Wilting of the foliage followed by the discoloration of the stem and branches is characteristic of a disease of the potato known as "Blackleg."
Yellowing is a common sign of water-logged roots, and if accompanied by wilting may be due to drought.
Wilting flowers still marked the place of the tragedy.
The principal features are the stoppage of the vessels and consequent wilting of the shoots; as a rule the cut vessels on transverse sections of the shoots appear brown and choked with a dark yellowish slime in which bacteria may be detected, e.g.