222 



nection with nature study, commercial geography, agriculture, 

 and the like. One of the exhibits is a display made by the nor- 

 mal school pupils of the District of Columbia, in which a number 

 of those who are studying for teachers' positions entered a prize 

 contest on tree study. Each of the contestants prepared a sep- 

 arate exhibit showing the life history and the products of indi- 

 vidual trees, such as white pine, hickory, or sugar maple. 



POTATO SPRAYING. 



Following are the conclusions of bulletin No. 397 of the New 

 York agricultural experiment station, Geneva, N. Y., on "Lime- 

 sulphur vs. Bordeaux Mixture as a Spray for Potatoes," the 

 author being M. T. Munn : 



"The results of the past two seasons' work are entirely con- 

 firmatory of the experiments of the previous two seasons- The 

 relative efficiency of the two sprays, as far as their effect upon 

 potato foliage and tuber yield is concerned, can be definitely 

 stated. Bordeaux mixture, because of its beneficial influence 

 upon the leaves, materially lengthens the productive life of the 

 potato plants resulting in a marked increase in yield of tubers. 

 The lime-sulphur solution, because of its injurious effect in 

 dwarfing the plants and aggravating tip-burn, causes the plants 

 to die ten days to two weeks earlier than those in unsprayed 

 rows and materially decreases the yield of tubers. 



"The eff"ect of lime-sulphur on late blight and rot {Pliytoph- 

 thora infestans) is still uncertain, since it appeared in the experi- 

 mental field in but one of four seasons' tests at which time it 

 apparently failed to check the disease. 



"It seems certain, then, that lime-sulphur should not be used as 

 a potato spray, while on the other hand it pays to spray potatoes 

 e\ery season with bordeaux mixture, because the bordeaux mix- 

 ture prevents tip-burn, prolongs the life of the plants, and in- 

 creases the yield in dry seasons, while in wet seasons the pro- 

 tection against late blight, with its resulting tuber rot, may result 

 in marked gains. Potato growers should not omit the sjjraying 

 of potatoes with bordeaux mixture." 



AN AMERICAN SUGAR-PLUM. 



$200,000,000 was the size of this sugar-plum in 1909, according 

 U) reliable statistics, says Harry R. Lewis, author of "Productive 

 Poultry Husban'lry," published by J. B. Li])i)incott Company. 

 All that tidy sum for what? just for hen's eggs. (The sale of 

 chickens not included.) It was di\ided up among a good many 

 Americans, yet the l)ulk of it went to people living in Iowa. 

 Missouri. Illinois. ( )hio. New York, Indiana, Pennsylvania, 

 Kansas, Michigan and Texas. It certainly must have gone a good 

 way toward mcding the high cost of li\ing for them. A good 



