I20 Report of the Botanist of the 



tooth harrow and clod-crusher. Even after this treatment the soil 

 was himpy and poorly fitted. 



The rows were marked out three feet apart and the furrows 

 opened with a plow. Fertilizer," at the rate of i,ooo pounds per 

 acre was scattered in the furrows. Planting was done May 25 

 and 26, care being taken to place the seed pieces exactly 15 inches 

 apart in the row. They w^ere covered four inches deep by means 

 of hoes. 



The seed was of the variety Rural New Yorker No. 2 and had 

 been selected from the sprayed rows in the experiment of 1902. 

 A few days before planting time the seed tubers were given the 

 formalin treatment^ for scab and then cut into pieces of the size 

 of a hen's egg without regard to the number of eyes except that 

 each piece bore at least one eye. 



During the season the plants were hoed once and cultivated 

 three times. After the last cultivation they were hilled, moder- 

 ately, with a shovel plow. 



The soil was a heavy clay loam with some gravel in it. The 

 field sloped rapidly toward the north giving good surface drain- 

 age. 



At Riverhead. — The previous crop was cauliflower over the north 

 half of the field and an asparagus seed-bed over the south 

 half. The land was plowed 6 to 8 inches deep April 28 and har- 

 rowed twice. After treatment with formalin for scab, planting 

 was done by hand on April 29 with pieces of hen's egg size, 

 placed 15 inches apart in the row and the rows 3 feet apart. 

 The seed used was of the variety Carman No. i taken from the 

 sprayed rows in the experiment of 1902. 



^ South Carolina rock 555 lbs. and ground blood (to per ct.) 445 lbs. 

 'Tubers soaked two hours in a solution containing one pint of formalin 

 in 30 gallons of water. 



