DISEASES OF THE POTATO* 177 



Sea. Blight. Potato crops grown near the sea coast 

 are often injured by the salt spray blown by the winds on 

 the foliage. The saline matter causes the foliage to 

 shrivel and become brown. Unfortunately there is no 

 remedy for this. 



Spindle Disease (Persola tomentosum). A fungoid 

 disease, which apparently attacks the eyes of the tubers, 

 causing them to produce weak, spindly shoots. In many 

 cases the shoots are mere thread-like growths. Tubers 

 so attacked and planted frequently make no growth at 

 all, and remain perfectly sound in the soil for months 

 after planting. A correspondent informed us recently 

 that he planted in March, 1904, a patch of apparently 

 perfectly healthy tubers, which made no growth above 

 the surface of the soil. In the autumn he examined the 

 drills, and found the tubers sound. In the case of cut 

 tubers the cut surface goes brown in a few days, and dry 

 rot sets in. This disease is prevalent in France. 



REMEDIES. The only thing that can be done to guard 

 against failure of the crop from this disease is to box the 

 tubers early. This will enable the grower to determine 

 whether the tubers are prone to produce the thread-like 

 shoots characteristic of the disease. Tubers that do not 

 sprout healthily should be burnt forthwith. 



