New York AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 99 
.Prof. Jones; while the pathogenicity of the germs and the 
economic relations of the diseases were left to the activities 
of both Stations. Later, owing partly to the transfer of Mr. 
Morse to the Maine Station, it was decided that the work on 
the pathogenicity should be carried out at the New York 
Station. It was hoped that the three parts of this investiga-_ 
tion might be published together, but this does not seem to 
be practicable. Accordingly, the present paper deals with the 
first two divisions, leaving the third to appear later. 
The economic importance of this inquiry lies mainly in 
connection with the rots of carrots, cabbage, cauliflower and 
turnips. In order more fully to understand the relation of 
the organisms causing these rots it seemed desirable to in- 
clude a study of a number of bacterial forms which have been 
known to cause similar diseases in other cultivated plants. 
Where these organisms are sufficiently similar to be able 
in turn ‘to attack the above vegetables their importance in 
connection with any rotation of crops is evident. 
It is a matter of regret, in view of the close relationship 
which has been found between pathogens on such a wide 
range of plants, that the circumstances did not permit a com- 
parative study of all the germs known to cause soft rots of 
plants. It is evident that such a study would yield results of 
great value. 
The earliest isolation of this class of organisms which has 
come to our attention was that by Professor Pammel in 1892. 
His attention had been called to a destructive rot of rutabagas 
and yellow turnips and he states, that he “ carefully removed 
with a sterilized scalpel some of the black areas adjoining 
healthy tissue with a platinum needle, using the test tube of 
agar. Several fornis of bacteria were obtained, and one of 
these, a bacillus producing a whitish growth on the surface 
of the agar, when inoculated into an apparently healthy ruta-. 
baga produced rot.’* These fields were undoubtedly like 
many which have since come under our observation in that 
there were two distinct diseases present at the same time. 
*Pammel, L. H. Bacteriosis of rutabaga. (Bacillus campestris, n. sp.) 
Iowa Agr. College Exp. Station Bul. 27, p. 133. 1895. 
