The times., 1899-10-10
EXPERIMENTS WITH TOBACCO.
The Work of DIR. Wood at the Agri-
cultural Department.

u WIN VI DT tsoO0 ht thS
cultural Department.
A lot of little vegetables, TO be brought
up on the bottle, is the particular charge
Of DR.. Albert S. Woods of the Bureau OF
Vegetable Pathology in the Department of
Agriculture. He has lot of young and
growing tobacco plants which get all their
nourishment from the bottled liquid which
he doles out to them at stated periods. At
present they are thriving nicely on their
artificial sustenance, but it is the cruel
purpose OF Prof. Woods to make them sick.
When they get old enough to be indepen-
IDENTIFY happy, he is going to try to give
them a fit of indigestion by feeding them
too much Of something for the good OF
their alimentary apparatus. In other words
he wishes in the interest of science to see
whether he can produce certain plant dis
eases artificially; for, If he succeeds he
will know positively the condition which
producec maladies in the fields of the to-
bacco farmer. Then he can provide means
TO prevent their recurrence, and the farmer
will be able to raise larger and better
crops. 80
The infant tobacco plants are in pots,
but there is in the pots with them no such
earth as plants grow in. The pots are
filled with thoroughly sterilized sand of
the same white clean kind which is thrown
on the floors of old-fashioned dram shops.
1t is composed of pulveriZed silica, and is
no better adapted to plant life than win
dow glass. It's sterilization has been
effected by treatment with an acid solution
powerful enough to dissolve all the ele-
ments OF the plant1except the silica. Into
this inhospitable medium the tender roots
of the little plants are thrust. Then they
are moistened with water which has been
boiled and filtered, so as to get rid of
the little nourishment which might be
found in ordinary drinking water In fact,
they get no solid or liquid in any part of
their treatment which has not been pre-
viously tested for chemical purity, since
one of the principal objects kept in view
in bringing them up is to prevent their
eating between meals or in any other
way taking nourishment which has not
been carefully measured and duly regis
tered in a book.
In such environment the hungry plant
lets are fed once a week from bottle
containing a mixture of potash, iron, nitro
gen, phosphoric acid lime, and few other
appetizing ingredients. The food is di
luted with about 500 parts of water, and
each plant gets tumberful or SO OF the
solution. The compound is made up OF
course, of definite proportions, and as long
as all the ingredients are present in their
proper ratios the little plants flourish like
green bay trees; but remove or reduce one
of the ingredients, and something hap
pens. Take away the nitrogen, for in
stance, and the plants will quit growing,
and, after lingering a while, starye to
death. Take away certain other features
of the bill of fare, and they may not die,
but they will appear low spirited and dis
| couraged.
| An object at which Dr. Woods is now
I al irnip hio inn &c ic tn a
plant disease commonly known as mo
saic,' because of the mottled effect it
causes in the leaves. Much cigar wrapper
/ tobacco is spoiled by this disease every
year. For the last few weeks the ex-
4 perimenter has been adding to and sub
| tracing from the phosphoric acid ration,
but his subjects have obstinately refused
to mottle their eomplexions
On the window-sill of the laboratory are
a few specimens undergoing different tests
! THE development of alcohol in the roots,
! thought, might be the cause of the trou-
ble," explained Dr. Woods, so / have been
giving alcohol to this one in excessive guam
/ titles. You see how it has wiIted. 1t is
hopelessly drunk. Alcohol affects the plant
! just as it does man. This plant will stay
! drunk till it has worked off the alcohol
! through Its respiratory apparatus; then it
1 will brace up and regain its normal health
| if let alone; but if 1 keep feeding it al
cohol in excessive quantities It will turn
yellow and finally die"
/ Under some bell-jars was a plant under
/ going exhilaration Of another sort. It's
/ glass coverings were so arranged as to con-
/ troll its air supply, and into the enclosed
/ space was sent an extra quantity of oxy
/ gen. That one is breathing faster and
harder than ordinary plants,D Dr. Woods
remarked. ut thinks it is in the noun
! tains.f The purpose of this experiment is
1 to determine whether the mosaic effect is
caused by some atmospheric condition il
/ which the plant overworks its leaves at the
expense Of its roots. Just now the plant
seemed to be enjoying itself greatly.
The people know what beer they want and
win not accept any but Heurichs Sold by all