360 READINGS IN BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE 



are, for example, the wilt-resistant Bison flax, A4arglobe tomatoes, Stone- 

 ville and Rowden cottons, Stone Mountain and Hawkesbury watermelons, 

 and Ladak alfalfa. New rust-resistant small grains are coming to the fore 

 and enormous acreages have already been planted to some of these, such 

 as Thatcher wheat and Red Rustproof oats. One of the most outstanding 

 of these recent accomplishments is the development of the Wisconsin 

 Refugee bean which is at once immune from mosaic and rust, tolerant of 

 two bacterial bean diseases, and resistant to two of the three races of the 

 anthracnose fungus. 



The story of this winning fight against plant disease is a gripping story 

 of onward marching in the face of many obstacles. There have been failures, 

 and much remains to be accomplished. Many plant diseases still resist ef- 

 forts at their control. With others, we have methods for prevention but 

 they are costly, difficult, or disagreeable. But as the American farmer moves 

 on into the task implied by the economic stress of today, he will have in 

 the background the hundreds of scientists, quietly working with him, pro- 

 viding him with the knowledge he needs to lighten his own economic load 

 and permit him to produce the raw products that America needs, amply, 

 efficiently, and economically. 



POLLEN AND HAY FEVER * 

 MARGATE KIENAST 



Your allergy is your personal hard luck. If you have one it is because 

 you are abnormally sensitive to food, pollen, hair, or other substances that 

 you inhale or eat. Whatever it may be that causes this kick-back is an aller- 

 gen. Allergies are various, strange and surprising. Medically the field is 

 broad, requiring volumes for complete discussion. However, the majority 

 of people who are allergic are poisoned by a simple vegetable substance 

 that to most is absolutely harmless. This is pollen. In the summer season 

 hundreds of thousands of people in the United States are following a hand- 

 kerchief around. They have hay fever. Ninety percent, of our hay fever is 

 caused by ragweed pollen. 



Some of the measures you can take in your defense program against 

 this nuisance are medical. If the problem were strictly a medical one, there 

 would be no point in telling about it here. But hay fever is not caused by 

 lack of mineral in the bones, by jumpy nerve endings in your nose, by 

 cruising germs in your bloodstream — or by imagination. A useless weed, 

 in full bloom, broadcasting a simple vegetable substance, is responsible for 

 all this discomfort. 



• Reprinted from Nature Magazine with the permission of the American Nature 

 Association. Copyright 1942, 



