12 



can be greatly lessened. Of course all cotton that appears 

 to be imperfect in the boll should be glanced at, to see 

 that it is not diseased farther in the boll, before it is placed 

 with the good lint, otherwise diseased seeds will find their 

 way to the gin and be distributed and planted. 



When the cotton field is badly affected with the cotton- 

 boll rot disease, it would be advisable to plant some other 

 crop there for two years, and to use other fields previously 

 occupied by a different crop for the raising of cotton. In 

 this way the bacteria in question might be gotton rid of. 



We may sum up briefly as follows : 



a. The cotton-hoU rot. disease is caused by a bacterium 

 {Bacillus gossypina, Stedman) which works within the boll, 

 causing its contents (seed and lint) to decay And since the 

 bacteria are inside the tissues, it would be unless to spray 

 the plant with any chemicals at present known, since we 

 would kill the plant before the diseased region could be. 

 reached. 



h. The disease is multiplied in and carried from one crop 

 of cotton to another, and also to unaffected areas, by means 

 of the diseased tissues, with probably the help of the wind 

 and insects. 



c. The bacteria may possibly enter the cotton plant from 

 the soil, through the roots, although it is possible they may 

 enter through the epidermis of the boll ; but more probably 

 they were already in the seed-leaves of the seed^ or enter 

 the bolls from the flower. 



d. All diseased cotton-bolls should be picked off and 

 burned just as soon as discovered, or at least while the lint 

 is being gathered, and the field gone over again immediately 

 after the last picking of the lint. 



e. Cotton seed coming from a gin known to have ginned 

 cotton from an affected district should not be planted in un- 

 affected districts. 



