
698 Report or tak Assistant HorTicuLTURISsT OF THE ba St ie 
ment that the saccharine copperlime compound (probably the 
same aS above) resists the action. of rains in a remarkable degree. 
These observations show that some substance may proLably be % 
used in the future to obviate frequent spraying. As the cost 
of spraying an acre of potatoes four times will vary with the 
mode of application and the cost of labor, the following table 
(No. 1) will enable one to estimate. the expense. It will be- 
understood that there is a vast difference between the cost of 
applying the mixture with a sprinkling pot or with am automatic 
pump. Our estimate is based on labor at one dollar and thirty- Be 
five cents a day, using a knapsack sprayer and Vermorel nozzle, 
spraying two acres a day and using about ninety gallons of — 
mixture per acre. The first two sprayings will not require this 
quantity of liquid if economy is used in applying it and the latest 
improvements in nozzles used. In treating large plantations the — 
cost can be reduced very materially if a geared pump is used with — 
horse power or increased to an unprofitable amount if applied 
with a watering pot in a wasteful manner. The copper sul — 
phate can be bought by the quantity for about six cents per ~— 
Fe See re 
pound and the lime for about one-half cent per pound. It will 
be seen that Table No. 1 gives an estimate of about six dollars 
per acre, for four sprayings. Other investigators have estimated — Rua % 
the cost at from five to ten dollars, always with results that oh Ba 
more than compensate for the outlay. The Vermont Station 
saved in 1890 the enormous amount of seventy-nine bushels 
per acre, by two sprayings.* The Rhode Island Station increased 
the crop the same year forty-eight per cent. The results 
obtained at this Station for the past two seasons confirm 
the results of others and justify the statement that those who | 
lose a crop of potatoes through neglect to spray simply broaden 
the avenue towards profit for the grower who practices spraying. — . 

Table No. 2 gives the results of an experiment in spraying on a ia 
one-half acre plat of one variety of potatoes. Each row both 
treated and untreated ran the full length of the plat causing 
equal conditions as to soil for both treated and untreated vines. eS. : 
Every fifth row of this plat received four sprayings between July 4 ci 



* Vermont Bulletin No. 24, p. 29. § Third Annual Report R. I. Station, p. 145, 
