482 Second European Journey 



teriology. Miss Hasse's treatise, Smith believed, would remain a 

 classic upon the subject. The fact that within less than a decade 

 at a cost of about half a million dollars this disease was brought 

 " very well under control " whereas when the campaign was started 

 the disease already had seriously reduced the industry in some of 

 its best and most productive regions exampled another among 

 several instances where plant industries had been saved from 

 serious curtailment or total extinction as later did happen to 

 industries connected with the chestnut due to its bark disease."' 



Smith wanted more funds to study also bacterial diseases among 

 vine stocks, bacterial oat diseases and various other leaf-spot bac- 

 terial diseases of plants. His major emphasis, however, v/as 

 directed to the need of field and laboratory investigations in 

 tobacco, potato and tomato, and corn diseases. In recent years 

 these situations had become so threatening that Smith pleaded, 

 " If we could cut these diseases in two or even reduce them one- 

 tenth part, we could save the country every year more than the 

 cost of the entire Bureau of Plant Industry." 



Several bacterial diseases of the tomato and potato were causing 

 " immense losses, north and south, east and west, some part of 

 which," he urged, " we ought to be able to cut out by further 

 researches." The bacterial canker of tomato, first called " The 

 Grand Rapids disease " [Science 31: 794) after the locality from 

 which it had been first sent to him, had been described by him 

 in 1909 as a phloem wilt disease caused by a yellow schizomycete, 

 Aplanobacter michiganense. This was one. In I9IO Smith had 

 published {Science 31: 748) his verification of Appel's work on 

 black-leg of the potato, due to Bacillus phytophthorus. This was 

 another widespread and destructive disease. To the " several bac- 

 terial diseases " of tomato and potato Smith had " personally 

 given much attention." But, he argued, " I cannot cope adequately 

 with them without further assistance." At least four more labora- 

 tory assistants were needed. 



In I9O8 he had determined that the " Granville tobacco wilt," 

 (Bulletin l4l, part II, Bur. PL Industry) was due to Bacterium 

 solanacearum. In the southern states this wilt disease in tobacco 



^''Report of the Secretary, Yearbook of the U. S. Dep't of Agric. for 1918: 43. 

 See also, Fify years of pathology, op. cit., 33, 38. Also, W. A. Taylor, Gimpaigns 

 against plant diseases, in A Quarter Century of Service, found in report of the Chief 

 of the Bureau of Plant Industry for 1926, and reprint, pp. 2-3. 



