NEMATODE DISEASE OF WHEAT. 6 



The correct designation, therefore, becomes Tylenchus tritici (Stein- 

 buch) Bastian. Two years later, in 1866, Schneider (32) gives the 

 scientific name of the organism as AnguiUula scandens. 



In view of the above brief resume of the work of those investiga- 

 tors who took some part in naming the parasite, its proper "synonymy 

 chronologically recorded would seem to be as follows: 



Tylenchus tritici (Steinbuch) Bastian, 1864. 

 Vibrio tritici Steinbuch, 1799. 

 Vibrio tritici Bauer, 1823. 

 Rhabditis tritici Dujardin, 1845. 

 AnguiUula graminearum Diesing, 1850. 

 Tylenchus tritici Bastian, 1864. 

 AnguiUula scandens Schneider, 1866. 



Following Roffredi's (31) publication of 1776, many papers on 

 the disease appeared in European literature, some of which have been 

 mentioned. They were for the most part discussions as to the cor- 

 rectness of the observations of Roffredi, and contributed little to 

 what was already known about the trouble until the monograph of 

 Davaine (11) appeared in 1857. In it he gives practically all that is 

 known to-day about the etiology of the disease, lucidly describes and 

 illustrates the different stages in the development of the parasite, and 

 records the results of physiological researches on the nematode which 

 furnish a basis for its control. His work largely silenced the dis- 

 cussion that had prevailed in the literature as to the cause of the 

 disease, some investigators having confused the trouble with stinking 

 smut of wheat (Tilletia tritici). 



Many papers appear in European literature after Davaine's pub- 

 lication, but in general they deal mainly with the occurrence and dis- 

 tribution of the disease and add little to what had previously been 

 recorded. Marcinowski's (22) valuable contribution of 1909, how- 

 ever, added considerably to our knowledge of the pathogenicity and 

 physiology of the parasite. Since that time no publications of major 

 importance relating to the disease have been found. 



In the United States the occurrence of the eelworm disease of 

 wheat seems to have been first recognized by Johnson (19), who 

 in 1909 recorded that it had been found in California by members 

 of the staff of the Office of Cereal Investigations of the Bureau of 

 Plant Industry, and had been authentically reported to him to 

 occur in New York, Georgia, and West Virginia. There appear 

 to have been no other records of the trouble in North America un- 

 til Fromme (14) in 1917 published a short note stating that he 

 had found it at one point in Virginia. Since that time the 

 writer (7, 8) has reported its wide prevalence in Virginia and its 

 limited occurrence in other States, has described the general nature 



