198 
cording to Prazraowski, u Untersuchungen iiber die Fntwickclungsge- 
schichte und Fermcntwirkung einiger Bacterianarten and the description 
in Schroeter’s “ Kryptogamen-Flora Schlcsiens ,” III, Band, Pilze, S. 166, 
it is a very different organism from Bacillus sorghi , Burrill. As fig¬ 
ured by De Bary, “Lectures on Bacteria,” 2nd. Ed., English transla¬ 
tion, page 100, Fig. 13, it somewhat resembles the form shown by us, 
Plate IV. Fig. 5, l. c. which is wholly unlike Bacillus sorglii. In the 
latter no germination of the spores could be seen, while in Clostridium 
butyricum they are said to germinate from the end and are so figured 
by Prazmowski, l. c. 
Dr. Comes further says that not having material at hand at the time of 
writing the “Vindication” he was unable to confirm his former reference 
of the microbe to the one previously described or to determine whether 
it be new ( Bacillus sorghi) as Professor Burrill decided. He says that the 
description and figures given by Bonorden correspond precisely to the 
microbe under examination, and also states that his own description of 
the organism corresponds exactly to that made by Burrill, and to the 
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, Plate IV, of the Eeport of the Botanical De¬ 
partment of the Kansas Experiment Station, 1888, except that his is a 
little larger than ours. Now, it should be noticed that whereas our Fig¬ 
ures 1, 2, and 3 represent the Bacillus sorghi , Figures 5 and 6 represent 
Bacilli very different in size and character and only occasionally found 
as impurities in cultures. 
The difference in size of the micro-organisms found by Dr. Comes 
and of Bacillus sorghi is by no means inconsiderable. His were 5-1 ja 
long and 2-3 ja wide. The measurements of Bacillus sorghi are only 1J-4 
by -J-lJ/i, mostly 1 ^-3 by f-1 ja. Moreover, if Bonorden’s figures 
(taf. I, Fig. 2, and description of species page 33, l. c.) be examined it 
will be seen that they are very different from our figures of Bacillus 
sorghi referred to by Dr. Comes, and Bonorden’s can not for a moment 
be regarded as representing the species with which we had to deal. 
The Micrococcus figured by us (Plate IV. Fig. 4. 1. c.) was also found 
by him and referred to Bacterium termo. The figure alluded to, no 
less than our (unpublished) description of the organism, shows that it 
is not Bacterium termo , but a Micrococcus measuring only ja in di¬ 
ameter. 
The interior tissue of the cane when diseased (and the disease ap¬ 
peared within only where the stalk had been wounded) was uniformly 
colored in specimens examined by us. We found in no case colored 
fibro-vascular bundles surrounded by white tissue. Dr. Comes 
found the fibro-vascular bundles either light yellow or highly colored 
and surrounded by white tissue. 
The disease in Italy was found in the saccharine sorghum, presum¬ 
ably Sorghum saccharatum ; that which we studied is in Sorghum vul - 
gave , and so far as known to us at present does not occur on Sorghum 
saccharatum. 
