rEBKUABY 17, 1922] 



SCIENCE 



181 



The results obtained from these experiments 

 support the following conclusions: 



1. Tip burn of the potato plant may be pro- 

 duced by the extract made from macerated 

 nymph or adult, E mali Le B. and is transmis- 

 sible by direct inoculation. This points to the 

 existence of a "specific," either normal or extra- 

 neous, transmitted by the leaf hopper as the 

 cause of the disease. 



2. The active principle of this substance is 

 most virulent in the nymphal stage of the leaf 

 hopper. 



3. This "specifie" is present in diseased leaf 

 tissue after infection by the leaf hopper and 

 may be transmitted to healthy plants by re- 

 inoculation. 



4. This substance is specific and the disease 

 can not be simulated by inoculation with ex- 

 tracts from or by the feeding of insects other 

 than E. mali, or by mechanical injury. 



5. Sunlight is an important factor in the 

 progi-ess of the tip burn after its inception, but 

 the absence of sunlight does not prevent the 

 disease. 



A more detailed account of the experiments 

 supporting these conclusions will be published 



in the near future. 



John R. Eteb 

 Pennsylvania State College, 

 State College, Pennsylvania, 

 September 30, 1921 



QUOTATIONS 



ECONOMY IN PUBLICATION 



Theeb is no doubt that all oui- learned So- 

 cieties are going through times of financial 

 stress, owing to the war. Some of them are 

 able to meet the difBculties by an increase of 

 subscription, but others fear that this would 

 diminish their membership, and thus compen- 

 sate any estimated gain. Meanwhile, the in- 

 Greased cost of printing admits of no doubts 

 at all, and Government help in mitigation is 

 apparently not to be had— nor is it likely that 

 private benefactions will come to the rescue. 

 It seems eminently undesirable that scientific 

 publication should be permanently diminished 

 in amount, and minor economies in printing are 

 apt to take up valuable time, which might be 



spent more profitably. We may hope that the 

 cost of printing will not remain at the present 

 high level, so that the futiu-e may bring less 

 stress ; but, meantime, we have to consider what 

 is to be done now. With some hesitation I 

 beg to put forward a suggestion for considera- 

 tion in the special case of the Royal Astrono- 

 mical Society, which is undoubtedly at the pres- 

 ent moment in sore straits. The suggestion is 

 that we should have an Economical Year as 

 regards printing. For twelve months begin- 

 ning either in January next (or, if that notice 

 is too short, with the Annual Meeting in Feb- 

 ruary next) let all the Fellows do their best 

 to minimize the printing. There would be a 

 vital difference between adopting this policy 

 for one year and adopting it permanently, 

 which, as already remarked, is strongly to be 

 deprecated. 



If the policy is publicly declared, the Society 

 would probalaly find relief in many direetioas, 

 during the year; thus it could, without mis- 

 understanding, discourage, or actually declinej 

 papei's which could be printed elsewhere, especi- 

 ally those coming from abroad. Usually these 

 are more than welcome, but there would be no 

 harm in asking our distinguished fellows and 

 associates in other lands to publish elsewhere 

 for one year. Of our own fellows many would 

 welcome the opportunity to use one year rathefr 

 for consolidating work already done than for 

 pushing on new work. An exception should be 

 made in the case of the younger astronomers, 

 whose early fire should not be checked. 



Again, I submit that, while the Annual Re- 

 port of the Council is a document too valuable 

 to lose permanently, there might be no serious 

 disadvantage in cutting it down to very small 

 proportions for one year — the thread could be 

 readily picked up again in the following year. 

 Here, again, some exceptions should obviously 

 be made, especially the notices of Fellows de- 

 ceased, a record which can not be intermitted. 

 But observatory reports and most of the notes 

 might be di-opped. 



The question arises how the meetings of the 

 Society shall be adequately filled if the suppjy 

 of papers is cut down? And this, of course, 

 is a question which must ba satisfactorily 



