INTRODUCTION 3 



do more than make briefest reference to it. The work of Brefeld 

 is perhaps most distinctive, and while his theoretical views have 

 not had a host of followers, his fundamental studies in the general 

 field of mycology, and particularly, in this connection, his wide 

 range of experiments in the artificial cultivation of organisms, are 

 invaluable. Among many others who contributed special service in 

 some phase of pathological or general mycological work of that 

 time may be mentioned also Frank, Hartig, Schroeter, Sorauer, and 

 Winter in Germany; Oudemans in Holland ; Cornu, Millardet, and 

 Prillieux in France ; Comes in Italy ; Woronin in Russia ; Eriksson 

 in Scandinavia ; Plowright and Ward in England ; Farlow, Burrill, 

 and many others in the United States. The work has continued 

 vigorously, investigations and problems have multiplied, and with 

 adequate conservatism the outlook is most encouraging. 



There were some indications of a plant pathology in existence 

 from the time of the first studies in systematic mycology, but an 

 examination of the books which purport to be discussions of plant 

 pathology shows that they were in large part an attempt to classify 

 and suggest ideas having to do with plant diseases, after the man- 

 ner of the older attempts which were made in human medicine. In 

 most cases the life history of the organism which caused the disease 

 was entirely unknown ; and, in fact, there is no plant pathology 

 which deserves the name affixed to it prior to the appearance of 

 Kiihn's "Die Krankheiten der Kulturgewachse," Berlin, 1858. 

 Between that time and 1900 an extensive literature developed. 

 The status of the morphological work is well shown by De Bary's 

 " Morphologic und Biologic der Pilze," etc., and in addition to many 

 special life-history or monographic studies we have, from the patho- 

 logical point of view, such comprehensive reference books as those of 

 Comes, Frank, Hartig, Prillieux, Sorauer, Tubeuf, Ward, and others. 



Practical pathology and disease control. An important epoch 

 in the general study of fungous diseases had its beginning in the 

 prevalence of grape diseases in France, which condition led to the 

 discovery of Bordeaux mixture by Millardet in France about 1883. 

 After the severe tests to which the copper mixtures were subjected, 

 it became evident that there was a bright prospect for controlling 

 many of the fungous diseases of plants, and there developed therefore 

 an immediate need for plant pathologists, or students of fungous 



