■IIIH UI''||'I(IIM. liKCUlll), .JANUAIiV I:;, \'M1 



'^^ERWIN SMITH HONORED 

 BY PHYTOPATHOLOGISTS 



Plant Scientist, Rounding Out Forty 

 Years in Department, Eulogized 

 at Society's Dinner 



Not far from the day wlion he would 

 have rounded out his fortieth year iu 

 scientific worlv in the United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture, Dr. Erwin 

 Frink Smith, senior pathologist in charge 

 of the pathological laboratory of the 

 Bureau of Plant Industry, a pioneer in 

 the study of the bacterial diseases of 

 plants, and called by oue the dean of 

 plant pathologists, was the guest of honor 

 at the annual dinner of the American 

 Phytopathological Society in Philadelphia 

 on December 29. Mrs. Smith shared the 

 honor with him. The dinner was during 

 the meeting of the American Association 

 for the Advancement of Science. About 

 200 members of the society and friends 

 were present. 



In introductory remarks, the president 

 of the society, Dr. I. E. Melhus, professor 

 and chief of plant pathology at Iowa 

 State College and the Iowa Experiment 

 Station, congratulated Doctor Smith 

 upon his extensive contributions to sci- 

 ence. Doctor Slelhus then called upon 

 Dr. L. R. Jones, chairman of the depart- 

 ment of plant pathology of the Univer- 

 sity of Wisconsin and plant pathologist 

 of the Wisconsin Experiment Station 

 and extension service, to speak upon 

 Doctor Smith's services to plant pathol- 

 ogy. Doctor Jones was followed by Dr. 

 William H. AVelch, pathologist of Johns 

 Hopkins University and one of the lead- 

 ing pathologists of the country, who 

 spoke on Doctor Smith's contributions to 

 human and animal pathology. Dr. F. V. 

 Rand, formerly of the Bureau of Plant 

 Industry and now with the publication 

 Biological Abstracts, then, after appro- 

 priate remarks, presented to Doctor 

 Smith, in the name of the society, a 

 brochure, in which were engrossed 

 abstracts of the addresses that had just 

 been made, followed by the autographs 

 of the members present. 



In his eulog.v Doctor .Tones enld : 

 " For loadersliin in the early study of peach 

 yollown, most stimulating example oi dogged 

 work upon a baffling problem, with prophetic 

 assurance that knowledge of tobacco mosaic 

 and aster yellows was pertinent to the solu- 

 tion. For loadersliip In pioneer studies of 

 bacterial plant pathogens, with classic publl- 



^^uitions, oxaoting models for all who followed. 



TPlV: assembled contributions to knowledge of 

 NitacBtiaoJn relatiou to disease in plants. For 

 epochal Tresajrches In crown-gall. For sym- 

 pathetic counseLto eager young scientists, 

 from far.,and nenf>>..ror thus cxomplifvlng the 

 I'asteurlan charactertsties — clear vision, in- 

 stant action, intuitive"'"' Judgment, precise 



■^^jnelhod, tireless endeavor, symi*athetic pa- 

 tience, self-sacrlflcing devotion lft->^rvlce 

 through soienop. I<'or these things we dSllgljt 



1.0 iioiinr yon — pliHU'cr, priiplu't, e.vi'iii|>lnr, 



Doctor Welch said: "I n'.lolrc in Ibis o|. 

 porlunity to speak in behalf of my telli.w 

 workers and colleagues and to bear tiibule 

 to the importance and signiric:uice to luininn 

 and animal pathology of your studies devoted 

 primarily to plant diseases. No one in our 

 day has done more to bring the.se two greiit 

 divisions of paliiology into clo.w relation to 

 their mutual advantage. Tin: licld which 

 you have cultivated so successfully, and with 

 whicli your name will always be associated 

 the relation of parasitic organisms, especiaily 

 of bacteria, to the diseases of plants— is one 

 of the broadest biological interest. Above 

 ail, your studies of tumors of plants, which 

 you 'have demonstrated to be of bacterial ori- 

 gin, have brought you into the lield of on- 

 tology in its broadest aspects. Here you take 

 your place in national and international con- 

 gresses and associations devoted to cancer 

 research or to medicine in general, and here 

 your work Is recognized as of the greatest 

 interest and importance. While your name 

 is associated especially with the champion- 

 ship of the parasitic theory of the origin of 

 tumors, your studies of the mechanism of 

 tumor formation, of problems of histogenesis, 

 of formative stimuli and inhibitions of growth, 

 and other kindred subjects, are scarcely of 

 less importance. It would lead far to tell of 

 the whole debt which medicine and pathology 

 owe to you, but I c&n not forego mentioning 

 the service which you have rendered in mak- 

 ing the life and work of Pasteur readll.v ac- 

 cessible and familiar to students of medicine 

 and the. general public." 



Said t)octor Band: "What Robert Koch 

 was to the early days of human and animal 

 bacteriology, that and more have you meant 

 to the bactcriologv of plant diseases. Al- 

 most single-handed, you saw it throrigh tliose 

 first years of speculation and skepticism 

 to its pre-sent broad and solid position among 

 the sister sciences. During more recent years, 

 in your studies of plant and animal tumors 

 you have not hesitated to attack the last 

 stronghold of that old contagium-vivum con- 

 ception of Henle. In your scientific work 

 and in your influence you have made an in- 

 delible impression, not alone upon plant science 

 or upon animal science but upon the whole 

 field Of experimental biology. And, what i.-i 

 to me most vital and reassuring, tlirougli it 

 ail you have never for a moment lost sight 

 of the humanities or the beautiful things 

 of th^i^ind and the world without." 



Doctor Smith responded. lie told how 

 he happened to take up plant pathology 

 as his life work, and in conclusion he left 

 with the younger scientists these two 

 ideas which he thought they would do 

 well to bear in mind : "Always keep an 

 open mind ; and, when you have con- 

 cluded a piece of research, do it over 

 again." 



