed treatment is of any use whatever, as the rust is an external parasite, not living over in or on the seed. Neither has any spray for the growing plants been devised which results at all in proportion to the cost of its application on a large scale. In fact, experiments carried on with sprays on small plots have not given very promising results. It is hoped eventually to furnish the farmers of the great grain-producing sections with new varieties which shall be equal to the old, commonly grown sorts and, in addition, will have the added value of being immune, or at least resistant or tolerant to rust.

One on Ginter.

Jesse Carmichael was walking down town in New York with his friend. Bob Ginter. Bob was pulling industriously on a fat, dark cigar, and had ed in consuming about half of it, causing the covering to curl up with the heat. ” What in thunder are you'smoking?” asked Carmichael. < “A fine cigar,” replied Ginter. "Oh,” said Carmichael, *T thought It was an umbrella."—Popular Magazine.

STAR PITCHER TO RETURN TO ATHLETICS

Jack Coombs, One of Connie Mack’s Beat

Jack Coombs, the star pitcher of the Athletics, will be in shape to pitch again by July 1, according to Ira Thomas, the catcher of the Athletics, who visited Coombs at his home in Kennebunk, Maine. Thomas says Coombs is fast recovering his strength and will be in good shape by midsummer. It is Coombs’ intention to return to Philadelphia soon, when an X-ray photograph will be taken of his injured spine and the steel braces will be removed. After that Coombs and his wife will go south, where he will do his preliminary warming up, after which he will return to the Athletics, prepared to take his place in the box.

NOTES of the DIAMOND

“Sox players win at Monte Carlo,” said a headline. No, they didn’t play ball there. • * • George Davis, former White Sox shortstop, is head baseball coach at Amherst college. * * * All this talk about the “pink of condition” is rather wearing. Why not the “budding green?” • • * Kid Gleason has a recipe for making the White Sox hit consistently, but it isn’t for publication. * * ♦ Charles M. Hayes has been elected president of the Chicago Motor club to succeed W. E. Stalnaker. Catcher Gossett, who has signed with the Yankees, is only twenty-one years old and weighs 185 pounds. * * * Manager Branch Rickey will have his ball players indulge in handball while in training at St. Petersburg. • • * Cactus Cravath, the "home run” king of the National league, expects to better his mark in circuit smashes next season. • * * It was announced from Boston that the Red Sox will be strong on southpaws in Collips, Leonard, Coumbe and Radloft. • • • Sometimes it pays to visit. Manager Huggins paid a visit to George Whltted and the latter signed a Cardinal contract • • • ■’ W. H. Watkins, one-time manager of the Indianapolis A. A. team, has been signed as business manager of the Indianapolis Feds. • • • Graney may have to do a share of the pitching for the Naps this season. Old-timers can remember when he was a southpaw twirler. • « • The outlaws are costing the -National league more than the players are costing the Federal league, according to latest statistics. • * ♦ Manager Art Devlin has picked a trainer fbr the Oakland* club of the Pacific Coast league. The name of the new trainer is Swanson. • • • Manager Griffith says he will have but one seasoned pitcher on his staff, Walter Johnson being the person. Well, what else does he want? • * • ' George Stallings thinks Bill Sweeney is one of the brainiest men in baseball, and if he can prevent it. Bill will never have a chance to play with the Cubs.

CAREER OF MANAGER O’DAY

New Leader of Chicago Cubs Got Hi* First Job With Toledo ClubPlayed With New York. Hank O’Day, old-time pitcher and umpire and new manager of the Cubs, is a native Chicagoan. He was born about 50 years ago on a farm “way out on the West side,” located at what would now be the intersection of Jackson .boulevard and. Campbell, avenue. Dan O’Day, father of Hank, was employed by the city as a plumber and later became engineer of the Hayes school at. Walnut street and Oakley avenue. O’Day’s first job was with a club in Toledo, O. In 1888 O’Day got into the big leagues as a member of the Washington club. Connie Mack, present manager as the Athletics, was his battery partner. The following year O’Day joined the New York Giants, where he

Manager Hank O'Day.

made his reputation. New York won the pennant in 1889 and played a fourgame post-season series against Brooklyn. O’Day pitched and won the first game. New York lost the second. Hank was called upon to pitch the third and fourth games In the series. New York won them both. Later O’Qay drifted West and spent a year or two in'Nebraska and lowa, after which he returned to the national game as an umpire in the early ’9os. He filled the role of National league arbitrator for about 20 years, and was considered one of the best in the business.' He resigned his position as an umpire to become manager of the Cincinnati Reds in 1912.

