News Leiter 
April, 1950 
Dear Friends: 
Shall we continue where we left off last month 
in re. grey centers? Correspondence has poured 
in since the last newsletter, and we feel duty- 
bound to report on further developments. 
First, you might be interested to know that the 
afflicted plant sent in by our Vicksburg lady (men- 
tioned last month) now has new leaves measuring 
a little over 2 inches, and is putting up buds. The 
condition has not returned. Obviously. 
Perhaps it would help if we attempted a more 
detailed description. The plant sent to us looked 
as though someone had taken a tiny stiff brush 
and brushed some white, gooey stuff on the hairs 
of the center leaves and along the petioles of the 
more mature ones. The leaves themselves still 
displayed a definite green color, though pale, and 
in the new center leaves, the white substance was 
so thick on the hairs that the leaf color was almost 
completely covered up, resulting in the “grey,” 
or “white” leaves. They were so stunted that they 
didn’t even look like leaves. The outer foliage 
which was not covered with the white goo was 
quite normal, however. 
Our correspondents were divided in opinion 
about last month’s tentative deduction that doctor- 
ed water was the cause. About half said “Amen,” 
and the other half had other theories with accu- 
rate observations to back them up. 
Many letters suggested that the condition was 
caused by cold. We, too, have encountered the 
dangers of a chilly atmosphere, but in our ex- 
perience, the actual color of the plant (often the 
center leaves only) changed from green to a queer 
yellowish color. You notice I say “in our ex- 
perience.” Have written several of these people 
for more detailed descriptions of their cold-affect- 
ed plants and am eager to hear what they have 
to say. 
SR April, 1950, by Russell Gray) 
