72 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



clover comparatively scattered. And other crops, manuring 

 it in the same manner, one side six cords to the acre, and on 

 the other half or two-thirds that amount with potash, have 

 been substantially the same order, whether corn or hay ; but 

 when it was hay, richer in clover on the part where there 

 was the smaller amount of manure and the potash, — much 

 richer than the other. 



Mr. II. A. Turner (of Norwell). I am very much in- 

 terested in the matter of growing potatoes. In the town 

 in Plymouth County where I live we have become almost 

 discouraged because of our poor success. We do not know 

 whether it is best to go on and try this crop, or not. I 

 lost one field of potatoes this year by the Colorado beetle. 

 When the potato vines Avere a few inches high, before we 

 knew it the Colorado beetle was on our farms and had eaten 

 the leaves nearly down to the stem. Consequently the 

 potato plants died, and I lost the whole field. 



Professor Woods. We should watch and fight and 

 spray. 



Mr. Turner. Well, I have done the praying but not the 

 spraying. If I understood the lecturer, he said we must not 

 plant the seed too soon after cutting. Isn't there danger of 

 keeping the seed too long after cutting, and drying it too 

 much? I would like to know how long before putting it 

 into the ground it should be cut. 



Professor Woods. In our atmospheric conditions, only 

 a few hours. Of course, if it was such a day as to-day, it 

 would not make much difference whether it stood two or 

 three days or a week, for the potato would not dry very 

 fast ; but in dry weather I should not want it to be but a 

 few hours after cutting before it is planted. 



Mr. Geo. F. Babp, (of Amherst). The question of seed 

 is going to be a very important one with me next season. 

 We raise a very fair crop of potatoes on our farm, and, while 

 the majority of them were of good size, there were quite a 

 lot of little ones, and we want to sell all the big ones, from 

 the biggest down to the medium-sized ones. Our method is 

 to plant medium-sized potatoes. I want to know if we can- 

 not save our little ones and plant those next spring, and 



