The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1920-08-13
one-MuIe RIas Versus Tw0.MuIe Rig.

Cultivation cost is largely reduced
by using adequate power harnessed
TO modern cultivating machinery. Fig
ures compiled by the United States
Department of Agriculture in farm
management studies conducted upon
southern farms show that the two
mule team hitched TO a twomule i'm
plement saves time and money over
the usual one-mule outfit. In Texas
where the farms are comparatively
large, the two or four mule hitch is
generally used, but the farmers In the
Southeastern States are inclined TIC
depend upon the single rig to do their
blowing, planting, and cuitivating,
even where their acreage is large. In
preparing the land for cultivatinf
crops the southeastern farmer with
his one mule makes five trips across
his field 10 the Texas farmers one.
The Texas man cultivates both sides
of the row and the middle at a single
trip, but a one-mule hitch must make
two or three trips to accomplish as
much. Moreover, the single-mulr
farmer uses twice as much man labor
as does the chap who drives a team.
I'm some cases the one-mule farmer get
around this difficulty by exchanging
g labor and working two-mule
teams.
An Alabama farm study furnishes
a dollar-and-cents accounting of the
two methods. when the rows were
laid out with the contour of the land
and cultivated only one way, the cost
of cultivation was $1.3S an acre and
the hoeing cost 20 cents an acre
When the corn was check-rowed an6
cultivated both ways, the cost of cul
tivation was reduced TO $1.10 an acre
and the hoeing cost was only II cents
an acre" Such treatment is only
Such treatment is only possible witt
adequate machinery.
May Prevent Potato Mosaic Disease
Prevention Of mosaic disease OF
Irish potatoes. which decreases yield
of affected potatoes 20 TO so per cent
and for which no satisfactory contro
measures have been generally adopt
ed, now appears possible as, a result
of a series Of Investigations conducted
In Maine by specialists Ct the United
Stntes Department Of Agriculture ant
tn M1'ne Agricultural Experiment
Station.
The essential points are that mosaic
g. carried over from season to season
ard from farm TO farm by planting po
{ tees from diseased hills. The spread
Of mosaic in a field is due mainly I;
aphids or plant lice. which feed upor
mosaic plants and then upon healthy
ones. The potatoes thus inoculateG
may show the disease very soon. or il
may not appear until the following
season. when the progeny will develop
mosaic. Mosaic may be spread alsC
by rubbing crushed leaves of diseas
cd plants upon healthy ones. and by
injections of the juice of diseased
plants II has not been spread by the
seed-cutting knife.
The percentage Of diseased plants
In a field may not change greatly from
year 10 year. but the tendency is fol
the mosaic 20 increase. particularly
when aphids are abundant. Seet
from hills that grew near mosaic hills
are mere likely to yied mosaic
progeny, and more so If the paren
min contains only awo or three tubers
and as the relative size of the tube
IN the parent hill is greater and a.
the seed-pieee is nearer the bud emf
or is larger.
The conclusions drawn from the ex
periments are that the first essentia
a 10 secure seed stock from field en-
tirely free from mosaic, or as neari,
SO as can be found. These rotatoe
should be isolated from all fieid
where mosaic occurs and every effor
should be made to prevent attack D.
aphlds. Thus far. Colorado beetle
and flea beetles have not been fosn'
20 transmIt mosaic. nor does IN