POOR POTATOES THIS YEAR, 



47Q 



three feet apart in the row, one plant to a (Jur beds are about six feet apart and we 

 place. Those that we grow for the green- run two rows in them. The houses are 

 houses, we only grow one plant in the box. built for growing tomatoes." 



RESULTS OF THE POTATO ROT 



^I^HE potato rot has caused great loss 

 X this year to Ontario growers. Re- 

 ports from different sections show that the 

 percentage of affected potatoes varies from 

 15 to 60, according to the nature of the soil. 



The development of this disease has been 

 particularly rapid during the past three or 

 four seasons, and this fall many fields, on 

 which the yield was good, are rendered 

 practically worthless on accoinit of the large 

 percentage of affected tubers. The crops 

 on low clay land in many counties are 

 scarcely worth harvesting. Carloads reach- 

 ing Toronto from Simcoe, Dufferin, Wel- 

 lington and Ontario counties show that the 

 disease has wrought great havoc in those 

 counties. Not only has dissatisfaction been 

 felt by the growers, but the dealers in cities 

 and towns have had endless trouble with 

 their customers. The result has been that 

 they are purchasing their supplies else- 

 where. For several weeks IMew Brunswick 

 growers have been able to furnish all that 

 has been required. 



Some of the leading produce merchants on 

 Colborne street, Toronto, who handle pota- 

 toes were interviewed by a member of The 

 Horticulturist staff. " Early in the sea- 

 son," said Mr. J. J. Ryan. " I handled On- 

 tario potatoes, but the prevalence of rot 

 caused so much trouble that I decided to get 

 my supply elsewhere. The red potatoes 

 seem to be more subject to this disease than 

 the white stock. The potatoes came in 

 looking all right, but after standing about 

 a week nearly half of them were rotten. 

 Since early in September I have imported 

 about 100 cars loads from Wellington, N. 

 B., and in that quantity I have not noticed 

 a bag of bad ones. I am handling 10 cars 

 a week. 



" The price was about the same there as 

 here, but the Americans are beginning to 

 look to that province for part of their sup- 

 ply, and the result has been a slight ad- 

 vance in price. Besides, colder weather 

 forces the freight cost up because the cars 

 have to be lined to prevent the potatoes 

 from freezing." 



"About September i," remarked Mr. C. 

 Barrett, " some car loads arrived from cen- 

 tral Ontario in which 225 bags out of 400 

 were bad. Since early October I have got 

 my supply from New Brunswick. There 

 is practically no rot in that province. Deal- 

 ers from the eastern states frequently buy 

 much of their stock there when the supply 

 is scarce across the line. In case that 'is 

 done to any appreciable extent this year the 

 price is liable to be raised so high that we 

 cannot afford to import from there and we 

 must then be content with what Ontario has 

 produced." 



" Car loads received from dift'erent parts 

 of Ontario earlier in the season," said Mr. 

 Ferrier, of Ferrier & Co., " contained 15 to 

 50 per cent, rotten potatoes. During the 

 first week in November I received some 

 which were not so bad, but I do not know 

 of any section free from rot. We have im- 

 ported large quantities from New Bruns- 

 wick. The growers in that province send a 

 white potato, the Green Mountain, known 

 here as Delaware. It is of much better 

 quality than Ontario stock, and the consum- 

 ers willingly pay 25 cents a bushel more for 

 it. They will pay higher prices for that 

 variety when there is no disease in the On- 

 tario crop. 



" Ontario farmers do not realize that they 

 are losing ground in the potato market. 

 They have not learned that they must 



