ter the soil, three or four inches 

 deep in flats or pots, with a very 

 dilute solution of formaldehyde, one 

 teaspoonful of 40 percent formalde- 

 hyde in one gallon of water or one 

 tahlespoonful in three gallons of 

 water, immediately after seeding. If 

 applied too long after seeding, there 

 is more danger of chemical injury 

 to seeds and seedlings. 



Since the soil is usually watered 

 at this time, anyway, no additional 

 operations are involved. The for- 

 maldehyde solution is applied at the 

 rate of one pint to one quart per 

 square foot of soil and is harmless 

 to most seeds except some of those 

 of plants in the cabbage family. Soil 

 so treated should not be covered 

 with glass or paper because the es- 

 cape of the formaldehyde from the 

 soil may be prevented. 



Advisers in the field of plant pro- 

 tection do not always practice what 

 they preach; it may be of interest, 

 therefore, to know that the writer 

 uses this method frequently in his 

 own gardening and greenhouse 

 operations. 



New organic fungicides, mostly 

 intended for spraying or dusting the 

 above-ground parts of plants or for 

 the treatment of seeds, are increas- 

 ing in number. Some of these added 

 to soil fertilizers protect seeds and 

 seedlings against damping-off. There 

 is probably no best fungicide for 

 use in this way with all kinds of 

 plants; it will depend somewhat on 

 the crop. Materials that gave good 

 results against damping-off of sev- 

 eral common vegetables were Phy- 

 gon, Arasan, Dithane D-14, 

 Orthocide, and Vancide. Rates of 

 applications are different with dif- 

 ferent fungicides and for different 

 crops. 



There are plant diseases with 

 which we must live, with which we 

 must put up, because no easy and 

 practical methods of preventing 

 them or controlling them have yet 

 been found. But damping-off of 

 seedlings is not one of them. This 

 disease is controllable, and there is 

 no reason for poor stands of seed- 

 lings or no seedlings at all because 

 of attack by damping-off. 



The same number of cucumber seeds was planted in each pot. The seedlings at the left 

 have damped off, but those at the right were protected by early sterilization of the soil 

 with formaldehyde. 



15 



