2 BULLETIN" 203, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



peculiar growths upon beet roots, which were spoken of at that 

 time as warts. In 1S59 some of these galls were described as larger 

 than the beet roots themselves and were looked upon as curiosities 

 and monstrosities. It appears from a study of the literature upon 

 the subject and from observations in the field from year to year 

 that this disease of the sugar beet has increased rapidly in recent 

 years and that it is still on the increase. Its presence has been re- 

 corded in many of the beet-growing countries of Europe, and in our 

 own country it has been found on the sugar beet from Virginia to 

 California. (Fig. 1.) In many localities where only a small number 



of cases were observed a few years 

 ago, there are now hundreds and 

 sometimes thousands of galled beets 

 each year, especially if beets have 

 been followed by beets for several 

 years in the same field. On the 

 beet itself the galls may appear at 

 any point from the top of the crown 

 to the extreme tip of the root. How- 



Fig. 1.— Map of the Lnited States, the shaded r 



portions showing the areas where sugar-beet ever, by far the largest number of 

 galls have been observed. gaUg are t() h& fo|md ^ op neap 



the surface of the ground, and for this reason these growths have been 

 termed crown galls. 



APPEARANCE OF BEET GALLS. 



The outgrowths, or galls, on the beet do not usually appear until 

 the beets are from one-fourth to one-half grown; that is, until mid- 

 summer. From that time on, they may appear at any time until the 

 beets are harvested. Consequently, we may find at harvest time 

 galls in all stages of development, from tiny protuberances that have 

 just begun to grow to what might be called the full-grown gall, 

 several inches in diameter, as shown in Plate I, A to E. Frequently, 

 these galls push out from the surface of the beet without any distinct 

 line of demarcation between the gall and the beet proper, as seen in 

 Plate II, B. In other cases the outgrowths are attached to the beet 

 by very slender necks or threads, and between these extremes maybe 

 seen the full range of variation in relative size of the connecting 

 tissue. Whether large or small, the connections are short, so that 

 the gall almost invariably lies close to the beet from which it springs. 

 Sometimes but a single gall is produced on one beet, as shown in 

 Plate I, F to K, while in other instances several or many galls may 

 develop on the same beet, as illustrated in Plate II, A, B, C, and F. 

 In the latter case the galls may be distinct and separate (PI. II, A) or 

 they may occur in groups (PL II, B). It is not uncommon for the 

 entire crown of the beet to be covered with a mass of galls (PI. I, E). 



