68 Report’ OF THE BACTERIOLOGIST OF THE 
from the normal and in how far the results represent actual 
conditions. 
In 1900, up to the time of our visit in June, the conditions had 
not been favorable for an epidemic of black rot and the fields 
around Cutchogue were unusually free from evidence of this 
disease. All of the plants marked were later shipped us, indica- 
ting that there was little destruction after that date. The plants 
were fairly well developed in spite of the disease and undoubtedly 
would have been harvested under ordinary conditions. The plants 
themselves were, then, a normal part of the harvest except that 
their chance of carrying the disease was above the average of all 
the plants in the field. ! 
The threshing operations differed somewhat from the normal. 
In the ordinary method the seed from a large number of plants 
is pounded out by hand until a heap of seed, pods and fine 
branches is accumulated, or the whole plant is run through a 
threshing machine which reduces the dry. branches almost to chaff. 
In either case the slightly oily seeds are exposed to the dust from 
the crushed diseased bundles which are fairly sure to be present 
in considerable numbers. 
The seed plants we examined were held until they were 
thoroughly dry, when they were threshed and the seed from each 
plant cleaned separately with the least possible breaking of 
branches or exposure to dust. In this particular they were 
exposed to less chance of contamination than is the seed from 
healthy plants under ordinary conditions. 
After a careful study of the conditions attending the growth 
and harvesting of seed cabbage there can be no doubt that there 
is at least a small number of P. campestris on practically all the 
seed produced on Long Island. : 
While this is in some respects an undesirable state of affairs it 
should not be forgotten that it is one for which neither the 
erower nor the seedsman can be justly held responsible. For 
financial reasons most growers do reject, at the time of resetting, 
all plants evidently affected with black rot since they have foun” 
that such plants often fail to produce seed. However, from the 
nature of the disease they are not able to detect the less advanced 
cases nor can they prevent infection occurring during the second 
season. , 
The remedy does not lie in obtaining seed from other sources 
since there is every reason to believe that the other sources of 
