Rl-COGNITION OF PlANT BA(Tr.RlC)1.0c;V IN I-IIROF^I- 3i7 



less pain. I .iin not workini^ in tliis Department for money, hut tor other 

 ends. If I allow my work to be (JiscrecUlcd what is left to mc? I do not 

 care for any credit j/Zt-r / am dtuul. I want it now as I go along, and 

 abroad as tvell as at home. We cannot afford to let European workers 

 discredit our work when we have the full and satisfactory answer at hand. 



(3) It should be remembered that very little good work has been done 

 in Germany on bacterial diseases of plants. Sorauer, who has never done 

 a stroke of good work on this group and who is a laughing-stock to bac- 

 teriologists, although a good pathologist as regards fungi, is almost the 

 only prominent German writer who has maintained the existence of such 

 diseases. On the other side was formerly DeBary, and until lu^ry recently, 

 Frank, and is now W'ebmer, Fischer and Hartig. In his last revised general 

 text book published tliis year, Robert Hartig takes substantially the same 

 ground as in his older work, /. f ., nothing established. Consequently the 

 bulk of German sentiment is against the existence of such diseases. How 

 should it be otherwise.^ When the blind lead the blind both fall into the 

 ditch. 



(4) The time is ripe for such a defense as I am making. // is a defense, 

 not an attack. All the facts are in my hands ready for a knock-out blow. 

 The attention of the whole world is drawn to this controversy, owing to 

 the character of the disputants and the importance of the subject. There 

 is a better opportunity to make my influence felt than I have ever had 

 before, or probably shall ever have again. Every word I say now counts 

 and will have a dozen readers where I had one before. It is too late to 

 back out now. If I do, we shall have Wehmer and Frank, and Fischer, 

 and various other Germans, claiming that the matter is not settled, and 

 coming forward themeselves within the next decade with " new facts and 

 exact experiments " drawn from their own researches and then we shall 

 hear it said: "Ah, well, Americans, and Frenchmen, and Italians blundered 

 and bungled over this subject for a decade or two, but Fischer and others 

 showed that there was nothing in their writings, and it has remained for 

 Germans to settle this matter by bringing forward exact and fidl proofs." 

 They are already talking about the necessity of setting some one at work 

 to settle this thing experimentally, as if it were not already settled in that 

 way. 



(5) Alfred 1-ischer is no mean adversary. He is a well-educated, well 

 trained man. He occupies the position of Assistant Professor in one of the 

 great German Universities, a position much more dignified than similar 

 positions in this country, and one which is the life-long aspiration of 

 hundreds of University graduates, who are willing to starve along for years 

 as privat Docents for the sake of attaining it. Fischer is in line of succes- 

 sion to the full Professorship of Botany in the University of Leipsic, which 

 has the finest physiological laboratory in Europe, and the greatest reputation 

 at home and abroad. Every year English and American students go to 

 Leipsic. Who comes to Washington ? He is the author of numerous books, 

 and of many papers in the best journals, all of which are frequently cited. 

 He is a good teacher and is personally popular in Germany. What chance 



