58 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



water, soaking from thirty to forty minutes. If the solution is too strong it will 

 destroy the germinating power of the seed. We have discovered nothing better thaa 

 this corrosive sublimate^ and would soak the seed before cutting. 



Q. How do you keep the seed from sprouting? 



M. L. Dean: There is no better way of keeping seed potatoes than burying. If they 

 are kept in a cellar they must be kept cool. 



Q. Would you plant six inches deep on heavy soils? 



M. L. Dean : No : three to five inches deep. 



Q. Have you tried sulphur for scab? 



M. L. Dean: Yes, but it is too expensive. I have never tried burning it in the 

 cellar. 



Q. How much seed do you use? 



M. L. Dean: Where the potato is cut in four pieces we use two pieces to the hill. 

 We cut seed to economize the cost, as the same amount of seed will plant more ground. 



Q. What is your method of handling the solution for treating seed potatoes? 



M. L. Dean: Put the solution in a wooden tub and suspend the seed in a burlap 

 sack. 



A Lady: I have treated seed potatoes as the College has recommended and have had' 

 very scabby potatoes at harvest. What is the reason? 



M. L. Dean : I do not know. There are many places where mistakes could be made,, 

 and it is impossible to tell just where the given application of the method failed. 



A Gentleman from Tuscola County: I planted a field of potatoes partly with treated' 

 seed and partly with untreated seed. Where the untreated seed was used 10 per cent 

 of the crop was scabby; where the seed was treated less than one per cent was scabby. 



Q. Can you grow a good crop of potatoes on a marsh? 



M. L. Dean: You will get a good quantity, but the crop will be poor in quality^ 



A Farmer : I grow potatoes on a marsh, and we like them fvilly as well, if not better, 

 than the same variety grown on upland. We manure the marsh in the winter ; plant 

 the middle of June. Last year we had 200 bushels to the acre. We practice covering 

 the seed a couple of inches on the start, then deeper later. We do not hill, but practice 

 level culture. The weeder is a vei-y valuable implement for us. 



WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. 



TOPIC— FRUIT. 



QUESTION BOX. 



Q. How ripe should peaches be when picked for market? 



R. Morrill: They should be thoroughly ripe. Not too soft, but ripe enough to 

 require good care to prevent bruising. For this reason among others, I kave found 

 the Michigan grader to be of little value. 



Q. What is the cause of yellows? 



L. R. Taft: The cause of yellows is not clearly understood. The remedy is to 

 extirpate every afflicted tree by digging up and burning. 



Q. Would there be any objection to sowing a peach orchard that has been cultivated 

 during the fore part of the season to rape about July 1st, and pasture with hogs? 



R. Morrill : The worst objection is that it prevents cultivation during July and 

 early August. It is a good plan to sow later to a cover crop to keep the ground covered 

 during the winter. 



Q. Is it advisable to roll oat ground and potato ground after planting? 



Prof. Smith : Our rule is not to use a roller at all in the spring if the ground is 

 wet and composed largely of clay. Where the ground is very sandy or mucky and 

 needs compacting, then the use of the roller is all right. On clay soils or clay loams, 



