580 State Board of Agriculture, &c. 



hands it is entirely safe. If it be taken into the stomach 

 it is surely poisonous, and, of course, if it is left where 

 children can gain access to it accidents may happen, but it 

 is not possible, I think, that potatoes can be rendered pois- 

 onous by its presence in the soil. It is always insoluble in 

 pure water, and in water containing carbonic acid though 

 soluble, it is immediately changed into an insoluble precipi- 

 tate if any oxide of iron is present in the soil, as it very 

 often is, and the same may be said of ammonia, and it 

 seems quite impossible that it could in any way get into the 

 substance of the potato. If much were applied and pota- 

 toes were full of worm-eaten cavities, some might be lodged 

 in these, and such potatoes if carelessly washed and eaten 

 outside and all might do mischief, but I cannot see how 

 there is danger from any other source, and the fact tliat 

 thousands of bushels of potatoes have already been eaten 

 without injury in various parts of the country, coming 

 from plants that liad been freely sprinkled with Paris 

 green, indicates that it does not aifect the tuber. This 

 substance may be applied dry, mixed with ten or twelve 

 parts of flour, plaster or other like material, or it may 

 be mixed with water, in the proportion of a tablespoonful 

 of the pure Paris green to a pailful of water. As it 

 only mixes with the water and does not dissolve in it, the 

 liquid should be frequently shaken, and it may be sprinkled 

 over the leaves. 



I have recently seen the statement that a whole family 

 in Virginia had been severely poisoned by eating apples 

 picked up under a tree near which potatoes that had been 

 sprinkled with Paris green were growing. It should be 



