REPORT OF STATE HORTICULTURIST. 79 



reported by Dr. Melhus who was in charge of the government 

 operations in Houlton and is now located at Caribou. The 

 infection reported by Dr. Melhus originated at Presque Isle, 

 but at that time Dr. Morse did not know the name of the grower 

 owning the stock. 



Mr. Ware had sent samples of seed, which he had obtained 

 from Hoyt & Wheeler of Presque Isle, to the Department of 

 Agriculture to find out if they were typical Cobblers. He 

 received notice that the specimens which he had sent in had 

 some spots of powdery scab upon them. He then sent speci- 

 mens to Orono and without knowing that the government had 

 found such scab, they likewise notified him that the seed was 

 infected. This occurred at the time Dr. Morse was in Wash- 

 ington attending a hearing, but on his return he corroborated 

 the finding of Mr. Shapovalov. It was found through Mr. 

 Ware that these potatoes had been obtained from Hoyt & 

 Wheeler who in turn had obtained them from a man unknown 

 to Mr. Ware, also living in Presque Isle. Upon inspection of 

 the remainder of the barrel from which the infected stock had 

 been obtamed. Dr. Morse discovered many specimens of pow- 

 dery scab. Potatoes grown upon his own land from a cursory 

 examination were clean. 



We then went to Presque Isle and interviewed Mr. Hoyt for 

 further particulars in regard to the origin of the infected seed. 

 From him we found that the potatoes came from Mr. C. P. Stone 

 of that town who had purchased them in Portland in 191 1 and 

 that they were a part of a shipment from Ireland. Mr. Stone 

 planted them first in 191 1 and bold his output to Hoyt & Wheeler 

 in 1912. In 191 3 they planted nineteen acres and obtained the 

 remarkable yield of 3807 barrels, according to their sworn 

 statement. All but 1200 barrels had been sold, as the demand 

 had been very great. It seemed an easy matter to stamp out 

 this disease at that time. 



The second indication that powdery scab existed in Maine 

 became apparent when on Feb. 3, a telegram was received from 

 Dr. Marlatt, Chairman of the Federal Horticultural Board, 

 stating that Mr. J. B. Daggett, Minister of Agriculture in New 

 Brunswick, had through his inspectors discovered powdery scab 

 in potatoes loaded at St. Hilaire and Grand Falls, New Bruns- 

 wick, brought over from the American side and shipped in 



