Studies on Crown Gai i, oi Plants 427 



Dunui; the suninicr or early autunm of iy07, Smith visited the 

 new laboratory of tlie Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research 

 located at 66th Street and Avenue A m New York (^ity. From 

 Washington, on November 20, 1907, he addressed a letter to the 

 director, Dr. Simon Flexner: 



I was niiKh pleased at what 1 saw duriiii; my brief visit to the Rocke- 

 feller histitute. It seems to me quite as good a place to work as Koch's 

 establishment in Berlin. I hope, if it would not inconvenience you in any 

 way, that you will some time let me come and work in the institution for 

 two or three months, so that I may get somewhat better knowledge of 

 animal tumors for purposes of comparison with those on plants which 

 I am now working with. 



Flexner answered immediately: " I should regard it as a most 

 flattering distinction to have you come to the Institute to work, 

 for as long or as short a period as you choose, on the subject of 

 tumors in animals, and I should put the facilities of the Institute 

 wholly at your disposal." We do not know if or when Smith 

 studied at the Institute; but that he often consulted research 

 authorities there is sure, and it is quite likely that at some time 

 he made use of the facilities to study animal tumors. 



He was asked to recommend someone for an assistant professor- 

 ship with " much time for research " which might soon become 

 available at Harvard. He received a letter from Theobald Smith 

 of the Laboratory of Comparative Pathology of the Medical School 

 that, as a part of a reorganization of the work of the Bussey 

 Institution, vegetable pathology and bacteriology, both in teaching 

 and research, was planned to be included in the curriculum. 



T. J. Burrill expressed to Smith his " admiration for your mag- 

 nificent introductory volume on bacteria in relation to plant 

 diseases. It is by far the best thing of the kind ever published 

 and is bound to be a classic upon the subject. I congratulate you 

 heartily in its production, and hope you may succeed as well 

 with what is to follow." Within a year Howard Spurr Hammond 

 of the department of botany at the University of Illinois was 

 using the volume " extensively in some research work [he was] 

 carrying on in connection with some of the graduate work." 

 L. R. Jones wrote that he had been using the volume and that 

 his " satisfaction in it increase[dl with time and usage. I hope," 

 he said, " that you appreciate, in some measure at least, how 



