282 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



from the latter amounted to at least a million dollars in the 

 delta region in 1913. In the mild climate of California a secon- 

 dary trouble follows the wilt and materially adds to the losses 

 from this cause. This is knoAvn as the "jelley end" rot and is 

 caused by other fungi and bacteria which gain entrance through 

 the lesions produced by the wilt fungus. 



In addition, they have two interesting animal pests, the tuber 

 moth and the nematode or eel worm. The former makes large 

 tunnels or channels in the fle^h of the tuber, while the latter 

 attacks tlie surface, giving it an uneven, knotty appearance. 

 Apparently the tuber moth is not so likely to attack the potatoes 

 in the moist soils of the deltas, before they are dug, as in the 

 dryer situations. One case was reported where only one or 

 two per cent oi the crop was attacked when dug, but several 

 days after, 90 per cent of the culls left on the same field were 

 attacked 'by the tuber motlh. 



California makes much of her quarantine and protective 

 legislation with respect to outside states, but a student of the 

 potato industry can find, probably, nowhere else in the United 

 States a more striking case of neglect and utter disregard for the 

 conservation of natural resources than that of the fertile delta 

 lands of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. 



