1900.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 71 



water; Montague, 11.26 percent. ; Orleans, 12.50 per cent. ; 

 Attleborough, 15.40 per cent. ; Concord, 8.65 per cent. ; 

 Eastham, 5.69 per cent. ; Bridgewater, 3.74 per cent. These 

 figures do not possess any great value, but in a general way 

 they correspond with those in the preceding table. The 

 variation in the amount of rainfall in diflerent parts of the 

 State of course comes into account here. We will state, 

 however, that the Amherst soil referred to was taken from 

 an asparagus bed which has never had the rust in any 

 stage, — a fact which is not only due to its characteristic 

 texture and the nature of the subsoil, but to the fact that the 

 plants have been thoroughly cultivated and properly fed, and 

 consequently are in a very vigorous condition. According 

 to Professor Brooks, this bed has at times received a heavy 

 dressing of cow manure in the fall, which has been forked in 

 in the spring, and then fertilizer has been put on at the fol- 

 lowing rate per acre : muriate of potash, 600 pounds ; nitrate 

 of soda, 200 pounds ; and acid phosphate, 900 pounds. 



Asparagus growers have stated that there is a difi'erence 

 as to infection in different parts of a field. Many have stated 

 that the drier places were the most badly infested, while 

 others could notice no difference, or in some instances those 

 parts which they considered the least dry showed the rust 

 the worst. This latter condition does not in any way affect 

 our conclusions that the rust (summer stage) is peculiar alone 

 to those regions that possess sandy soil which has little w^ater- 

 retaining capacity, inasmuch as our conclusions are general, 

 and refer to the State as a whole. That exceptions do occur 

 even in a single bed is not at all strange, so long as plants 

 are endowed with a tendency to vary. There are other fac- 

 tors which have a bearing on the susceptibility of plants to 

 rust other than those of soil and water conditions, among 

 which is the general health condition or vigor of the plant. 

 We have repeatedly observed in the same bed numerous 

 plants that were badly infected, while directly beside them 

 were some which were perfectly healthy. We do not main- 

 tain, however, that, in a bed where the plants possess the 

 same amount of vigor and where they are under exactly simi- 

 lar conditions except in regard to moisture, those in the dry 

 place will succumb to the rust quickest and become more 



