Diseases of Economic Plants (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from Diseases of Economic Plants<br><br>A science of Plant Disease was an impossibility until knowledge existed concerning the nature of the parasitic organisms, the fungi and bacteria. The science of Plant Diseases or of Phytopathology was in its early formative period between 1853 and 1870, the very foundations being laid in the pioneer work of Berkeley and De Bary in establishing the parasitism of the fungi, and in Pasteur's fundamental work on Bacteria and Spontaneous Generation.<br><br>To be sure some of the most conspicuous diseases had long been known by sight. Blight and mildew were referred to in both the Old and the New Testament. Wheat rust was mentioned by Aristotle 350 B.C. and reference to mildew is found in King Lear, Act III, Sc. 4. There was even legislation regarding wheat rust as early as 1760. Yet there was little or no real knowledge of plant diseases in those times, beyond the fact that diseases existed.<br><br>Following the pioneer publications of Berkeley and De Bary came the more complete treatises of Frank (1880, 1895), Sorauer (1874, 1886, 1906), Kirchner (1890), Tubeuf (1894), and others.<br><br>It was not until 1873 that plant pathology became a part of instruction in botany, and not until 1875 that special courses in pathology were given in any of the schools of America.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.