'MISCELLANEOUS. PERSIA 1882-1898: Maps, Government Papers etc.' [‎38v] (76/202)

being kinds that had been in cultivation tor many
years ; some, comparatively new varieties of Ameri
can origin ; and two which have not yet been put in
commerce.
"We staked off 8ft. at each end of the drills right
across, leaving the middle (44ft.) untreated. The
8ft. at the top we treated according to the Jensen
method of high-moulding, that is, to cast up from
between the rows sufficient soil to cover the haulm,
and then flatten it down on the top of the drill. The
object aimed at in this treatment is to prevent the
disease, which first attacks the leaves, from travelling
down the stem to the tuber. The 8ft. at the other
end of each drill, at the bottom of the piece, we
treated acccxding to the formula given by M. Prilleux,
with which most successful results have been
attained in France. The middle of the piece, beyond
the ordinary treatment of earthing up aud hoeing, we
left untouched.
In due course, first the early, then the middle crop,
and then the later varieties showed signs of ripening,
but a very remarkable thing was that while in every
drill signs of maturity were as plain as could be, the
decay of the haulm stopped short as soon as the drill
ran into the 8ft. treated by the new remedy. At that
end the stalks were green and vigorous, and so they
remained until past the middle of September, while
the upper portion and the middle of the drills had
ripened off nearly a n onth before. The effect of
keeping the plants growing for a longer term must
have tended to an increased yield,and thus proved the
solution to be a stimulant as well as a remedy.
On digging the different lots, although some were
heavier croppers than others, and some were more
diseased (the “ Dean ” and the “ Village Black
smith,” both coloured sorts, being the worst in that
respect), the comparative results of the different
courses of treatment tallied to a remarkable extent
in all the sorts.
The top piece, treated on the Jensen system, was a
little diseased, but not much, the middle piece
(44ft.), which was not treated at all, was very badly
affected, whilst the bottom, which had been syringed
with tbe salts of copper solution, had escaped with
an infinitesimal proportion of disease, in one case—
that of a new sort named “ Prodigious ”—not a
single tuber being affected, and in the case of the
others not more than 2 to 4 per cent. Comparing the
yield of sound tubers, the French remedy stands as
six, the Jensen method as four, and the ** trust-to-
Providence ” course as three, in proportion to each
other.
The formula we used was as follows :—31b. of
sulphate of copper and 11b. of quicklime to 20
gallons of water, applied on the foliage at the rate
of 140 to 150 gallons per acre. In preparing the
solution, the sulphate of copper should be dissolved
in a wooden tub, the quicklime slaked in another
tub, and, when thoroughly slaked, mixed with the
copper solution. The solution should then be well
stirred, and when the liquid is being drawn off for
use it should be again stirred to insure an even dis
tribution of the salts of copper. We applied the
solution with a common garden syringe, but for a
large area a portable bucket with a spray-nozxled
hosepipe would be better. The crumpled foliage sorts
retain the liquid more than the smooth-leaved ones,
such as “ Early Puritan ” or ** Beauty of Hebron ”
do, and the effect of our serving all the sorts alike
was to cause the wrinkled ones to wear rather a
geared look for a week or two after they had been