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Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. XXIII, No. s 
Likewise, isolations were made from diseased material from New 
Jersey (PI. 2). The same organism was obtained and typical spots 
produced in 17 days from the time of spraying the leaves with a water 
suspension of an agar subculture (PI. 3, A). The organism was reiso¬ 
lated also from this New Jersey strain. The inoculations with the reiso¬ 
lated New Jersey organism were made in two different greenhouses, one 
in which the day temperature was 70° to 75 0 F. and another in which 
it was 55 0 to 6o° F. The plants were sprayed and kept in infection 
cages for two days. In the warmer house infection occurred early and 
was well marked in 16 days, while there was but a trace of infection on 
the inoculated leaves in the cooler house. The disease did not progress 
in the latter case but continued in the former. 
A bacterial disease of geranium plants was reported from Massachu¬ 
setts * 2 in 1898. The observers first found it on several, different varie¬ 
ties during a season of rainy weather about the latter part of July on 
plants grown out of doors. The leaves were spotted and bacteria were 
found in the spots. 
Another report of the disease from Massachusetts 3 stated that at¬ 
tempts had been made to isolate the organism but without success. 
Still another report 4 said the disease had been noticed in that State 
every year for nine years. It was abundant and generally distributed, 
and gardeners had become concerned about it. The spotting was not 
serious in greenhouses, however, and it was thought to have been brought 
in from out-of-door stock. 
Dr. Erwin F. Smith, 5 * * in volume 1 of his “Bacteria in Relation to 
Plant Diseases,” mentioned the disease as one produced by stomatal 
infection and in volume 2 called it a disease of rainy seasons. In volume 
2 he also stated that the organism was isolated in his laboratory and the 
disease reproduced on geranium leaves by John R. Johnston, inoculat¬ 
ing from pure cultures. No further work on this disease was done by 
Mr. Johnston or by Dr. Smith beyond recognizing it as a yellow organism 
with a polar flagellum. He states to me that none of the earlier isolations 
from the Washington material ever greened the medium. 
A bacterial disease of the leaves of Erodium and Pelargonium in 
Texas was described in Phytopathology 8 for August, 1914. The general 
appearance of the spots on the leaves in the illustrations of the article 
led us at first to think that the Texas disease described was the same as 
the one our laboratory had been dealing with, although Lewis's figures 2 
and 3 indicate a much more active parasite. When comparisons of cultural 
tests were made and what seemed to be important differences were 
noted, it was decided that the two organisms must be different and that 
these different features would be accentuated if worked out in more 
detail. That has been done, and careful observation and repeated tests 
have established the writer's belief that the organisms are not the same, 
for in cultural tests important differences persist. Perhaps Mr. Lewis's 
work was done with the Erodium strain and the host may be responsible 
for these differences. He does not state in his paper which isolation he 
* Stone, George E., and Smith, Ralph E. a disease of the cultivated geranium. In Mass. Agr. 
Exp. Sta. ioth Ann. Rpt., 1897, p. 67, 1 pi. 1898. 
>- A geranium disease. In Mass. Agr. Exp. Sta. 12th Ann. Rpt., 1899, p. 57-58. 1900. 
4 Stone, G. E., and Monahan, N. F. bacteriosis of geraniums. In Mass. Exp. Sta. 19th Ann. 
Rpt., p. 164. 1907. 
‘Smith, Erwin F. bacteria in relation to plant diseases, v. i, p. 92, 1905; v. 2, p. 39, 62, 1911. 
Washington, D. C. Carnegie Inst. Publ. 27. 
9 EEwis, I. M. a bacterial disease of erodium and pelargonium. In Phytopathology, v. 4, no. 4, 
p. 221-232, pi. 10. X914.: 
