VERMONT AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 67 



Each lot was stored within a few hours after digging in a cool house 

 cellar and placed in bushel boxes, stacked up so as to allow free ventila- 

 tion. 



When each lot was dug they were carefully sorted and the weight of 

 decayed tubers recorded. Those in storage were sorted on each date of 

 digging, beginning September 7 and ending September 28. 



The average total weight obtained per row at each digging: 



Date of digging Aug. 31 Sept. 7 Sept. 14 Sept. 21 Sept. 28 



Weight, pounds 50.6 54.9 55.1 54.2 50.3 



Average weight of potatoes from each digging which were sound on 

 September 28: 



Date of digging Aug. 31 Sept. 7 Sept. 14 Sept. 21 Sept. 28 



Weight, pounds 22.8 40.8 4G.2 47.8 46.6 



Average decay per row previous to September 28: 



Date of digging Aug. 31 Sept. 7 Sept. 14 Sept. 21 Sept. 28 



Pounds decayed 28.0 14.1 8.7 6.2 3.7 



Percent, decayed 55.3 25.7 15.8 11.4 7.3 



There is very little difference in the results from those dug Septem- 

 ber 14, 21 and 28, while the digging of September 7 gave about eight- 

 ninths as much, and that of August 31 less than one-half that obtained 

 from the three later dates. The death of a large per cent, of the 

 foliage occurred between August 31 and September 7, and the entire 

 tops were dead on September 14. Hence the data obtained this year 

 appear to confirm the rule laid down in the former report: "That 

 where there is danger of rot it is best to delay the digging some ten 

 days or more after the tops die and that a longer delay does not harm." 



IV. DOES LIMING PREVENT ROT? 



Many farmers recommend sprinkling potatoes with air-slaked lime 

 when placed in the cellar. This treatment, it is claimed, reduces the 

 amount of decay in stored tubers. In order to test the efficacy of this 

 treatment, one-half of the yield of each row used in the trial last de- 

 scribed (except those dug on September 28), was sprinkled at the rate 

 of about a quarter of a pound of lime to the bushel and placed side by 

 side with the unlimed portion. The nature of the soil, dates of digging 

 and sorting, and condition of foliage at each digging, have already been 

 described. 



The following statement combines the results of all the four plots 

 used in the experiment: 



Total decay of limed potatoes to September 28 91.3 



Total decay of untreated potatoes to September 28 85.8 



Total of limed potatoes sound, September 28 311.9 



Total of untreated potatoes sound, September 28 317.4 



Percent, of decay in limed 29 



Percent, of decay in untreated 27 



