1896.] The Bacterial Diseases of Plants : 723 
Remark.—This disease was also seen in 1891 by Dr. Paul 
Sorauer, who described it as follows, in a short note appended 
to a (24) “ Review” of some papers on the Sereh-disease of sugar 
cane (Zeitschrift fiir Pflanzenkrankheiten, Bd. I., Heft 6, 1891, p. 
60). “ We can now report similar phenomena in our Beta. A 
parcel of beets sent to us from Slavonia were suffering from a 
disease which may be designated guwmmosis. Investigations up 
to this time have shown that the bacteria induce the formation 
of a syrup-like gum. Here also the first indications of the 
disease are a red-brown, subsequently a black-brown, staining 
of the vascular bundles, and each drop of gum swarms with 
myriads of apparently specific bacteria. If this gum is dropped 
upon sliced ( praeparierte) sound beets the bacterial gummosis 
is there easily produced. The preparation of the beet so as to 
be susceptible to the disease appears to lie in a lessening of 
the acidity of the tissues, etc.” No strictly bacteriological 
work appears to have been done, and I have quoted all of the 
article that is pertinent. 
2. THE ROT OF SUGAR BEETS (1891). 
In 1891, in (25) Fungous Diseases of the Sugar Beet, Bull. No. 15, 
. Iowa Agric. Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa, p. 243, Reprint 
p. 9, Prof. L. H. Pammel, of that station, described a beet dis- 
ease from Iowa which he attributed to the fungus Rhizoctonia 
betx. 
Associated with this fungus were various bacteria to which 
he ascribed the subsequent wet rotting of the roots. The rot- 
ting beets gave off a strong odor not unlike that of rotting 
potatoes. Unquestionably “ the ultimate rotting is caused by 
bacteria.” Several bacteria were isolated, and among others 
Bacillus subtilis. Inoculations with a pure culture of one of 
these organism did not give any very decisive results. No 
bacteriological studies of any consequence seem to have been 
made. 
3. A BACTERIAL DISEASE OF SUGAR BEETS (1892). 
(I) THE DISEASE. 
(1) Author, Title of Paper, Place of Publication—This disease 
was described by Dr. J. C. Arthur and Katherine E. Golden, of 
