ON THE TRAIL OF THE FUSARIUM SPORE 161 



his mind the fallacy of his statement, a large fine 

 stalk with a good ear of com attached fell over, 

 breaking about two feet from the ground, and just 

 barely touching the man as it fell. As there was not 

 the semblance of a wind, or even a breeze, the falling 

 of the stalk at once attracted the attention of every- 

 one present. 



"There, now, is a wonderful example of what it 

 can do," exclaimed Farmer Good. "We will now ex- 

 amine that stalk and prove to you just what hap- 

 pened." 



So, taking his knife, he split the stalk its entire 

 length, and showed the blackened and purple dis- 

 eased spots in the fibrous structure, extending the 

 entire length of the stalk. At the place of the break, 

 it was weakened to a greater degree by a more severe 

 diseased condition. When the staUc was pulled from 

 the ground, it was found that most of the roots were 

 badly decayed, making it impossible for them to per- 

 form their function of collecting plant food from the 

 soil and transmitting it to the plant, and, since the 

 plant was not properly nourished, it was more sus- 

 ceptible to the attacks of the disease. 



"Now my theory is this," began Farmer Good. "If 

 we can improve our plants to such an extent that 

 they will be properly constructed and abundantly 



