DR SCHOMBURGK'S RED RUST EXPERIMENTS.

Southland Times, Issue 951, 15 May 1868, Page 5

DR SCHOMBURGK'S RED RUST EXPERIMENTS.

(From the " South Australian Register," April 2.)

Dr Schomburk has furnished the Commission on Disease in "Wheat with progress 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 lie has supplemented that by a" report on the growth of the various samples 7ln it he states that fourteen 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 the rustysamples, such as Nos. 1, 4, 6, and 12, had, in fact, with reference to their vigorous growth and tillering or stooling out, outgrown the round 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, and 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 proving 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 cbntaing. 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. '.,