IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 93 



An interesting feature connected with the attacks of this fungus and diflFerent 

 parts is that a hybrid of Fniiuts americana (DeSoto) and Oregon Plum, (Pruniis 

 domestica or possibly a Japan Plum) show the disease in a very marked form. 

 This is interesting as indicating that the mother plant was strongly prepotent in 

 carrying over a tendency to take a disease. 



The fungus, or what appears to be the same thing, has been cultivated in nutrient 

 agar, but innoculation experiments tried on matured plums did not show the 

 characteristic appearance. The fungus grown in agar is either different or it 

 attacks plums before the epidermal cells are uncuticularized. Field observations 

 indicate that plums become affected early and that these spots increase in size as 

 the season advances. 



NOTES FROM THE BOTANICAL LABORATORY OF IOWA AGRICUL- 

 TURAL COLLEGE. 



BY L. H. PAMMEL. 



It is a good plan to make a permanent record of some of the work done by 

 undergraduate students, provided the observations are carefully made and recorded. 

 I)urine the winter of 1892 and 1893 there was a serious epidemic of typhoid fever 

 in La Crosse, Wisconsin, which came to my notice through my brother, H. A. 

 Pammel. I was asked to make a bacteriological examination of the water and 

 report. It was impossible for me to do so because of other work on hand at that 

 time. Two senior students, Messrs. McCall and Patton, then at work in the bac- 

 teriological laboratory, consented to work it up for their thesis. My brother col- 

 lected the samples on May 2. They were placed in thoroughly scalded bottles and 

 sent to me by express. Most of the samples of water were submitted to an analy- 

 sis on May 10. 



It is an extremely difficult matter to get satisfactory results made in this way. 

 Some of the successful results in obtaining the typhoid fever bacillus of polluted 

 water have been reported by Mr. Rafter and Dr. H. C. Ernst' in this country, and 

 my friend, Dr. Ravold has reported some from Mississippi water taken at St. Louis. 

 The number of successful cultures of this organism from polluted water is, how- 

 ever, somewhat limited, and in some cases, at least, there are doubts as to whether 

 the investigators had the Koch Eberth bacillus or some closely related species. 

 Cassedebat", who made an extended study of the river water at Marseilles, found 

 several species closely related to it, but the true typhoid fever bacillus could not be 

 found. This uncertainty is also indicated by the results of Babe's work'. 



The tabulated results of the work of Messrs. McCall and Patton show the 

 number of colonies present to be as follows: 



iReport on an epidemic of typhoid fever at the village of Springwater, N. Y., In 

 October and November, 1889. 



2Zur un bacille pseudo typhique trouve dans les eaux de riviere Compt. rend. 

 Acad, des Sci. Vol. CX, 1889. Le bacille d' Eberth-Gaffky et les baclllis pseudo- 

 typhiques dans les eaux de riviere, Ann. d I'lnstitut Pasteur, 1890, p. 625. 



sUeber variabilitat and varietaten des typhus-bacillus. Zeitschrift fur Hygiene, 

 Vol. IX, 1890, p. 823. 



Upon an outbreak of typhoid fever In Iron Mountain, Michigan, see Vaughan and 

 Novy: The Medical News, 1888, p. 92. On the detection oi typhoid fever bacillus see 

 Foote: Medical Record, New York, 1891, p. 506. 



