EXPEKIMENTS WITH REFERENCE TO THE POTATO DISEASE. 53 



sets in the one row as upon those of the other ; but there was 

 this difference : the sets being planted with the eyes uppermost, 

 cut sides were, of course, undermost, and these would not be 

 reached by the lime when sprinkled over the sets ; but in the 

 case of dipping the sets, the cut surfaces, on the contrary, would 

 take on a large coating of lime, owing to their moisture. 



Soot. — Table I. 34. The potato-sets being placed, soot was 

 scattered over them, and along the bottom of the drill, in quan- 

 tity about 3 quarts to a row. Estimated per acre, this amounts 

 to 54i bushels. The produce was diseased to the amount of 16J 

 per cent., nearly 5 per cent, more tlian that of the adjoining 

 row, which had nothing. 



Poivdered Oil-cake. — Table I. 35. This was scattered in the 

 drill as manure, at the rate of 1 lb. 9 oz. to half a row, the 

 estimated quantity per acre being 16 cwt. 30 lbs. The sound 

 produce was at the rate of 10 cwt. 46 lbs. per acre more than 

 that of the other half of the row to which nothing was given ; 

 and where the oil-cake was employed, the proportion diseased 

 was 2 • 29 per cent, less than in the part of the row where it was 

 not employed. 



Poicdered Charcoal. — Table I. 57. The quantity of 2 lbs. 4 oz. 

 to half a row was put in the drills about the sets, being at the 

 rate of 2 tons'3 cwt. 48 lbs. per acre. This half row, as regards 

 the quantity and quality of its produce, can only be compared 

 with the other half of the same row to which nothing was applied, 

 because a difierent variety of potato was employed for sets, — the 

 Cornish Kidney, instead of the Jersey Blues, these being ex- 

 hausted. The sound produce was about 2\ tons more per acre 

 than in tlie half of the row to which powdered charcoal was not 

 applied, and the diseased proportion was 2J per cent. less. 



The remaining results in Table I. were derived from sets of 

 the Jersey Blue Potatoes planted in another division of the 

 compartment. The soil was considered of similar quality to 

 that in which the preceding experiments were conducted. 



Sets dipped in boiling Water. — Table I. 39. The sets, just 

 before planting, were dipped hastily in boiling water. The sound 

 produce was above the average, and the proportion diseased was 

 below the average, amounting to little more than 7 per cent. 



Sets dipped in a mixture of Lime and Dung-water. — 

 Table I. 40, 41, 42. Some lime was slaked and allowed to 

 cool. Dung-water was added to form a mixture of the con- 

 sistence of thick cream ; into this mixture the sets were dipped, 

 and, wlien dry, they were planted. It will be seen, by inspecting 

 the Table, tliat the produce of the respective rows varied much 

 as regards the quantity sound and the proportion diseased ; the 

 latter from nearly 9 to 15 percent. Row 42 gave the greatest 

 amount of sound produce with the least proportion diseased. 



