260 STATE BOARD OP AGRICULTURE. 



pyramidal formation have been noted and these seem to be desirable char- 

 acters which will be of service in diagnosis. A large part of the work has 

 (;oncentrated upon the inoculation of laboratory animals as described in 

 the last report. The work done has confirmed the conclusions of last year's 

 work, namely that animals can be sensitized by a given organism and will 

 show anaphylactic shock when reinoculated. While there is doubtless a 

 group sensitiveness it has been possible with certain Fusarium strains to 

 get definite discriminative reactions in cases where a species and a variety 

 of the species has been used. For example, guinea pigs sensitized with 

 Fusarium conglutinans will not respond to Fusarium conglutinans callistephi 

 but will respond to inoculations with ground material from the original 

 culture. 



In the preparation of antigens in this work the technique developed 

 during the war for the preparation of oil vaccines has been used. Cultures 

 are grown in bulk in a synthetic medium and after about two weeks 

 growth the heavy mat is ground, by means of steel balls, under aseptic 

 precaution in a large Pyrex bottle. The synthetic solution used is one 

 designed to give a maximum of mj^celial growth and is made up as follows: 



SYNTHETIC SOLUTION. 

 11 



Cane Sugar ( ) 7.2 gnis. 



50 

 n 



Glucose ( ) 3.6 



50 



n 



Magnesium sulphate ( ) 1 . 233 



200 



n 



Potassium acid phosphate ( — ■ — ) 2.72 



50 

 n 



Potassium nitrate ( ) 2 . 02 



50 

 Tap water 1000. 



The work undertaken so far may be considered as an attempt to develop 

 a technique suitable to handle the problems underlying this project. 



HATCH. 



Work under the Hatch Fund consists of the general routine diagnosis 

 and determination of laboratory material and the development of the 

 Plant Disease Survey. About 800 specimens were handled last year. 

 This work keeps the department in touch with conditions in the State and 

 gives to county agents, especially, definite information concerning the 

 diseases prevalent in their counties. 



In cooperation with the federal office, a survey of potato disease con- 

 ditions in the State was made last year bj' Dr. E. F. Woodcock. It was 

 the purpose of this work to watch for the first outbreaks of Late Blight 

 of Potatoes in order that the epidemic conditions of 1912 and 1915 might 

 not be repeated in war times. Due to the dry summer. Late Blight did 



