Pests and Remedies 143 



1 to 1,000, has been tried with some success 

 though the result is still doubtful. A newer 

 remedy is Bordeaux mixture both sprayed on the 

 leaves and poured into the ground. If the 

 disease is discovered early enough, cut the stalk 

 down to the ground and dig into the soil a hand- 

 ful of powdered sulphur. When a new shoot 

 appears, mix into three gallons of water one tea- 

 cup of Bordeaux mixture, and water the ground 

 and the young shoot thoroughly. This quantity 

 seems appallingly strong, but by using as soon 

 as the young stalk appears above ground, it has 

 proved to be perfectly successful in checking the 

 disease in several cases during the past summer. 

 Unless the variety is exceptionally rare, how- 

 ever, it is far better to burn the diseased clump 

 and buy a healthy tuber next year. 



Sometimes a tuber which is not diseased will 

 show symptoms much the same when starting 

 into growth. It will begin in a normal way, 

 but when six or eight inches high it will stop 

 growing. The fibre becomes woody and the 

 leaves thicken but do not enlarge. This is 

 usually caused by the fact that the tuber was too 

 dry when first planted. 



Dig up the plant promptly, and cut the shoot 

 back to one joint. If the tuber is of fairly good 

 size cut it down and examine it for any spots of 



