196 Wisconsin Statb Horticultural Society. 



After hearing Professor Burrill's remarks at the Illinois State 

 Horticultural Society meeting, last December, I sent him a few 

 samples of the blighted blossoms and twigs I had preserved. In 

 his letter, dated January 19, 1S82, he says: "Your samples of 

 blighted twigs came safely to hand, and prove to be very inter- 

 esting, indeed. There is no question in my mind but that your 

 idea that the blight starts in the blossoms in these cases is true. 

 It is quite new to me, but 1 now find similar evidences of the 

 fact here. This disease may start elsewhere, but I think it is 

 pretty well proved that it does not do so without some puncture 

 of the bark or epidermis. The stigma of the flower has no epi- 

 dermal covering, and so is exposed to the destructive effects of 

 the organisms. I shall closely observe the flowers, next spring, 

 and shall be glad of any further notes by yourself. We will 

 know sometime the full facts about this injurious disease." 



My attention was particularly called to the subject of bacteria 

 as the cause of blight, by remarks in the report of our secre- 

 tary, in our last volume (page 99), and I therefore listened with 

 greater interest to Professor Burrill's remarks, and his theory in 

 regard to the efiects of this organism. But my observations of 

 blight, as seen last spring, to me proves conclusively that they 

 were not the cause, and I so stated to him in a letter accompany- 

 ing the samples sent. In his reply he acknowledges that he 

 thinks there must be some puncture or injury of the bark or 

 epidermis. 



Dr. Taylor, Microscopist for the Agricultural Department 

 at Washington, says that " Bacteria can only exist in dead 

 organic matter, and he mentions some of the ways in which they 

 and other similar organisms are made useful in the opera- 

 tions of baking, brewing and the production of wine and 

 vinegar, and while bacterian fermentation or putrefaction is 

 an essential part of the process which fits dead organic mat- 

 ter for plant food, it also appears incidentally to be the cause 

 of one of tlie common practical difficulties encountered by the 

 farmer and the horticulturist, viz. : tha tendency of the soil to 

 become sour. * •3^ * If the material once used by the life 

 principle in building up organic bodies could not be used over 



