466 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. V, No. xi 
and isolated a yellow schizomycete with which unsuccessful inoculations 
were made on cucumbers in the Department greenhouses. 
ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF ORGANISM 
Specimens were sent to the Laboratory of Plant Pathology in August 
and September, 1914, from New York and Wisconsin. No complaint 
was made by the sender of any association with fruit-rot, either on his 
own initiative or when questioned. 
The interior of the spots was found to be swarming with bacteria 
which on floating out on the slide showed active motility. Plates were 
poured from such spots and a white, motile, rod-shaped organism was 
isolated. Spray inoculations with subcultures from three colonies on 
these plates gave typical infections on young cucumber leaves, from 
which the organism was reisolated. Colonies (subcultures) from this 
reisolation were then used for spray inoculations, and again the typical 
disease was produced with great virulence. 
In August, 1915, specimens were received from several localities in 
Wisconsin, Indiana, and New York and from Ontario, Canada. In 
each case the same organism was isolated in pure cultures and used to 
produce typical infections on cucumber leaves in the hothouse. 
The organism causing the angular leaf-spot of cucumbers appears to be 
an undescribed form for which the specific name lachrymans is suggested 
on account of the tearlike drops of exudate from the spots in early stages 
of the disease. Its brief Latin diagnosis is as follows: 
Bacterium lachrymans, sp. nov. 
Baculis cylindricis apicibus rotundatis, solitariis, saepe binis; baculis unis 0.8 X 1-2 m; 
1-5 fiagellis polaribus mobilibus; aerobiis, asporis. 
Habitat in foliis vivis Cucumeris sativi in maculis angularibus. Liquefacit gela- 
tinam lente. Colonae superficiales in agar-agar, rotundae, albae; colonae juvenes 
habientes centra non-translucida, et margines translucidas cum lineis multis radianti_ 
bus. Lac sterile alkalinum et translucidum fit; casein non segregatur. Nitrum non 
redigitur; culturae in mediis cum saccharo sacchari et saccharo uvae acidae fiunt. 
Gas non facitur. Methodo Grami non coloratur. 
The organism which the writers isolated from the Wisconsin cucumber 
leaves and have here designated “ Bacterium lachrymans , n. sp. ” differed 
culturally is so many important respects from Burger’s organism that 
all our cultural experiments were repeated. These repetitions, however, 
confirmed the differences, which are given in Table I. 
While it is not doubted that Burger had this disease under observation, 
it is believed that the organism described by him is not its cause, but is 
rather the cause of a rapid soft-rot of the fruit. His organism, however, 
may be a wound parasite following injuries due to the organism here 
described. 
