diff --git a/client/ruby/solrb/lib/solr/xml.rb b/client/ruby/solrb/lib/solr/xml.rb
index fff1da640ee..626ecd295f3 100644
--- a/client/ruby/solrb/lib/solr/xml.rb
+++ b/client/ruby/solrb/lib/solr/xml.rb
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ begin
 
     # element.text = "blah" should work
     def text=(x)
-      self.content = x.to_s
+      self << x.to_s
     end
   end
   
diff --git a/client/ruby/solrb/test/unit/field_test.rb b/client/ruby/solrb/test/unit/field_test.rb
index e74abd71ace..ca8d3630654 100644
--- a/client/ruby/solrb/test/unit/field_test.rb
+++ b/client/ruby/solrb/test/unit/field_test.rb
@@ -21,6 +21,12 @@ class FieldTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
     assert_match(/<field name=["']creator["']>Erik Hatcher<\/field>/, field.to_xml.to_s)
   end
   
+  def test_escaped_xml
+    field = Solr::Field.new :creator => 'Erik Hatcher & His Amazing Leaping Ability'
+    assert_kind_of Solr::XML::Element, field.to_xml
+    assert_match(/<field name=["']creator["']>Erik Hatcher &amp; His Amazing Leaping Ability<\/field>/, field.to_xml.to_s)
+  end
+  
   def test_xml_date
     field = Solr::Field.new :time => Time.now
     assert_kind_of Solr::XML::Element, field.to_xml