11 — 
Insecticides were applied on June 24, with very unsatisfactory 
results, and during the next few days it looked as though our insect 
enemies would defeat us. 
We had already observed an occasional individual much larger 
than the striped beetle, Monoxia puncticollis. This beetle had be- 
come plentiful by July 3, and was doing considerable damage. On 
this date we sprayed with paris green, suspended in water, one 
pound to 80 gallons. This gave us the best satisfaction of all the 
insecticides which we tried. 
THE EFFECT OF ALKALI. 
The first observed effect of alkali was on June 15 and 16, 
when we observed some plants, in spots, at the east end of the plot, 
drooping, just as some had done in our sprouting experiments. Ex- 
amination showed that the roots of the plants had been attacked, 
and were already black and dead. This was not due to the evapor- 
ation from the surface and concentration of the salts about the stem at 
the surface; such action was not observed until June 21, and was 
the worst in those spots where the efflorescences were the most marked. 
The effect of the alkali upon the roots was observed in spots where 
no incrustation appeared at any time. The presence of enough al- 
kali to actually destroy the young plants was confined to certain 
spots, which were small, and gave no other evidence of either greater 
abundance or variation in character than that of its effect upon the 
plants. In fact, it appeared to be less abundant in these spots where 
it was fatal to the plants, than in other spots, near by, where the 
plants did well in the midst of a thick incrustation. Local varia- 
tions in the composition, and, consequently, in the character of the 
alkali, within such narrow limits, may seem improbable to some, but 
I see no other explanation for these local effects. 
I was not able to detect any corrosive effect of the alkali after 
the plants had become established, and the ground had been tilled 
and irrigated. 
IRRIGATION. 
The plot was irrigated twice, June 29-July 1 and August 18- 
20. The total rainfall for May, June, July, August, and Sep- 
tember, was 8.89 inches. The total time spent in raising the crop, 
exclusive of harvesting, was 330 hours, including man and team for 
25 hours. 
As the experiment was carried out on a piece of most refractory 
soil, the cost of raising the crop would be no criterion for the judg- 
ing of the cost of raising another crop under favorable conditions, 
therefore the details of cost are not given. The time given suffices 
to indicate that this particular crop could not yield a profit unless 
