lll> MAINE STATE COLLEGE 



lu nddition to my own experience, I might say tliat I furnished 

 a neighbor material enough to put upon a small part of his piece 

 and that he used it but once, and he is willing to say that the tops 

 where the mixture was used remained green much longer than 

 those which had not been treated, the difference being so great 

 that the neighbors in passing stopped to learn the cause ; but the 

 difference in the crop was not what he expected it would be, 

 from the looks of the tops. He will use it largely next season. 



Yours very truly, 



B. Walkek McKeen. 



In reference to the plan of liberal fertilization suggested by 

 Mr. McKeen, it is well to remember that a patch of potatoes may 

 be destroyed by potato blight in two ways. The germs of the dis- 

 ease may be in the seed, or iu the soil upon which the potatoes are 

 planted. In either case the germs would soon enter the young 

 plants, grow with them and finally destroy them. In the secoad 

 case the soil and seed may be entirely free from germs and the 

 crop almost reach maturity and then becomes infested by summer 

 spores blown from an adjoining patch and rapidly destroyed. 



It is a principle, equally applicable to plant and animal life, 

 that healthy specimens (all other conditions being equal) are 

 stronger and better able to resist the attack of diseases and para- 

 sites. It is also a good rule to fertilize highly and feed animals 

 well for by so doing the profits are greater. 



It must be also remembered that plants under cultivation and 

 animals under domestication make a more rapid growth than in 

 nature, and that their tissues are much softer, and when once 

 attacked by a fungus or parasite they become an easier prey. 



If the higher fertilization of potato land will hasten the matur- 

 ity of the crop, and thus prevent infection from the poorly fertil- 

 ized lands of a shiftless neighbor, it would be an advantage. 



If the germs are already in the patch, high fertilization would 

 make the plants more succulent and give the disease a better hold. 



An overgrown patch would also fall an easier prey to summer 

 spores should they reach it at the right time. 



We believe it is better to adhere to the rule, that adequate fer- 

 itlization is ahvays best and prepare ourselves to fight the parasites 

 that are sure to attack the soft tissues of cultivated plants. The 

 planting of early varieties would be an advantage, providing our 

 neighbors grow the later sorts. 



I 



