170 Mortier F. Barrus 



The chief drawback to the success of the trials was the dry weather 

 which prevailed during the growing season in these years. Beans grown 

 from seed that had not been selected produced anthracnose-free plants 

 in many cases. Plants grown by Dr. Edgerton in Louisiana from healthy 

 seed sent to him were free from anthracnose and with few exceptions 

 free from blight, while other beans grown in the trucking section were 

 badly affected with both anthracnose and blight. 



Another factor not given consideration at that time was the resistance 

 of many of these varieties to at least one strain of the pathogene. It was 

 learned later that this is true of the varieties Navy Pea, White Kidney, 

 Red Kidney, Red Marrow, and Blue Pod Medium, and also of Turtle 

 Soup to some extent. In most instances, however, anthracnose had in 

 the past appeared in a destructive manner on the varieties sent for testing, 

 in the localities under consideration. 



The introduction of healthy seed of a certain variety into a locality 

 in which the strain of the fungus to which it is susceptible is absent, would 

 of necessity result in an anthracnose-free crop. This may be the reason 

 why clean seed from other sections of the country often produces better 

 yields than does home-grown seed. However, if affected seed of such 

 a variety is introduced into a certain locality, the strain of the pathogene 

 present on the seed, being capable of producing the disease in that variety, 

 will multiply under conditions favorable for it and the entire crop may 

 become diseased. Healthy seed is therefore always safer to use as long 

 as the particular variety is susceptible to any strain of the organism. 



In 1914 Professor F. C. Stewart, of Geneva, New York, planted seed 

 that he himself had selected from clean pods. The plants remained 

 healthy all summer and the pods were free from anthracnose when picked. 

 A patch of Red Kidney and Turtle Soup beans selected from seed from 

 clean pods in 1912 was planted at Ithaca at a distance of ten rods from 

 other beans artificially inoculated with the two strains of Colletotrichum 

 lindemuthianum during the summer. The plants from clean seed remained 

 free from anthracnose. 



In 1915 Bert Smalley, of Interlaken, New York, grew one row, fifteen 

 rods long, of Red Marrow beans from seed selected from clean pods by 

 Professor Stewart and afterward resorted by him in order to be sure there 

 was no anthracnose present. The field in which this row of Red Marrows 

 was grown was not cultivated at all during the season because of wet 



