366 AGRICULTURE OFi MAINE. 



not an absolute cure, this treatment is of assistance in keeping 

 down common scab and possibly powdery scab. It kills what- 

 ever diseases may be on the outside of the potato. Then wif 

 asked these men, in cutting the potatoes, to throw out all that 

 showed disease, all potatoes which were rough or uneven and 

 all which showed knots or knobs, because all those things are 

 indications of disease. We asked each man to make out a 

 report, telling us something about the soil on which the seed 

 was grown, the conditions under which it was grown, just 

 exactly what the seed was and how it was treated. So we have 

 a statement from every man who entered potatoes for inspection 

 this season. Our inspectors have visited each one of the men 

 on the list. They visited them when the potatoes were in blos- 

 som, — as near full bloom as possible — and the reason for this 

 is that some of the potato plants have a purple blossom and 

 some a white blossom, and there are other variety character- 

 istics which are most easily determined at the time of blossom- 

 ing. The inspectors went through those fields carefully. Of 

 course we had to set a standard, and we said if more than a 

 certain number of blackleg plants appeared in a field we would 

 not inspect it further ; because if there were more than a certain 

 percentage and we removed them all, it would cut that man's 

 yield below profitable production and we did not wish to hurt 

 any man. If there were more than a certain number of plants 

 affected with other diseases, as Rhizoctonia and wilt, or more 

 than a certain number of weak plants, the inspectors would 

 cease making inspections. Down to the standard they removed 

 every plant which was diseased. 

 The following is the standard set : 



POTATO INSPECTION STANDARD. 



There shall be three inspections during the season ; the first, 

 during the time of bloom, the second as late as possible before 

 harvest, and the third, betv/een harvest and shipment. 



FIRST INSPECTION. 



It shall be required that all seed planted in the seed fields 

 shall be treated with the formaldehyde solution, or corrosive 



