DR SCHOMBURGK'S RED RUST EXPERIMENTS.

Southland Times, Issue 949, 11 May 1868, Page 2

DR SCHOMBURGK'S RED RUST EXPERIMENTS.

(From the " South Australian Itegister,' 1 April 2.) Dr Schomburk has furnished the Commission; on. Disease in Wheat with-pro-gress reports upon the appearance of the samples of wheat— including both rusty and uninjured grain— sown by him some weeks ago. He has already given, his opinion that the experiment was most satisfactory , so far as .the germinating power of the shrivelled seed was concerned ; and recently he has supplemented that by a report on the growth of the various samples. In it he states that four- < teen days after the plants of the diseased samples appeared above ground they began to show a decided" improvement, having formerly exhibited a yellowish color on the leaves, the blade being ] also-, narrower than those raised from the healthy grains. . -Some of ttie TXLst&, samples, such as Nos. 1, 4, 6, and 12, had, in fact, with reference to their vigorous growth and tillering or stooling out, outgrown the r ound samples. He adds that he is satisfied from his observations, that rusty seed will produce healthy plants, and might therefore safely be used for seed, provided that care was .taken to have the soil well prepared, anu not to sow the seed before the end of May, or until the ground has been sufficiently* saturated with rain. "We believe that the doctor, under the directions of the commission, is now carrying out some interesting experiments with a view of provr ing his theory that rust : is developed ;by heat and moisture. In doing so, he has placed two pots containing the wheat plants produced from rusty grain, and two containg those grown from healthy seed, in. his orchid house, which has a mean temperature of 63 deg. and- a humidity also, of 63 deg. One of the healthy lots he placed by itself, and in the other three he distributed amongst the plants some dry straws infected with rust. In two other pots in the open air he also placed these rusty straws. At present not much can be said about the results ; but Dr Schomburgk is satisfied that incipient rust is plainly discernible, by means of a microscope, in the plants growing in the inside pots which have been brought into contact with the rusty straws, and that none whatever has exhibited itself in the other inside pot or the two outside ones.