412 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



Since a tenant remained in anj?- one camp but a single season, Mr. 

 Shear stated, he took little interest in keeping up the soil facilities. 

 As he had no use for cull potatoes or diseased ones, he left them on the 

 ground. Owing to the mild winters these small and diseased potatoes 

 were not killed by the frost, and the result was a large volunteer crop, 

 upon which the disease thrived. The tenant must become familiar with 

 these troubles and must be taught the importance of preserving the 

 productivity of the land. The landlord must be shown how this system 

 of leasing to annual tenants is leading to a depreciation of the value 

 of the lands for agricultural purposes. 



Developing Peat Land in Holland. 



The convention was favored with a sliort talk by Dr. Johana "Wes- 

 terdyk, v>'ho brought out the fact that the Delta region was in many 

 ways like that of Holland, where there are two ways of developing the 

 land: Using the peat soil for pasture land had always been the most 

 profitable course. The main thing, she said, was to begin with the right 

 crop. In these acid, peaty soils the farmers started by growing a certain 

 mixture of grasses with clover. They could not begin by converting the 

 peat into common pasture land. Grasses which stood acid soils had to 

 be used. The clover was used, not only for its power of bringing 

 nitrogen into the soil, but was also laid on as a soil ameliorator, as the 

 large roots penetrated the soil deeply. In many cases before sowing 

 clover and grasses an amount of lime was mixed with the earth, both for 

 removing the acid and for improving the physical condition of the soil. 

 Not before the soil had reached a certain solidity throughout were cattle 

 or sheep driven in, and in the course of time the pastures could be 

 maintained. 



The other way mentioned was to develop the peat into agricultural 

 land, as was the case in the Delta region. Instead of potatoes being used 

 as a first crop after reclamation, in Holland oats, mixed with a legu- 

 minous crop, were generally used. The clover sta3''ed over the second 

 year, after which a crop wdth clover was sown and the soil might be 

 ready at this time for potato growth. If the land was to be developed 

 into vegetable land the cultivation of soil-preparing crops had still to 

 go further, and care must be taken to avoid the lime, as vegetables are 

 very sensitive to its influence. In making vegetable growing possible 

 manure was of great value. The long experience of the Dutch peat 

 farmers had demonstrated that potatoes on new peat land were a danger 

 to the future development of that land. 



Dr, Appel on the Potato Situation. 



Dr. Appel, a famous potato expert of Germany, delivered a brief 

 address on the potato question. He stated that the question of potato 

 diseases was largely one of potato culture, and that in planting potatoes 

 on new land there lay a danger, in that the uncultivated peat land was 

 not very favorable to potatoes, because it possessed qualities that were 

 not fit for this crop. In the Delta soil the Rhizoctonia fungus found 

 most splendid conditions for growth. When the potatoes came in 

 contact with the infested soil, the young sprouts were attacked by the 

 fungus before they reached the soil surface, or the stems became 

 infected. The stolons were often killed and the disease frequently 



