1905 . 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
317 
TREATMENT FOR POTATO SCAB. 
Soaking Ahead of Planting. 
I should not hesitate to soak seed po- 
, tatoes in formalin at the present time, 
■ and I think no injurious results would 
follow. Care must be taken that the seed 
potatoes are not put back into the same 
crates that they occupied before soaking, 
neither must they be put into the same 
bags, baskets or bins in which untreated 
potatoes have been stored, unless these 
receptacles are thoroughly cleaned and 
treated with formalin. If 75 bushels of 
potatoes are dipped in the formalin solu¬ 
tion and then stored away in a pile with¬ 
out drying, there is danger that they may 
heat and the germ be killed or injured, 
but the formalin solution itself will not 
injure the potatoes. The price of pota¬ 
toes in the East during the past Winter 
has been modified by the very large crop 
which was harvested throughout the 
Middle West. The Michigan crop was 
exceptionally heavy last year, but while 
the farmers there were selling them for 
35 cents per bushel, the farmers in New 
England were getting 60 or 70 cents per 
bushel. The permanent outlook for po¬ 
tatoes in the East is good; and should 
the price drop as low even as 50 cents 
per bushel it is still a price at which one 
can afford to raise potatoes with profit. 
I believe that the most practical 1 means 
at the present time to avoid blight is to 
grow a variety of potatoes which will ma¬ 
ture in August, and I propose to test my 
belief during the coming season. Spray¬ 
ing as ordinarily carried on by the far¬ 
mer does not protect potatoes from blight 
and rot. l. a. clinton. 
Storrs (Conn.) Exp. Station. 
In regard to treating potato tubers a 
considerable time before cutting, I may 
say that I think no harm will be done at 
all, if they are allowed to dry; in fact, 
I rather prefer the method, as, if the buds 
are started a little bit, the treatment tends 
to blight them slightly, and if they are al¬ 
lowed to lie in the open air for a time 
afterwards they tend to develop some, 
thus giving a more rapid germination 
when placed in the soil. All my experi¬ 
ments tend to indicate that the corrosive 
sublimate method is to be preferred as 
against the formaldehyde treatment, 
though both sufficiently well prevent the 
introduction of disease on the seed piece. 
Most farmers with us cut the seed- at 
once and proceed to plant. There seems 
to be no gain in time by treating before¬ 
hand, as one can in a few minutes or in 
a few hours, at most, treat more seed 
than he can plant in a week. In regard 
to the outlook for potatoes, I am in no 
position to give an estimate, except to 
say that the Northwest is rapidly be¬ 
coming a potato-producing region. Be¬ 
fore many years North Dakota will al¬ 
ways have a surplus for shipping under 
ordinary conditions. It is easy to raise 
them here, and there is so much new 
ground that diseases have at present but 
slight effect, though I have seen cases 
in which blight and rot very materially 
reduce the yield. henry l. bolley. 
North Dakota Station. 
I have never used the formalin treat¬ 
ment; we use the corrosive treatment in¬ 
stead. For the prevention of scab we 
soak the seed at any time in the Spring 
that we have the most time, then dry the 
seed, and it is ready for use. However, 
the formalin treatment may act differ¬ 
ently; I would not use it anyway if I 
could get the corrosive sublimate. The 
potato market has a black eye in this 
section this Spring. No one wants them 
at any price as yet. I think the starch 
factory will start soon, and then most of 
the stock now on hand will go there. I 
understand they will pay 12 cents per 
bushel. Last Fall we could have sold for 
30 cents on track at River Falls. I think 
about one-third of the crop was stored. 
The acreage this Spring will be as large 
and possibly larger than usual. The yield 
in this section is so heavy and the cost 
of handling the crop has been reduced 
to so low a figure that even at 12 to 
15 cents per bushel the profit per acre is 
all right. e. h. currier. 
Wisconsin. 
We have had no experience in treat¬ 
ing potatoes with formalin or chloride of 
mercury for any long period of time be¬ 
fore planting. My opinion is that it might 
be done with less risk with formalin than 
with chloride of mercury, but I do not 
like the idea of soaking them till plant¬ 
ing time for many reasons. I would ad¬ 
vise the inquirer to provide himself with 
tank or barrels so that he can treat 10 to 
15 bushels at one time, and do it when 
h& gets ready to plant. It is not so much 
inconvenience as he may think, and all 
done in one job. Everybody seems to 
say “cheap potatoes;” perhaps the author¬ 
ity for this statement is so apparent that 
those of us who ought to see best are 
blinded by its sightliness. However that 
may.be, the New York State crop has not 
been so excessive this last season (to my 
mind) to warrant the present market 
conditions, and the shrinkage from rot 
and frost have been unusually large. Per¬ 
haps Michigan is to blame for the low 
level of prices. With new stock late in the 
South prices may recover somewhat. 
New York. c. w. burnett. 
Sealed Cans. —I believe the Chicago ordi¬ 
nance in regard to sealing cans of milk 
shipped into the city a good one, with some 
slight modifications would operate well in 
New York City. I would suggest that the 
seal closing the can should have on it the 
name of the shipper, and also the name of 
the station from which the milk is shipped, 
so that bad milk could be traced. It is 
mv judgment, based upon considerable obser¬ 
vation, that a very large per cent of bad 
milk comes from its treatment after it 
reaches the shipping station. It might also 
be well to allow the use of a paper seal. 
.r. C. LATIMER. 
