7i8 



Journal of A.griciiltitre . 



[lo Nov.. 1910. 



Section No. 3. — Bonedust ami superjihosphate, b twl. : sulphate 01 ammonia, 



I cwt. ])er acre. 

 Section No. 4. — No artificial manure. 

 Section No. 5. — Bonedust and superphospliate, 6 cwt. : suli)hate of potash, 



I cwt. ; sulphate of amnionia, i cwt. 



All the manurial tests were carried out with one \ariety of potatoes — 

 Up-to-Date. The seed was grown on the same plot the season before. 

 The most satisfactory results were obtained from the dressing of bone- 

 dust and superphosphate on section No. i. which gave 7 tons 2 cwt. per 

 acre. In order to test this a section in another part of the tield on similar 

 land with the same dressing gave 8 tons u cwt. per acre. The section 

 with dung onlv returned 5 tons 5 cwt. In section 2. with the addition of 

 I cwt. sulphate of pota.sh. the yield was 17 cw^t. per acre less than sec- 

 tion \ in section 3. An addition of i cwt. sulphate of ammonia further 

 reduced the yield by ir cwt. per acre. The lowest vield was from the 

 complete manure on plot No. 5 — 6 tons per acre. 



Table H. — Sprottted venus Uxsprouted Seed. 



Up-to-Datf 

 Clarke's Main Crop 

 Carman 



Variety. 



S|iRuitecl. 



TiK-reasod Vield. 



Decrease. 



Up-to-Date 

 Clarke's Main Crop 

 Carman 



The season for the early crop was the most favourable experienced for 

 several years. There was no frost during the growing period sufficiently 

 heavv to cut down the plants of the early crop, whereas in 1908-9 they 

 w ere cut down twice with the result that the sprouted seed gave a very 

 heavy increase, amounting in some varieties to 5 tons per acre. Owinn; 

 to the mild season and favourable growing weather during 1909-10, the 

 increase was only a little over 2 tons per acre. In one instance Carman 

 sprouted gave a lower return than the unsprouted by over 2 tons per acre. 

 This was due to some form of disease attacking this variety. It was first 

 noticed on 2_|th November, 1909, and every effort was made to discover 

 the cause. Specimens from the plot were taken to Mr. McAlpine, Vege- 

 table Pathologist, and his assistant, Mr. Brittlebank. visited the plot and 

 obtained plants and tubers, but no disease was found in either that would 

 account for the falling oft. It should be stated that up to the time the 

 plants were attacked this variety promised a very heavy yield — anything 

 up to lo tons per acre. 



The above results compare very favourably with those obtained in simi- 

 lar experiments in Great Britain, and go to prove that it will pay to 

 box seed at all timt^s. 



Sfruyhig. — The spraying did not have any appreciable effect on the 

 yield. The only noticeable feature was that the sprayed plants kept green 

 longer than the unsprayed. 



