Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1913-10-26

see that 1t Is not blackened inside.
No potato should be taken for seed
TOM O hill which has the steam black,
ened inside. The seed potatoes should
be stored in crates Or baskets Y
kept separate from the general stock.
Seed potatoes should be disinfected]
with a corrosive sublimate solution, =
part Of corrosive %subliinate to 1,0oO]
parts Of water, for about 5 to 20 min-
utes. They should then be rinsed in
water and thoroughly dried. 1t IS
preferable to disinfect in the fall on
a warm, clear day. .s .s, @.
With clean seed potatoes, it Is es-
sential that the hotbed be free from
parasitic organisms. Great care
Should therefore be exercised in its
preparation. Before the soil is put
into the bed, the cement, boards, or
whatever is used in the construction
should be thoroughly sprayed with al
solution Of 5 pounds of copper sui
phate to so gallons Of water and then
with bordeaux mixtnre or whitewash.
In some localities where. these dis
eases are very prevalent it IS almost
impossible to find soil that is not in,
fected. Fields which had not been
grown to sweet potatoes for nearly
40 years have given an infected crop
when clean slips we're used. Where
such a general infection has occurred,
the soil is light and It is probable
that the organisms were disturbed by
the wind. In view Of these facts it
is advisable to disinfect all hotbed
soil. This can be done by treating
It with a solution Of formalderyde, r.
pint of f%ormaldehyde Gao per cent?
to "a gallons OF water. This chemica>
is cheap and can be purchased at
almost any drug store. When the
soil is to be thus treated it should be
placed in a tight box or other re. i
jceptacle and enough of the solution
added to soak it thoroughly. The ap.t
plication should be made at least two
weeks before the soil is to be used, /
in order to allow the formaldehyde /
to e%vaporate. An occasion al Stir
ring OF the soil will assist in the es.
cape Of the gas. D%isinfected soil
should be carefully protected to pre-
vent infection before it is used. All
Instruments used In handling steril- /
lied soil, such as the wagon box, I
shovel, etc, should be disinfected.
Sources Of Heat.
1t is believed by some farmers that
and stronger plants can be Sc
cured by using manure as a source
OF heat in the hotbed. . Others insist
that equally good, If not better, plants
can be grown in a fire bed. From the
standpoint Of disease there is far
greater danger in the use of manure,
especially if it is produced on farms
where sweet potatoes are grown. It
frequently happens that farmers are
careless about the disposition of de-
cayed sweet potatoes and feed them
to hogs or chickens Or, more often,
throw them on the manure pile. From
there they are carried to the hotbed
and infection of the young plants be.
comes easy. 1t is urged that all re-
sweet potatoes be cooked or
and n tothrown where they
will be scattered in the manure ana
hauled on the farm or used in the
J..
1t is not know how long these dis.
eases will remain In the soil without
the sweet potato as a host. 1t is ad-
vlsable, however, to follow a. system
OF crop rotation that will not bring
this crop on the same ground oftener
than once in three Or four years. Il
is certain that the crop will not be
free from disease so long as the or
ganlsms are present in the fields.
me only way to get them out of the
fields is to starve them out by plant.
lng crops on which they cannot live.
experiments, however, have shown
that tle percentage of diseased plants
is much reduced by planting healthy
slips, although the soil may be infect
This fact alone justifies all the
precautions necessary to grow healthy
slips, even though the soil on which
they are planted is diseased.