380 Report of the Mycologist of the 



sprayed plat, and the plat which had been sprayed five times 

 yielded 62 bushels per acre more than the unsprayed plat. No 

 record was kept of the expense of the spraying but there was 

 certainly considerable profit. 



FIRST SPRAYING EXPERIMENT AT EAST WILLISTON. 



There being a demand for some definite information as to the 

 expense of spraying potatoes on Long Island, the Station, in 1896, 

 undertook an experiment along this line. The season was re- 

 markably favorable for the potato crop, as very little disease of 

 any kind appeared. This fact made our results exceptionally 

 valuable since they show what sprajing will do for potato plants 

 which are apparently health^'. 



From Mr. R. H. Robbins,. we obtained the privilege of using 

 for the experiment a potato field containing about nine and two- 

 thirds acres on his farm near East Williston, Long Island. The 

 field was in the form of a parallelogram, 48 rods long and about 

 32 rods wide, the rows running the short way. The soil was 

 practically uniform and had been fertilized alike all over the 

 field. In 1895 the entire field was planted to cabbage. In 1896 

 four varieties of potatoes were planted — 64 rows of Victor Rose, 

 93 rows of White Elephant, 53 rows of Green Mountain and 73 

 rows of Defender. Care was taken that the field should receive 

 the same cultivation throughout. 



Each variety was divided into two plats, one of which was 

 sprayed with Bordeaux mixture five times according to the ap- 

 proved method, and the other was not treated at all, except that 

 Paris green was applied twice with Leggett's powder-gun accord- 

 ing to the common practice of Long Island farmers. At the close 

 of the season the potatoes on these tW'O plats were dug and 

 weighed separately. 



The accompanying diagram shows the relative size and posi- 

 tion of the sprayed and unsprayed portions of the field. 



Hoiv the spraying icas done. — It being desired to ascertain the 

 expense of spraying potatoes as it should- be practiced by the 

 average grower of late potatoes on Long Island, every part of the 

 work was jjut upon a practical basis. All of the methods used 



