142 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jail., 



rot after all. Even by our spraying, as we sprayed this year, 

 we increased our yield on the sprayed field very perceptibly. 

 Our increased profits per acre were about eighteen dollars, and 

 that paid us well for the spraying that we did. Next year I 

 shall spray, but I shall do the larger part of the work with a 

 hand sprayer and stay right by them until we get them done. 

 I shall spray part of the field with an automatic spraying cart 

 and leave part unsprayed for a test. Another thing that I will 

 do is to plant a variety which will mature in August. I shall 

 grow an early variety even at the expense of yield at first. We 

 can grade up our early varieties so that we can get a larger yield. 

 I want a grade, an early variety, that will mature in August, 

 and I shall grow them and try to get ahead of that late blight. 

 It is a problem how we are going to keep the blight from rotting 

 them after we get them grown. I believe that it means a hand 

 spray or else an early variety. The variety I secure for early 

 planting is called the Early Manisted. 



I got less favorable results this year, not that I didn't in- 

 crease the yield, but I lost it afterwards by the rotting of the 

 potatoes, I don't say that spraying is going to save them ; we 

 are going to have failures, but if you don't do it thoroughly you 

 are going to have more failures, but a large part of the increased 

 yield that I got from spraying was afterwards lost from the 

 rotting of the potatoes. The sprayed part gave a greater yield 

 than the unsprayed. The question is how to prevent the rotting 

 — that is the hardest part of the problem. 



Professor Bennett of Storrs College carried on some ex- 

 periments this year. Mr. Bennett sprayed his by hand and did 

 his work very thoroughly. I think it might be interesting for 

 Mr. Bennett to tell the results he secured. 



Mr. Bennett. I have been trying to find out whether 

 spraying would prevent potatoes from rotting. This year I 

 planted a plot of potatoes, six rows, three of which I sprayed 

 and three I left unsprayed. I kept the bugs off of both, and 

 as soon as the potatoes were up I sprinkled them with bordeaux 



