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Caption: Book - History of the University (Powell)
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The First Faculty 851 investigation. He was botanist and horticulturist for the Illinois agricultural experiment station, and, beginning with 1880, for the United States agricultural experiment station. In 1880 he announced his epoch making discovery of the existence of bacterial disease of plants. Pear blight he found was a contagious disease of the pear, apple, and quince, a disease caused by bacteria and never by anything else. His later experiments concerned bitter rot in apples, ear rot in corn, blackberry and raspberry rust, potato scab, peach "yellows" and other destructive plant maladies. Burrill retired from active work as a member of the university faculty in 1912 and for the four years remaining to him devoted himself wholly to science. He set himself the baffling problem of inducing nitrogen-gathering bacteria to grow on nonleguminous plants. In this he did not succeed. In his own words spoken in another connection: " B u t even with those plants most obedient to man there is a limit beyond which they never go. Some eternal proclamation had been issued to them long before man had an existence saying, 'thus far shalt thou go and no further*—wheat will give up its beard and barley won't—the cabbage changes but dog fennel is dog fennel still." He put the ardor of his life into the green things that grow on the earth and they returned to him that most precious of all gifts—understanding. SAMUEL WALKER SHATTUCK: Samuel W. Shattuck (1841-1915) came to the university in September, 1868, as assistant professor of mathematics and instructor in military tactics. In 1870 he was given the title of professor of civil engineering; in 1871 that of professor of mathematics, a position which he held until his death. He gave, for some years, all the instruction offered in mathematics including plane and solid geometry, advanced algebra, trigonometry, and calculus, besides being responsible for other work in civil engineering. During the years from 1871 to 1905 he was head of the department of mathematics, but in 1905 his other executive duties had become so exacting that he gave up the active management of the department.
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