SECRETARY'S REPORT. 



273 



Potatoes. — Seventeen acres were planted to potatoes, and pro- 

 duced 1,326 bushels — at the rate of 78 bushels per acre. 



Two and a half acres of the Smith lot, were planted with the 

 St. Helena, manured with 500 pounds of guano per acre, and pro- 

 duced 156 bushels of inferior potatoes; they were much injured by 

 the rot. The guano was applied broadcast, unmixed, on a wet day, 

 and covered with a cultivator. 



Five acres of the same lot were planted to Davis's seedling, 

 manured at an expense of $12 per acre, in lots of half an acre each, 

 with the following kinds of manures, and results. 



These experiments with the fertilizers of equal cost, per acre, 

 ($12,) show the following results, per acre. 



Stable compost, 



Stable compost and guano, 



Potash with coal ashes, 



Muriate of lime and manure, 



Liebig poudrette, 



Lodi poudrette, 



De Burg's super-phosphate, 



Mapes' super-phosphate, . 



No manure. 



Guano, .... 



Bushels per Acre. 



154 

 144 



no 



108 

 82 

 75 

 68 

 67 

 66 

 58 



elded a fine 



This land was planted with potatoes last year and yi 

 crop. The same kind of fertilizers were used generally as last year, 

 but the lots were differently divided, and in some respects gave cer- 

 tain advantage of some fertilizers over others. No such advantage 

 existed this year. They were planted' early and hoed three times. 

 The vines held green much longer on lots 2, 3 and 10, than on the 

 others. 



The St. Helena variety on the first lot, as already stated, were 

 afi"ected with the rot. On the west part the potatoes did not suffer 

 36* 



