INSTITUTE AND COI-LEGE, PUSA, FOR 1910-11. 77 



should undergo a preliminary training at Pusa. It is im- 

 portant that these men should have a previous training in 

 analytical chemistry of a high order, as my experience has 

 been that it is possible to teach bacteriology to a chemist, 

 but that the converse alternative is a v^aste of time. This 

 was my own experience at Pusa with a medically-trained 

 bacteriologist who acted for a time as my assistant, and 

 whose qualifications as a biologist did not fit him for work 

 as a soil bacteriologist, this being due to the very different 

 nature of the work involved in medical and soil bacterio- 

 logy. On the other hand my present three assistants who 

 are all chemists, have shown great aptitude for bacteriolo- 

 gical work, and their previous training as analysts has been 

 invaluable in dealing with soil problems, which depend 

 largely for their solution upon quantitative estimation of 

 chemical changes in soil constituents. 



Certain special problems have been dealt with during 

 the year; these include investigations of the cause of : — 



1. A bacterial disease of Tobacco occurring in Rang- 



pur, due to the presence of a strain of Bacillus 

 Solanacearum, differing from those described in 

 America and Japan in its pathogenicity both 

 for Tobacco and other Solanaceous plants, such 

 as Tomato and Brinjal (Solanum Melongena). 



2. A disease of the Eri silkworm associated with the 



presence of bacteria in the intestine; Memoirs 

 on these two subjects are in hand. Invaluable 

 assistance in the preparation of sections for mi- 

 croscopic examination in connectios with these 

 diseases was afforded by Mr. Shaw of the Myco- 

 logical Section, who was kindly permitted by the 

 Imperial Mycologist to devote a considerable 

 amount of time to this work. 



3. The efficacy of Ratin and Trope Ratin as rat exter- 



minators in India. Experiments were made 

 with fresh samples received from England, and 

 a report on the results was furnished to the 

 Inspector General of Agriculture in India. 