Quinlan With Terre Haute.

Terre Haute, of the Central league, has signed Larry Quinlan, former Major league outfielder, to manage the club during the campaign of 1914. He will report early In the spring.

TYRUS COBB PLAYS AT GOLF

Diamond King Ha* Unique System of Driving Ball—Catches Sphere With Face of Hi* Club. j : Tyrus Cobb, the king of ball players, has become a strong golf enthusiast. Ty has perfected a new system of driving a golf ball. Instead of teeing it up on a little mound of sand, gluing his eye on it 'and swatting it, Tyrus prefers to have his caddy pitch the ball to him in such a way that it sails along very close to the ground or else strikes the grounds in front of him and bounces up an inch or so. The first and final rule for every other golfer in the world except Tyrus Cobb is to keep the eye on the ball. But Tyrus, having gotten his preliminary golf training in the American league, where all pitchers look more or less alike to his batting timber, is not accustomed to keeping his eye on the ball. As he says, a ball player at the bat doesn’t keep his eye on the ball —or even try to. That is, keeping his eye on the ball is not the thing that enables him to connect. “A man hits a baseball by instinct,” says Tyrus. “He sees the ball leave the pitcher, of course. But he doesn’t try to keep his eye on it right up to the moment of hitting it. If he did, his batting average would be minus zero or thereabouts. A man hits by instinct in the game of baseball.” And so it was the element of instinct that Interfered with Tyrus when he took up the royal and ancient game of golf on the links of the Country club, in Augusta. Keeping his eye on the ball didn’t seem to help him a little bit. He seemed to connect better if he would locate the ball, as you might say, let his batting eye. wander where it would, and turn loose; Then, one day, quite by accident, Tyrus hit .upon his system. “The thing is still —that’s why you can’t hit,” remarked a baseball fan, an admirer of Cobb’s prowess with the

Ty Cobb.

old hickory. “If you had somebody pitching to you, you’d hit it a mile,” said this friend as they were driving o®TEelSrst tee.~ s ' 'fhe idea caught Tyrus between the eyes. “Get out there, caddy, and throw me the ball,” he commanded, which Invitation Mr. Pickaninny accepted with alacrity. “Throw it low,” said Tyrus, “so I can catch it with the face of v my club.” The caddy bent way over, as a kid does when “skeeting” flat pebbles over the water, and delivered to the champion batsman a beautiful fast one. Tyrus missed, tried another, and the second time he caught the ball right on the nose with the exact center of the, face of his club. It went about a mile.

Preparing Polo Field.

- The-champion Meadow Brook Polo club at Hempstead, Long Island, in order to make the polo field, where two international matches against English challengers have been contested, one of the finest, if not the finest, in the world, have dressed the field with 150 cubic yards of top soil and a larfce quantity of grass seed, with a covering of several tons of salt hay, which in the early spring will be rolled and cut agqin for matches with the Englishmen. Fields Nos. 2 and 3, where the preliminary matches are played, will be Improved and the stands on the main field will be enlarged.

Hit Ball Too Lovingly.

Walter Travis, the golf expert, declares the playing methods of Misses Ravenscroft and Dodd are precisely the same as those of Miss Rhona Adair and her compatriots of a decade ago. He summed up the differences between the foreign and domestic article thusly: “American women hit the ball too timidly, too carelessly, as it were; as though it was a lovable thing; the English women hit firmly, not to say, vindictively, as if they hated the ball and delighted in hitting it."

Numbers at New York.

Capt.-Elect Earl Huntley of the New York university football team announced that the team will use numbers .In all ganps played next sea/on. The plan has been under consideration since the close of last season, and it has the Indorsement of Physical Director Frank Cann, as well as Captain Huntley.

Swimming Pool for Whitney Home.

Payne Whitney’s country homa at Greentree, at Long Island, is being Improved by an addition three atories high The first floor will be. devoted to guest rooms and a swim-' mlng pool. The second floor will provide one of the most complete tennis courts In the country. It will be enclosed in glass and will be heated.