290 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



When large areas are to be sprayed the use of power outfits will not 

 only hasten the work but will prove more economical and effectual, par- 

 ticularly for small or medium-sized trees. Traction outfits such as that 

 made by the Wallace Machinery Co., Champaign, Illinois, answer very 

 well, but for larger orchards, especially for trees of the largest size, the 

 gasoline spraying outfits have some advantages. These are manufac- 

 tured and sold by the Olds Gas Power Co., Lansing, Mich., The New 

 Way Motor Co., Lansing, Mich., and the Wallace Machinery Co., Cham- 

 paign, 111., which makes two different outfits, in onJB of which the engine 

 is attached to the same pump as is used in their traction outfit and the 

 other where the engine is used to operate an ordinary spray pump. The 

 Hardie Co., Hudson, Mich., Spramotor Co., Buffalo, N. Y., the Ueming 

 Co., Salem, Ohio, and the Goulds Mfg. Co., Seneca Falls, N. Y., are 

 among the other firms that make spraying outfits operated by means 

 of gasoline engines, as well as barrel spray pumps. Morrill & Morley, 

 Benton Harbor, Mich., make the Eclipse Barrel Outfit. 



Among the other forms of spraying outfits is one in which the power 

 comes from carbonic acid gas under a high pressure which is manufac- 

 tured by the Niagara Gas Sprayer Co., Middleport, N. Y. The liquid is 

 placed in a large steel tank to which is connected a drum of gas and all 

 that is necessary to obtain any desired pressure is to open the stop cock 

 and allow the gas to rush into the spraying tank thus forcing the liquid 

 out. At the present price of gas the power for operating these machines 

 will cost from one-fourth to one-third of a cent per gallon. As there 

 is no machinery to get out of order and as their operation is very sim- 

 ple, this form of outfit has considerable merit. 



Whatever form of spraying outfit is used, its durability can be 

 greatly increased and it will be likely to cause very much less trouble 

 in spraying if it is thoroughly washed out each day after being used. 



THE BLIGHT AND ROT OF POTATOES. 



For a number of years the potato crop in the eastern states has been 

 greatly reduced by what is commonly known as blight and rot. Little 

 harm, however, has been done in Michigan except during the seasons 

 of 1904 and 1905, when the potato crop was seriously affected in some 

 sections. The trouble is due to a fungous disease which flourishes only 

 in seasons when the weather is wet and muggj'. It seldom does much 

 harm to the early varieties that ripen previous to the first of August, 

 but the late crop may be ruined when the weather during the month of 

 August is favorable for the development of the disease. In 1906, the 

 weather in most parts of the state was comparatively dry during the 

 months of August and September, and in those sections little harm from 

 the rot was experienced. It has long been known that the disease which 

 causes the blight of the vines- and the rotting of the tubers can be al- 

 most entirely prevented by the use of fungicides, the most effectual of 

 which is Bordeaux mixture. For the season of 1906 a series of co- 

 operative experiments were arranged and in most cases it was found 

 that the injury from the disease was not sufficient to warrant more 

 than one or two applications and these would be made more for the 

 control of the potato beetle and what is known as ''early blight," than 

 for the true blight and rot of the potato which is properly called "late 

 blight." 



