652 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. V, No. x 4 
chromogenus the organism was probably killed by the low temperature. 
A large proportion of the conidia of both strains of Sclerotinia cinerea were 
found to be capable of germination. Table I gives the organisms and 
materials used and the results obtained. 
Table I .—Results of tests for vitality of various organisms after exposure to low tempera - 
tures ( IQ12-13) 
Organism. 
Medium. 
Response of the mycelium. 
Cephalotkecium roseum ,....... 
Sderotinia cinerea (Vermont 
culture). 
Atternariasolani .. 
CylindrosPorium pomi .. 
Sphaeropsis malorum .. 
Fusarium sp. of conifers. 
Synthetic agar.. 
.... .do. 
Lima-bean agar. 
Synthetic agar.. 
.... .do. 
.... .do. 
Glomerella rufomaculans . 
Sderotiniacinerea (culture from 
New Jersey Experiment 
Station). 
Plowrightia morbosa . 
Venturia inequalis ..... 
do 
do. 
do 
do 
A ctmomyces organicus . Plain agar. 
A ctinomyces chromogenus .do.... 
Excellent growth in a days, with production of spores. 
Excellent growth in 36 hours; many conidia produced. 
Good growth after 2 days. 
Good growth after 6 days; slow to start. 
Slow growing at first; very good later. 
Excellent growth in 5 days over entire slant. Two 
trials needed to get results. 
Started after 1 day and grew quickly. 
Very good growth in 5 days. 
Excellent growth after 1 day. 
Good growth in 5 days with fruiting. Two trials neces¬ 
sary to get results. 
Good growth in 2 tubes in 6 days. 
No growth after a month. No growth on second trial. 
The results secured during the winter of 1912-13 were so encouraging 
that further trials were made the following winter. Several organisms 
not tested previously were exposed with those first used, and the varie¬ 
ties used the first winter were tested on different media. 
Since organisms in nature would be necessarily in a dry state during 
the winter and without much, if any, nourishment, it was the aim of 
the author to imitate for his pure cultures these conditions so far as pos¬ 
sible. Accordingly, dry cultures of the various fungi chosen for this 
work, as well as the cultures on nutrient media, were exposed during the 
winter of 1913-14. These dry cultures were made by removing the 
growth of the fungus from the surface of the agar with a sterile needle 
and placing it in an empty, plugged, sterile test tube. A little of the 
agar was necessarily carried over with the fungus, but not enough to 
supply it with moisture or food for any length of time. In the case of 
the bacteria, some of the material from an agar slant was swabbed out 
with pieces of sterile cotton and placed in plugged, sterile test tubes. 
All of the cultures thus transferred were dried for 10 days in a warm 
closet in the laboratory before being exposed. It was expected that the 
question of food could be practically eliminated, while moisture was 
available only as it was carried by the air to the cultures. 
The cultures were all prepared earlier the second season, and they were 
placed in the same comcrib on December 13, 1913. Along with the cul¬ 
tures was placed a Draper self-registering thermometer, in order that a 
comparative record might be kept of the temperatures to which the or¬ 
ganisms would be exposed. This thermometer did not register accu¬ 
rately below — 27 0 C., so that during the three periods when the tempera- 
