1006 REPORT OF THE BOTANICAL DEPARTMENT OF THE 
THE RIVERHEAD EXPERIMENT. — 
This experiment was conducted by Ira M. Young, Riverhead, 
Long Island. Mr. Young sprayed 45 acres of potatoes all over four 
times and one lot of nine acres a fifth time. The potatoes were 
of the variety Green Mountain. The soil was sandy loam. The 
sprayer used was a Hudson four-row sprayer drawn by one horse. 
The entire acreage lay within a short distance of the wells from 
which was obtained the water required in the preparation of the | 
bordeaux. A part of the water used (75 barrels) was purchased at 
three cents per barrel. 
Unsprayed strips of four rows each were left in three different 
lots. The sprayed rows adjacent to the unsprayed strips were | 
sprayed on the following dates: In Lot I, June 13, 29, July 25 and 
31; in Lot II, June 15, July 19, 27 and August 6; in Lot III, June 
12, 27, July 21, 26 and August 1. In all three lots poison was 
applied to the unsprayed rows on the same dates on which the 
sprayed rows received bordeaux and poison. “ Bugs” were kept 
under complete control on the unsprayed rows as well as on the 
sprayed. : 
After spraying was begun we saw this experiment only once, 
namely, on July 20. At that time the conditions were as follows: 
In Lot I the vines did not yet cover the ground. Early blight and 
late blight were both entirely absent. There were some flea beetles 
but not many. The sprayed rows were indistinguishable from the 
unsprayed ones. 
In Lot II the vines covered the ground well over the west third 
of the test rows. Here late blight was commencing on the un- 
sprayed rows and there were traces of it, also, among the sprayed 
plants. Over the east two-thirds of the test rows the soil was 
lighter and the vines smaller. Here there was no blight, but flea 
beetles were becoming injurious. However, there was nowhere 
any material difference in appearance between the sprayed and 
unsprayed rows. ‘There was no early blight in thistot. 
In Lot III the vines were very large and covered the ground 
completely throughout the entire length of the test rows. There 
was no early blight here and only a few flea beetles, but late blight 
was thoroughly established on the sprayed as well as on the un- 
sprayed rows, the latter being somewhat the more affected. At a 
distance the field looked well, but a close examination revealed the 
fact that the lower leaves were considerably affected with blight. 
It was plain that this field had been neglected. It had been sprayed - 
