1^e<i-e<in.c^ ^m. IRcuccua 



VOL. 4 NO. 



JUXE 1955 



A free semiannual periodical published as part 

 of the annual report of the Massachusetts Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station. 



All requests for Research in Rcvictc should be 

 addressed to the Mailing Room, South College, 

 University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massa- 

 chusetts. 



Director — Dale H. Sibling 

 Editor — Portia A. Ierardi 

 Photographer — John H. Vondell 



Grass Silage Odors No Longer a 



Problem 3 



Strawberries Can Be Virus-Free. 4 



Bacteriology and Public Health . . 6 



Buried Treasure in Corn Cobs. . . 10 



Eighty Million Acres of Corn .... 12 



Silver Medal for Massachusetts 



Research on Sweet Corn .... 14 



"And the Old Order 



Changeth ..." ... .Back Cover 



Cover: Native girl from El Salvador in Central 

 America carrying water jug. VVater Is so vital 

 throughout the v/orld that the World Health 

 Organization of the United Nations selected 

 the theme "Clean V^ater for Better Health" to 

 celebrate its seventh anniversary this year. 



It is estimated that by 1960 six billion dol- 

 lars v/ili be necessary for wafer systems, and 

 nine billion for new sewers and waste facili- 

 ties in the United States. 



See pages 6-9 for the story of the Depart- 

 ment of Bacteriology and Public Health at the 

 University of Massachusetts. 



Photo courtesy of United Nations 



Drawings on pages 10-11 by 

 Elaine W. Abbe. 



Bacteria, microorganisms with a bad 

 reputation, are too often associated only 

 with disease. Not enough emphasis has 

 been placed on their value in fermentation, 

 medicine, food processing, and agriculture. 



Most bacteria accomplish specific bio- 

 logical actions not accomplished by more 

 complicated green plants or by animals. In 

 nature, for example, bacteria help the 

 weathering processes to convert rocks into 

 soil; produce humus to prevent soil from 

 becoming a nonproductive mass; degrade 

 plant and animal residues to produce avail- 

 able plant nutrients; manufacture antibiotics 

 to fight plant disease; and fix air nitrogen 

 to enrich the soil. 



Industry and medicine now depend on 

 bacteria for some substances not yet syn- 

 thesized chemically. Microorganisms can 

 be reliable manufacturing units for vita- 

 mins, antibiotics, and pharmaceuticals. 



By expanding our knowledge of bacteria, 

 we extend the range of uses to which these 

 organisms can be put — from improving 

 the growth of a shrub to producing an ex- 

 quisite strip of leather. 



^al M£^^ 



^-<^ 



Publication of This Document Approved by George T. Cronin, State Purchasing Agent 

 5M-7-55-913441 



