Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1890-07-16
A CURIOUS GREENHOUSE.
Valuable Work Done by tho Bureau o
Vegetable Pathology.

Valuable Work Done by tho Bureau OF
Vegetable Pathology.
Probably the most curious greenhouse
in the world is supported at Washington
by the United States Government For
whereas ordinary conservatories are
maintained with a view to securing
health, this one is kept up for the pur-
pose of propagating diseases in plants.
It is hospital of all useful things that
grow from the soil, and the disorders
from which the patients suffer are in
fiicted upon them artificially, in order
that the nature of the complaints may
be ascertained and methods of combat
ting them discovered.
The Department of Agriculture here
has dozen agents in various parts of
the country who do nothing but travel
about and collect specimens of diseased
plants, which are promptly sent to
Washington with descriptions of the
injuries done and the extent of depre-
dations. Professor Galloway, who has
charge of this work, upon receiving a
twig exhibiting morbid symptoms, starts
in to find out what sort of fungus is
respons BILE for the mischief Very
nearly all disorders of plants are caused
by parasitic fungi, of which there are
$4,000 kinds; so it isn't always easy to
tell of-hand just which one is the des-
troyer. If the latter is not readily
recognizable by it's known effects, the
germ incubator must be resorted to.
This is a hatchery of fungus spores,
somewhat on the principle of an egg
incubator, but resembling to the eye
outside miniature furnace. Inside
there is a compartment above that is kept
heated by spirit lamp below always to
the temperature of hundred and sixty
degrees Fahrenheit Suppose the Pro-
fessor has been sent leaf that is af-
fected by mysterious disease, burning
it brown. His experienced eye detects
the fact that it is covered with deadly
fungus of some sort. So ne breaks off q
scrap of the leaf and chops it up in
saucer of distilled water, and, when he
knows that the water must be filed with
the germ, he takes drop of it and lets it
fall into tube that already contains q
small quantity of gelatinous substance
: derived from Japanese fish called
'agar." This substance has previously
been rid of all germs by boiling, and it
is tightly corked up again at once, to
prevent any other germs from getting
in.
Now, it happens that this agar is most
nutritious and palatable food for the
fungus germs, and no sooner is the drop
of water let fall into the tube than the
little spores which cause the disease of
the leaf begin to feed and multiply. If
there is only one to begin with, it grows
big enough in a few minutes to divide
itself into two whole ones; each of these
presently divide into two, and so on
until within few hours there are
billions. Still the professor can not
be absolutely certain that those
are the germs of the disease
he is trying to find out about save in one
way. He fishes few OF them out on
them on leaf of the same sort of plant
in his green house. If the disease is re-
produced in the plant thus inoculated.
he has found the enemy. That is the
first important step; it only remains to
discover something that will kill it
Prof. Galloway's Bureau of Vegetable
Pathology has been in operation now for
only four years, but it has accomplished
great deal already. Il has found out
how TO demciish twelve Of the fifty
kinds of dangerous fungi that attack
the grape. Likewise a cure has been
found for the fre.rot, which turns the
liIabs Of pear trees black and dead so
quickly. The germ of Potato-Fot, too,
has been identified and means found of
fighting it effectively and cheaply. The
sam, Same NAV be said Of more than a dozen
diseases of other things vegetable. At
, present attention is being given to the
troubles OF the rose, as we'll as 20 q new
disease which is destroying thousands
of dollars worth of hollyhocks in north II
ern greenhouses The professor propa-
gates some disease germs ''for their
heapty," Is he expresses it--because
coloAies of them in the tubes are bright
red, blue. green and other colors. st
Louis Globe Democrat.