50 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



acid would entail a cost of £1,000 an acre. If the latter was " the 

 cure " it might well be said that the cure was worse than the disease. 

 However, he gave me a " free hand " in dealing with the matter so 

 long as the growth of his crops was not interfered with. The work 

 in a measure impeded him in the winter preparation, called for con- 

 siderable sacrifice of time at the end of the season, and throughout 

 entailed attention to details which would have been irksome to many 

 people. He remained imperturbable. Long practice had enabled 

 him to detect small abnormalities in the growth of tomato plants, and 

 any such abnormalities he carefully recorded. He was as much 

 interested in the plots as I was myself. Had such not been the case, 

 the results which have been gleaned would probably have been in 

 part lost. As a student of Plant Pathology I am deeply indebted to 

 Mr. Cousins for his hearty co-operation in this " Field " Experiment. 

 It is only when an inquirer adopts the helpful attitude above described 

 that one gets a chance of accumulating information — and Agricultural 

 Biology is after all only a young science ; its store of facts is but 

 scanty. 



My hearty thanks are also due to my colleague, Mr. G. S. Robert- 

 son, M.Sc, for the kind help he has given me in these experiments. 



Conclusions. 



From these Field Experiments the following are some of the 

 conclusions at which we have arrived*: 



1. That both cyanide of sodium and cyanide of potassium applied 

 to the subsoil in quantities of half a ton an acre will free the subsoil 

 from eelworms present therein, at a cost of about £50. 



2. That mercury chloride at the rate of 3 cwt. an acre will do 

 likewise, at a cost of about £50. 



3. That phenol has vermicidal powers, but that the quantities 

 which must be applied make the treatment more costly than either 

 of the first two substances. 



4. That cresylic acid has vermicidal powers also, but that its 

 use will entail greater expense than (1) or (2) without the certainty 

 of completely exterminating the worms. 



5. That creosote applied pure is useless, and that saponified 

 creosotes tend to check eelworm disease. 



6. That the proprietary substances on the market if applied to 

 subsoils in the small quantities given in the " Directions for Use " 

 are not likely to give satisfaction to tomato-growers, but that in 

 larger quantities they check the progress of the disease. 



7. That naphthalene and naphthalene compounds are not 

 inhibitory. 



8. That sulphur, iodine, and chlorine as generated from chlorinated 

 lime are of no use. 



9. That kainit, salt, chromic acid, and potassium bichromate are 

 deleterious both to eelworms and tomatos. 



