Hints regarding the agricultural state of the Netherlands, compared with that of Great Britain : and some obsevations on the means of diminishing the expense of growing corn; of preventing the mildew in wheat, the rot in sheep, and the introduction of other improvements into British agriculture / [Sir John Sinclair].

  • Sir John Sinclair, 1st Baronet
Date:
1815
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Hints regarding the agricultural state of the Netherlands, compared with that of Great Britain : and some obsevations on the means of diminishing the expense of growing corn; of preventing the mildew in wheat, the rot in sheep, and the introduction of other improvements into British agriculture / [Sir John Sinclair]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Of the Spur, or Ergot, The Spur is a disease that has long been known, and is peculiar to rye, and some other graminous plants. It is also called by the French, the Clou, horned rye, See, It is a pro¬ duction of the seeds, is long, horny, and cartilaginous; and is sometimes straight, at others curved ; sometimes it is found more than two inches in length. The resemblance of this substance to cocks’ spurs has given it the name by which it is distinguished. On breaking a spurred seed, you find within it a substance of a dull white colour, adhering to the violet skin that surrounds it. Rye, thus attacked, cannot germinate. The causes of this disease are not rightly understood. On surveying the different opinions of philosophers, we find nothing but doubt and uncertainty. These opinions, however, may be reduced to seven. The first attributes the spur to the humiditv of the air * the second, to the seed getting mouldy in the ground, when it does not readily germinate ; the third, to the presence of a caterpillar or other insect, which perforates the seed, and thus creates in it a sort of sore ; the fourth ascribes it to the moisture of the soil; the fifth, to a defect in its fecundity ; the sixth, to parasitical plants of the mushroom family; and the seventh, i3 the opinion of Gaspard Bauhin and M. Taranget of Douay, who attribute the spur to the rupture of the seed, occasioned by too great an abundance of the juices of the plant, which burst out, and run over. To give more precision to these ideas, I shall )educe the above opinions to five. The first and fourth can only make one, since the atmosphere is never so humid as in countries, where the soil is habitually damp ; the fifth also is only an immediate consequence of all the