Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1893-08-26
THE FARM AND HOME.
FORMS OF POTATO BLIGHT
AND ITS REMEDIES.
.praying with Fuuglcides Is Cure for
the Fungus Disease--keep the Best
Lambs-SHgar Beets for sugar-thrm
Noses and Home Hints.



two entirely different diseases that
are known as potato blight and are
very destructive to the crop. The
first, which is best and longest
known and has been most fully de-
scribed in the Phytophora intestans'
is true fungus disease, the other Is
a bacterial disease which has been
very little studied, but which, IL Is
believed, caused fully as much il not
more loss to potato growers than the
phytophora 1t is not easily traced
and its comings and goings are not
we'll understood, but its effects are
very serious. Professor Jones OF the
Vermont experiment station, calls
this comparatively new disease
bacterial blight and Professor
Halstead Of New Jersey, believes II
to be identical with the southern
potato blight Professor Green mar
rates his own experience with these
two diseases and in doing so de-
scribes their different effects quite
fully. He says:
My experience with these diseases
has been of such a character as 10
give me much interest in them. In
the year 1888 | put out field Of
about four acres OF potatoes on fairly
good land without any special prepar-
alton. The season proved quite fay-
orable, with plenty OF rain during the
latter part of the season, and the
yield was nearly 800 bushels per
acre. But when | came TO dig them
/ found there were many rotten ones,
and after digging they did not stop
rotting In one pile Of go bushels,
after lying two weeks, fully one-halt
were spoiled. This was my first eX-
perience with what am now certain
was the fungus disease.
In the years lSS5-6-7, | increased
my acreage about ten acres each
year. but in not any OF these seasons
was there the least trouble with rot
ten potatoes; yet did not succeed in
getting a yield Of over 100 bushels
per acre, and one year much less
than that, although the crop was put
out with great care on land we'll
adapted to potato growing and quite
fertile. for the wheat which followed
the potatoes gave an average yield OF
about thirty five bushels per acre for
the three years, Each year the crop
would start out in fine shape. but
about the middle OF June, during the
rapid growth Of the vines, tender
shoot here and these would be seen
to wilt, and then, Notwithstanding
favorable weather, their growth
would come to standstill, the leaves
showed black patches near the
edges and in four 70 six weeks
the vines would be standing
straight up, with the dead leaves
hanging around them in mclan-
choly way; in few weeks more they
would be dried up, and by the first Of
September the crop would be ready
to dig The late potatoes lasted only
q week or two longer than the early
ones. No signs Of rot could be seen;
on the contrary, the potatoes kept
exceedingly we'll. The only sign Of
disease was a slight discoloration OF
the flesh near the stem. This is bae-
terial disease, but the loss is not felt
as much, because to lose thing be-
fore we get it is not so bad as TO lose
it when we once have il in our pos.
session.
AS to the fungus disease il yields
measurably well to spraying with
fungicides, but for the bacterial dis
ease no remedy has yet been discov-
cred upon which reliance can be
placed Some paliatives. however,
are given which appear TO have val
ne. Good soil, good seed, good prepa-
ration Of the ground and good after
cultivation give the plants resisting
power which enables them to a
greater or less degree to live through
the attack IL it comes IL is also
believed that the bacteria appears
quite regularly at its appointed time
in the season, and that therefore
quite early or quite late planting
will, in many localities, give com.
paratiye immunity by reason Of the
plant in the one case getting far
enough along to resist the effects of
the attack on the one hand. or not
being far enough advanced to con-
tract it on the other.
Something, too, may be gained by
careful selection OF the seed, says the
Kansas City Live Stock Indicator
AS the germ lives over the winter,
advantage is found in rejecting all
seed that show any Indications of
| blight, however slight. There il
also believed to be very substantial
difference in the capacity Of different
varieties TO resist blight. and one
noted agricultural writer Of France
has divided the varieties OF that
country into two classes using their
resistant or non-resistant power as
the basis Of classification Professor
Green thinks that the Rose family
owes much Of its long life, to its
power Of resisting blight, while on
! the other hand the smooth, round
white class, such as the Snowflake
and Charles Downing, have a much
lower resisting power. These how
ever, are only tentative hints as to
the means Of protecting the potato