188 abstracts: phytopathology 



few minutes. The substances tested were ammonia water, the various 

 salts of ammonia, distilled water solutions of the acid component of 

 these salts, distilled water, 10 per cent tannic acid, 10 per cent ethyl 

 alcohol, 2 per cent sodium chlorid, 2 per cent sodium carbonate, 5 per 

 cent sodium bicarbonate, 1/20 normal sodium hydroxid, 5 per cent am- 

 monium bicarbonate, clear lime water, milk of lime (caustic), 1 to 

 10,000 mercuric chloride, 0.5 per cent carbolic acid, chloroform water, 

 1 to 1,000,000 copper sulphate water, 5 per cent grape sugar, 5 per 

 cent cane sugar, and feeble alkaline vapors arising from dilute solu- 

 tions of urea, ammonium carbonate, and the two ammonium phos- 

 phates, the mixed vapors of ethyl alcohol and acetic acid, and the vapor 

 of secondary methylamine. 



With all these substances, even distilled water, proliferations were 

 obtained, but no killing of cells resulted except in the case of those 

 coming into direct contact with too strong a solution. In Ricinus when 

 ammonia was applied, the outgrowths were from the inner surface of 

 the pith cavity, and occurred not only in the internode containing the 

 chemical but in several to many others above and below. 



Exclusive of the hyperplasia which appeared when vapor of acetic 

 alcohol was used, one of the most striking effects obtained was the 

 production of a stele within a stele in the pith of Ricinus by the in- 

 jection of monobasic ammonium phosphate, and evidences of simi- 

 lar tendencies when ammonia was used. These facts together with 

 the author's very successful production of teratoid tumors with Bac- 

 terium twnefaciens lead him to believe that fasciations and many 

 similar phenomena are due to feeble infections by micro-organisms. 



From these experiments the author concludes "that any soluble 

 substance whatsoever, except a killing, a plasmolyzing, or an oxygen- 

 absorbing substance, if continually liberated in excess locally in tis- 

 sues not adapted to them would be able to induce tumor formation, 

 and is convinced that had it been possible to apply these stimuli re- 

 peatedly, or better still, slowly and continually from within the cell — 

 as does the parasite in crown gall — these striking proliferations would 

 have developed into large irregular tumors, rupturing to the surface, 

 i.e., into typical crowngalls. It is believed that this is the first time 

 that galls have been produced with the chemical products of a gall- 

 forming organism. The nature of the crown-gall products were de- 

 termined for Doctor Smith by the Bureau of Chemistry of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture from flask cultures set and con- 

 trolled by him. F. H. 



