Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1909-04-16

where a fve-year rotation is followed
to show some curious results. One
field would show far more scab than
another and some seasons seem to
favor the growth Of scab. On those
farms potatoes follow corn, and We
think there is less scab when crimson
clover is seeded in the corn and
plowed under in spring. This seems
to show that the theory about a sour
soil Is sound.
There are three methods of treating
the seed-dusting with sulphur, soak
ing with some chemical to destroy the
germs, and fumigation. The busting
is easiest, but not always effective. We
cut the seed into peach baskets and
scatter three handfuls of sulphur over
the seed as it is put in. The basket Is
shaken down at intervals. AS it stands
on paper the sulphur which falls
through can be saved. For soaking for.
malin is now generally used. This
liquid chemical, also called tornado
hyde, can be bought at drug stores.
The proportion is one pint Of formalin
10 80 gallons Of water. It can be put
In barrel or large tank, depending
On the amount Of seed to be soaked.
We use two barrels, one with the
soaking liquid and the other contain
Ing clear water. The potatoes are first
rinsed in the water. They are put in
coarse sack and soused up and down
In the barrel. An easy way to do this
Is to have a pulley fastened over the
barrel so that the bags can be easily
raised or lowered. After rinsing the
bag Is lowered into the solution and
kept there two hours. Then the pota-
toes are taken out, dried and cut. The
rinsing takes of the dust, thus making
the solution cleaner. Farmers have
different methods Of doing this soak
ing. The principle Is to keep the seed
In long enough to kill the scab germs
without hurting the sprouts.
Fumigation Is now used by soma
large growers. says the Rural New
Yorker. At first experiments were
tried with sulphur fumes. as they are
used for fumigating houses, but this
did not succeed. Now the gas from
formaldehyde is used with success. In
stead Of soaking the seed in a solution
of this chemical 1t Is turned into a
gas and held in close room with the
seed. The process is described az fol-
lows:
For generator a small galvanized
washtub about Is inches IN diameter
at the bottom was placed in the center
Of the room about a foot from tho
floor, midway between the two lines
Of crates filed with potatoes. When
ready to use 311k ounces OF potassium
permanganate was spread evenly over
the bottom Of the tub, then four pints
and one ounce Of 20 per cent. formal.
dehyde poured over this. The tub
was given one rapid tilt to entirely
wet the potassium permanganate with
the formalin and then the door
was quickly and tightly closed from
without. The almost entire absence
Of the odor Of escaping gas while the
treatment was in progress indicated
that the room was practically air tight.
The door remained closed for "a hours.
and when opened the gas was still
30 strong that 1t was impossible to
work in the room for from 20 to 30
minutes. In fact, three weeks after
the disinfection was finished dis
tinct odor of formaldehyde could be
detected in the room. The seed for
the entire 20 acres was treated In this
way. care being taken to place the
treated seed in barrels which had
never been used for potatoes before.
This Is to avoid contamination in
taking to the field after treatment"