Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1918-07-31
SPRAY POTATOES THIS YEAR
1T PAYS.


1T PAYS.
Do you spray your potatoes with
bordeaux mixture each year? Many
farmers in this county believe that
it pays to spray for blight and fig
lures will bear out their belief. Be-
tween 1891 and 1910 twenty-year
potato spraying experiment was car
ried on by the Vermont Experiment
station. Each year the crop was
sprayed from two to four times with
Bordeaux Mixture and each time a
portion of the field was left unspray-
ed in order to compare yield and
to find just what results came from
| the spraying.
A summary Of tie twenty-year ex-
pertinent shows the average yield of
sprayed fields to be 268 bushels per
acre, and the average yield of the
unsprayed fields to be 1853 per acre.
This increase of los bushels per acre
was due entirely to thorough appli-
cation of Bordeaux Mixture.
| In Orleans county several hundred
; ..c4 - to.atoe5 a-c raised each
age as 1912 acres. A comparatively
small per cent of the potato growers
spray their crop with bordeaux. Sup
pose that due to spraying the potato
crop Of Orleans county is increased
by just one half, 52R bushels, the
amount which the experiment sta
ton found to be the increase over a
twenty-year period. This would mean
an increase of little over 100000
bushels. The cost of spraying usu-
ally runs from So to So per acre per
application. Taking this cost at $3.50
and spraying four times, it would cost
$19,1 to spray the 1912 acres of
potatoes in this county, to secure the
100000 bushels increase. With pota-
toes selling at $1.OO per bushel this
would mean an actual clear profit of
$4,000 in one crop alone or Of soc on
each bushel of increase.
A few potato spraying demonstra-
tons were run last year in this coun-
ty with increases in yield due to
spraying of from Is bushels to 125
bushels per acre. During this year the
Association plans to run if possible, a
spraying demonstration in each town
leaving in each sprayed demonstra-
ton field six rows that are not spray
ed. Watch the demonstration in your
town. Next fall plots will be dug in
| both sprayed and unsprayed areas
and acre yields figured to know the
increase due to spraying.
In the meantime, spray your own
potatoes to be sure. Begin spraying
with bordeaux when, the potatoes are
eight to ten inches high and plan on
at least four applications. The bet
ter plan is to spray every two or
three weeks depending on the wealth
er. Keep the plants coated at all
times with the mixture. Add poison
| (paris green or arsenate Of lead) to
kill the bugs.
| For the first two sprayings the fol-
lowing mixture may be used:
3 pounds Copper Sulphate
pounds Quicklime
SO gallons water
For all later sprayings use this
mixture:
a pounds Copper Sulphate
4 pounds Quicklime
SO gallons water
Dissolve the copper sulphate (any
amount) in barrel of water by sus-
pending in a sack hung so that the
bottom of the sack will not touch the
bottom of the barrel. Use one gal
lon of water for every pound of cop
per sulphate to be dissolved. Stake
in a separate receptacle an equal
number of pounds of lime using one
gallon of water to each pound of lime.
These stock solutions may be made
up in quantity and kept on hand.
To make so gallons of bordeaux
for the first application take A gal
Ions of water and to this add 3 gal
Ions of the copper sulphate solution
and gallons of the lime solution.
This makes the $3.50 mixture for
the first or second applications. For
any of the following applications use
az gallons Of water and a gallons
each of the copper sulphate and lime
solutions
For bugs use one pound Of Paris
Green or three pounds of arsenate of
lead to SO gallons of the mixture.