Of thh SciENci: or Plant Bacti-riology 323 



to morpholoi;)- and cultural characters than those in Volume III ui [Bjc- 

 leria in Rtl.uion to PLint Diwases *''"]. The ori;anisni is non inolile (Lucia 

 McCulloch) and only feebly active on potato starch. . . . The writer 

 obtained the first convincing infections with pure cultures in 1902, making 

 his inoculations by placinL; the organism on the tips of leaves extruding 

 water, i. e., in the seedling stage and transplanting to the held some weeks 

 later. 



His " Completed proof that P. stcwarti is the cause of the sweet 

 corn disease of Long Island " was announced '" in 1903. Further 

 research under his supervision by Miss Hedges, Dr. Rand, and 

 other laboratory assistants, work extending over many years, estab- 

 lished that the disease is transmitted on the seed, appears con- 

 spicuously one to t\vo months after planting, and, among other 

 points, that infections are stomatal and probably also by way of 

 water pores. About 1923, after Dr. Smith's text book and his 

 evalution of his own work on this plant disease had been pub- 

 lished. Dr. Rand investigated the insect-transmission of the malady 

 by two species of beetles. This wall be considered in Chapter X. 



At the beginning of the century, Dr. Smith's reputation as a 

 scrupulously careful, conscientious worker, one who went about 

 his work with endless enthusiasm, was w^ell established. That he 

 strove tirelessly to verify and re-verify every important conclusion 

 was known in many places. 



Scientists at his alma mater were proud of him and his work, 

 hi 1897 F. G. Novy thanked him for reprints and added: 



I have often thought how you as a botanist and I as a chemist have 

 drifted into the study of the '" definitely little." Originally I took up bac- 

 teria to aid me in my work in physiological chemistry and now the latter 

 is the handmaid of the former. 125 students in the laboratory in these 

 two subjects at one time strongly handicap individual work. 



The next year he wrote Smith to inquire whether the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture had " published a summary of known bac- 

 terial Diseases of plants " and for estimates of the annual losses 

 to American farmers from each malady. 



Smith was also proud of his friendship with Novy. His demon- 

 stration in 1903 with McNeal of the University of Michigan that 



"° Op. cit., 89-147. 



'^^'^ Science 17(429): 457, Mar. 20, 1903. Vcrvollstaendigunp des Bevveises, dass 

 P Stewarti die Ursache der Suesskornkrankcit auf Long Island ist, Centralblatt f. 

 Bakt. etc., II Abt., 10(22/23) : 745-746, 1903. 



