POPLAR, CHIEF VARIETIES. 379 



POTATO DISEASE. 



varieties are constantly being introduced, 

 it is inexpedient to give a list. 



Poplar and Chief Varieties. 



The PopuluS) or poplar, is a handsome, 

 quick-growing tree under almost any cir- 

 cumstance of soil and climate. Of this we 

 have several beautiful varieties, of which 

 the most noteworthy are Pop-ulus alba, the 

 Abele poplar ; P. fastigiata, the Lombardy 

 variety ; P. grandidentata, the large 

 American aspen ; and P. treimda pendula, 

 the weeping aspen. 



Pot- Carriers. 



A box as shallow but larger than that 

 which is used to make a mould scuttle, 

 but furnished with a handle in a similar 

 manner, will be found useful for carrying 

 plants, when newly potted, from one place 

 to another. Two boxes will be found 

 sufficient for the conveyance of from eight 

 to twelve pots, and this is as much as any 

 one should venture to carry at one time. 

 Cheese boxes may be utilised for this pur- 

 pose, the covers furnishing a circular tray, 

 with a rim about 3 inches high, in which 

 pots may be conveniently carried. For 

 the transfer of cuttings in very small pots, 

 trays of this description will be found 

 extremely useful. 



Potato. 



The importance of the potato as a 

 culinary root can scarcely be overrated. 

 Since the appearance of the potato disease 

 about 1845, since which time it has never 

 been wholly absent from the United King- 

 dom, the old sorts which were in cultiva- 

 tion at or before the date just given have 

 almost if not entirely disappeared, and 

 their place has been taken by new sorts 

 raised from seed. At the Potato Inter- 

 national Exhibition in 1880, one hundred 

 and seventy-eight varieties were repre- 

 sented, and since that time the number of 



sorts has been considerably augmented. 

 The best sorts, or those that are considered 

 the best, from year to year, will be found 

 in the catalogues and price lists of the 

 seedsmen and growers. In growing 

 potatoes it is necessary to look at the 

 work in two aspects, namely, that of grow- 

 ing early potatoes for home use or for 

 market, and that of growing the main crop 

 for use between midsummer and the next 

 planting season, or indeed till new potatoes 

 come again, and, therefore, for storage 

 during the winter months. 



Potato Disease, Prevention of. 



A preventative of the potato disease 

 (Phytophora infestans) is to be found in a 

 preparation of French origin known as 

 " Bouillie Bordelaise." It was tried with 

 signal success in 1892 by Messrs. James 

 Carter & Co., seed merchants, High Hoi- 

 born, in a series of experiments ranging 

 from July to September in that year, or 

 one of their experimental farms near 

 Bromley, Kent, and the result renders the 

 mixture of the highest importance to all 

 potato growers. The mixture required foi 

 an acre of potatoes is composed of 22 Ib. 

 of sulphate of copper, 22 Ib. of unslaked 

 lime, and 100 gallons of water, the sulphate 

 of copper being of the Macclesfield patent, 

 and of the standard of 98 per cent, purity. 

 It is best applied in the form of spray over 

 the haulm and leaves by a machine in- 

 vented by Mr. G. F. Strawson, and called 

 the "Anti-pest." The experiment was 

 tried on about an acre of potatoes of vari- 

 ous kinds, divided into four portions, each 

 set similarly with all the kinds of potatoes 

 used. Of these, two were dressed with 

 the " Bouillie Bordelaise," and two were 

 not. In one of the dressed sections 90 per 

 cent, and in the other 100 per cent, of 

 sound tubers were found, when the potatoes 

 were dug, against 80 per cent, in the un- 

 dressed sections, and the weight of the 



