500 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



1886, — The same field was used. The land Avas well pre- 

 pared by plowing and harrowing April 27, and subsequently 

 fertilized the same as in previous years. Plat 1 received broad- 

 cast, as before, a mixture of muriate of potash and fine-ground 

 bones. Plat 2 received, as before, no fertilizer of any de- 

 scription. Plat 3 was again manured broadcast, with sulphate 

 of potash and fine-ground bones. The change, regarding the 

 character of the fertilizer applied, consisted in using nearly 

 twice the amount of potash salts, muriate of potash and sulphate 

 of potash for the same area in case of Plats 1 and 3. The in- 

 crease in potash compounds was made to test their efficacy as 

 a preventative of scab. A second important change from our 

 previous practice consisted in securing first quality seed 

 potatoes, — in particular, //-ee from scab. The same variety — 

 Beauty of Hebron — was obtained for that purpose from Ver- 

 mont ; it was as fair an article as could be desired. The system 

 of planting and cultivating was the same as in previous years. 

 The potatoes were planted upon all plats May 5, 1886 ; each plat 

 had fourteen rows, with hills three feet apart in each direction. 

 The young plants appeared evenly ; the vines coming from 

 whole potatoes, however, soon became heavier and taller than 

 those coming from half potatoes, a peculiarity in their growth 

 which remained noticeable during the entire season. All the 

 vines were in full blossom July 6 ; they began to turn yellowish 

 and to dry up July 30. The crop on the entire field was dried 

 up August 8. This change seemed to appear most marked first 

 on the vines from whole-seed potatoes. The entire crop was 

 hai vested August 28. 



The experiment of the past season has been a serious failure, 

 as far as the quality of the potatoes raised on any of the three 

 plats is concerned. The entire crop, with scarcely any excep- 

 tion, was badly disfigured by scab ; the potatoes were unfit for 

 family use, and had to be sold at a low price for stock feeding. 



Neither a liberal use of our own mixture of commercial manu- 

 rial substances, rich in potash compounds, nor the selection of 

 a fair quality of seed potatoes fi'om another source, has affected 

 our results as compared with those of the previous season. The 

 successful raising of a superior potato from scabby seed pota- 

 toes upon another field of the Experiment Station, which will 

 be described farther on in these pages, shows that the atmos- 



