488 Second European Journey 



tion are species of Aspergillus. The writers would be very glad to receive 

 for study samples of hominy or corn meal suspected of being the cause of 

 pellagra. 



The pathology of pellagra as a disease of humans was not 

 studied by the Department, but the agricultural aspects of the 

 problem were. From 1909 until 1912 the department's annual 

 reports " referred to the work. Secretary Wilson's comment in 

 1911 was significant: "The question of spoiled corn and its 

 relation to pellagara has been under investigation, the agricul- 

 tural side of the problem only being considered. Toxic substances 

 have been isolated from cultures of organisms occurring on spoiled 

 corn and some new constituents have been isolated." 



December 16, 1910, Carl Lucas Alsberg and Otis F. Black, 

 chemical biologists of drug-plant, poisonous-plant, physiological 

 and fermentation investigations, published their Bureau of Plant 

 Industry bulletin 199, " The Determination of the Deterioration 

 of Maize, with incidental reference to Pellagra." In this appeared 

 a reference to a determination by Dr. Smith of a mold growth on 

 corn, found by him to be " spores of Aspergillus jtimigatusy 

 Other molds observed to discolor corn kernels were believed to 

 include " members of the genus of mold known as Penicillium." 

 In this bulletin were described procedures to determine toxicity 

 and to test for micro-organisms and for a tendency to become 

 moldy. It was said: ** 



The test for micro-organisms and the tendency to become moldy involves 

 the quantitative determination of the number of organisms in the suspicious 

 sample compared with a sound sample. The methods hitherto proposed 

 for this purpose do not seem to be adequate. To devise improved ones and 

 to determine the nature of the organisms present is beyond the limits of 

 the present problem. This has been undertaken by Dr. Erwin F. Smith . . . 

 and he will no doubt report in due time. 



Dr. Alsberg was to become Chief of the Department's Bureau 

 of Chemistry in 1912. Since 1908 he had been with the Bureau 

 of Plant Industry as a chemical biologist, for two years before 

 then serving part time as an investigator with the United States 



^^ Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture for 1909: 75; for 1910: 60; for 

 1911: 60; for 1912: 78; and also as to investigations of transmission of pellagra, 



for 1913:' 38. . ^ . . , . . 



** Examination of whole corn by mspection, lA et seq.\ Determmation of toxicity, 

 jind Test for micro-organism and for a tendency to become moldy, 30-31. 



