178 POTATO CULTUBE. 



clog the nozzle of the sprayer. Next we put in water enough 

 to fill the barrel, and churned it up thoroughly. I say 

 "churned," notice. You can not stir it and mix as quickly. 

 I nailed a block across the end of a pole, making a sort of 

 churn-dasher. 



Now for the spraying. I got two old boxes and nailed 

 them together so that, when a man sat down on the smaller 

 one, the knapsack would just rest level on the other, and 

 placed these boxes so the knapsack would be against the 

 barrel. Then I filled it (always after churning a few strokes) 

 with a gallon tin measure. Get a large tin funnel to use with 

 the measure : you can fill much faster. While men were 

 spraying I fixed up more vitriol and lime in the crocks, and 

 drew another barrel of water, so when the first barrel of the 

 mixture was used up I could mix another and not delay the 

 men, always being ready to fill their sprayers when they 

 came around. Our sprayers hold five gallons, and we found 

 this enough to go down and back on 60-rod rows, so we had 

 to fill only at one end of the field. It took us three about a 

 day (10 hours) to spray 6 acres. We could do it faster, but 

 we tried to do thorough work without regard to time. We 

 never used more than 40 gallons of the mixture per acre, and 

 less when vines were small not very much less, however, 

 as, when vines are small, you waste some between the plants, 

 which, when they grow larger, falls on plants instead of on 

 the ground. The cost of the mixture, in money, was 20 cts. 

 a barrel of 50 gallons, 4 Ibs. of vitriol costing 16 cts., and the 

 lirne at retail costing one cent a pound. We had to buy this 

 a little at a time to get it fresh and unslacked. We bought 

 a barrel of vitriol, some 350 Ibs., so as to get it at wholesale 

 rates, as that will keep. We sprayed about once in two 

 weeks, and Prof. Green advised four or five sprayings. In 

 rainy weather, spraying of tener might be better, and in dry 

 weather you might wait longer. We began when plants 

 were six inches high. It will do little good to begin spraying 

 after blight appears. It is a preventive measure, and you 



