80 REPORT OF THE BOTANICAL DEPARTMENT OF THE 
METHODS. 
The methods employed in 1906 were essentially the same as 
in previous years. In the spring of 1906 the Station arranged 
with fifteen farmers in different parts of the State to keep an 
account of their spraying operations on potatoes. An accurate 
record was kept of all the expense of the spraying, including 
labor, chemicals and wear of machinery. In each experiment 
strips of three to seven rows were left unsprayed for comparison. 
These rows received no bordeaux mixture but were treated with 
poison to protect the plants from bugs. 
In six of the experiments there was but a single unsprayed 
strip; in five experiments there were two unsprayed strips; and 
in four experiments three unsprayed strips. Hence, so far as 
concerns the increase in yield due to spraying, the fifteen experi- 
ments really included 28 separate tests. 
In the fall, the tubers on one or more of the unsprayed rows 
were carefully weighed. The same was done with one or more 
sprayed rows on either side. In this manner it was determined 
how much the yield had been increased by spraying. In all 
cases a representative of the Station was present when the test 
rows were dug and assisted with the weighing. The length 
and width of the rows were carefully measured, the Station 
representative assisting with this, also. Accordingly, we can 
vouch for the accuracy of the yields reported. Each of the 
experiments was visited twice or three times during the season 
for the purpose of taking notes. | 
The experiment fields varied in size from five to forty-five 
acres, the total acreage of the fifteen experiments being 226 acres. 
As far as practicable they were placed in localities where the 
potato is a leading farm crop. In ten of the experiments the test 
rows were in plain view from a public road so that the results 
could be seen by passersby. 
The method of spraying in the Hebron experiment was one 
we call the two-hose-and-three-men method. In the other four- 
teen experiments the spraying was done with horse sprayers of 
several different kinds, covering four to seven rows at each 
passage. 
THE CHAFEE EXPERIMENT. 
This experiment was made by R. M. Howell, Chafee, Erie 
county. He sprayed 10.4 acres of potatoes five times at intervals 
