380 Chief of a Laboratory of Plant Pathology 



course of reading and study, found her proficient, and we shall 

 see that eventually she capably assisted him in some of his most 

 valuable work. Until her retirement recently, she has been in the 

 employ of the Bureau, and for years was herself in charge of 

 one of its main laboratories. 



Dr. Smith had several women scientific assistants. On September 

 24, 1901, Dr. Spalding asked how he should " advise a graduate 

 student who thinks of preparing for work in your department: 

 Miss Florence Hedges, from Lansing, Mich[igan], graduated last 

 June from the U[niversity} of M[ichigan}." He recommended 

 her as " a really bright, strong woman " whose " work in botany, 

 plant physiology, and ecology was a good deal above the average." 

 If she were to teach he planned for her " certain research work in 

 ecology." But if she were to prepare for work in the agricultural 

 department, which she rather preferred, he thought it " best for her 

 to study fungi with [him], bacteriology with Novy, enzymes etc. 

 with Newcombe," and whatever other subjects Smith suggested. 



In 1902 Miss Lilian Wheeler resigned from her position to 

 marry. Spalding again recommended Miss Hedges and she was 

 employed that year for work in the laboratory of plant pathology. 



Smith also employed Lloyd Stanley Tenny, a University of 

 Rochester graduate where C. W. Dodge was a member of the 

 faculty. Tenny had been prepared in botany and biology, and 

 was to achieve in several capacities an illustrious career in 

 American agriculture. 



Two other men of future prominence in agriculture of the 

 Americas who soon became assistants in the laboratory were James 

 Birch Rorer, a graduate at Harvard in 1899 and for two years 

 while earning an advanced degree an assistant in botany there, 

 and John R. Johnston, also from Harvard, who later did important 

 work as pathologist for the United Fruit Company and in charge 

 of their investigations of economic plant diseases. 



Still another botanist of the laboratory who was employed 

 during this period was Miss Alice Haskins. 



The work of the three main laboratories — physiology, path- 

 ology, and breeding — was supplemented by nation-wide field 

 research. In many states where the Department did not have 

 branch facilities, cooperative investigations with local agricultviral 

 experiment stations were in effect. Recently, in 1901, under P. H. 



