289 



" 5. Have you noticed whether plants growing in old fence 

 rows, near barns or in other unusually rich spots, withstand 

 the rust better than those in the open field? 



Experiment. 



" Stake out four plots each 1 rod wide and 4 rods long in 

 the field you consider most likely to rust badly. Be sure that 

 the soil in all the plots is of uniform quality, and that it has 

 had similar treatment as to crops and fertilizers for the past 

 two years. Do not place the plots so that the wash from one 

 will run down over another, but give each as nearly as possi- 

 ble the same slope and exposure. On the first plot broadcast 

 evenly a big one-horse wagon load (1000 pounds) of fresh stable 

 manure and plow it in. Plot 2, give the same quantity of 

 stable manure but add 20 pounds of kainit and plow in. Plot 3, 

 give 20 pounds of i^ainit but no stable manure, plow. Plot 4, 

 plow at the same time as the others, but give no application. 



" The plots should be prepared well in advance of planting, 

 say before the middle cf February, so that the soil may be- 

 come somewhat compacted and the marrure be partially de- 

 composed. Treat these plots exactly like the rest of the field, 

 fertilizing, bedding, planting and cultivating all alike. Make 

 notes from time to time on their comparative growth and ap- 

 pearance, and if the rust appears count the plants on each 

 plot separately, noting the number entirely free from rust, 

 the number slightly afteeted, and the number seriously in- 

 jured. Send me samples of the rusted leaves in order to de- 

 termine certainly the nature of the disease. 



"Be careful not to confuse this rust with the "Angular 

 Leaf Spot," where the leaves show clear watery spots and 

 blotches ; with the " white mildew," where the leaves look 

 white and frosted on the under side ; with " Frenching," where 

 the stem is brown inside and the whole plant sickly ; nor with 

 the "Boll Rot." 



"The object of this experiment is two-fold, to test the ef- 

 fect of kainit in preventing the disease under as many widely 

 varying conditions as possible ; and also to test the effect of 

 largely increasing the soil humus and consequently its water 

 holding and drought resisting capacity. The stable manure 

 is suggested as being the quickest and easiest way of doing 

 this on a small scale. Under the present agricultural condi- 

 tions at the South, plowing under cow peas and other reno- 

 vating crops would have to be depended on for doing this on 

 a larger scale. 



