The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1914-02-06

established as soon as the seed Ia
placed on the market.
Potato Diseases.
The appearance In G destructive
way of several new diseases Of po-
tatoes in large producing areas has
caused great alarm and heavy loss in
certain of the important potato pro-
ducing districts of the Rocky Noun
tain territory. Among these mala-
dies, heretofore unknown in this coun-
try, are leafroll, known in Europe for
a number of years, curly-dwarf,
rosette, and the mosaic disease.
The attention of the Psychologists in
| charge of this line of work has been
devoted exclusively to study of the
causes and methods for controlling
| these troubles. AS result of the in
vestigation method has been worked
out by which the resistance of the
| foliage of potato varieties or seed
lings may be tested in the greenhouse
during the winter which will greatly
facilitate the work of potato breed
| ing and will also furnish method
of determining whether seed potatoes
are free from this disease. Recent in
vestigations have proved that the dry
rot of potatoes, which has been de-
structive in certain regions, is not
caused by Fasarium, as was previ-
ously supposed, but that this disease
is due to other wound parasites.
Date Ripening.
The work during the last year has
proved beyond a doubt that the arti"
fetal ripening of dates such as the
Degelet Moor may be carried on
cheaply and efficiently merely by
keeping the full-sized though imma-
ture fruit in a moist, warm condition.
Fruit so ripened is cleaner and moro
attractive than that ripened on the
tree. Thus the failure of the Degelet
Moor to ripen on the tree as it does
in some parts Of the Sahara Desert,
which at first seems a great draw
back to date culture in California,
turns out to be an actual advantage,
permitting the ripening of the fruit
more uniformly and more efficiently
than is possible in the open air, where
the conditions cannot be controlled.
Date Propagation.
The rapid propagation of date off
shoots is matter of great import
ance to the development of the date
industry. Experiments now under
way indicate that it is possible to
root upshoots much more rapidly I'M
der greenhouse conditions where they
can be given bottom heat than blythe
old world method Of procedure. 1t
is believed that by this method much
smaller upshoots can be rooted. 1t
has also been found that when grown
in the cool, moist climate of the Pa
ciflc coast, in immediate proximity to-
the ocean, certain varieties of the
date palm fruit scarcely at all, but
produce instead very great numbers
of offshoots and continue to produce
them through much longer period
of years than in typical date growing
districts.
New Hybrid Substitute for the Lime.
A new hybrid. a substitute for the
lime, fruited for the first time during
the year. This Is the Unequal, OBJ
tanned by crossing the West Indian
lime with the kumquat 1t has proved
to be not only very prococious but
also exceedingly fruitful and hardy 1t
bears very acid fruit, much like the
West Indian lime in size and flavor.
The tree, however, is much harder
than the lime, having withstood the
past three winters in extreme north
ern Florida where the lime can not
be grown.
Tobacco Investigations.
1t has been found that a rotation
in which special fertilizers are applied
is Of great Importance in maintaining
the character and burning qualities of
the product. Investigations are made
during the year in the Connecticut
Valley, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Kentucky, Tennessee, Maryland, Vir-,
ginia and the Carolinas. In the last
four states the most important prob
lem is the restoration Of the much de-
pleted supply of vegetable matter in
tobacco soils through the use of cover
crops, which do not increase the
nitrogen supply.