Potato Diseases and Their Treatment by B. T. Galloway is a short illustrated reference to crop problems recognized at the end of the nineteenth century. The United States Department of Agriculture published it in 1899 as Farmers’ Bulletin No. 91.
The letter of transmittal is dated February 15, 1899. Galloway, chief of the Division of Vegetable Physiology and Pathology, acknowledges advice from L. R. Jones of the Vermont Agricultural Experiment Station.
A compact comparison of symptoms
The bulletin aims to distinguish several important causes of injury rather than provide a complete guide to raising potatoes. Its contents organize the subject into early blight, late blight, brown rot, scab, tip burn and arsenical poisoning.
Four illustrations support the descriptions. They show early-blighted foliage, late blight, brown rot and an affected scabby tuber.
This combination makes the publication useful for comparing the terms and visual evidence used in older agricultural writing. It also shows that damaged foliage could have several causes.
Early blight and late blight
The early-blight section describes spots on leaves and green stems, their development and the resulting loss of foliage. The author places the disease in relation to the growing condition of the plant.
Late blight follows as a separate problem. Its account includes leaf symptoms, the rapid appearance of injury under favorable conditions and the connection with rotting tubers.
The two headings and their figures are worth reading together. They demonstrate the author’s effort to replace a loose use of the word blight with more specific descriptions.
Brown rot and scab
The brown-rot discussion shifts attention to a disease described in warmer southern districts. The text connects affected foliage and stems with changes in the tuber and discusses the movement of disease through planting material.
Scab is treated separately, with an illustration of its effect on the potato surface. The account explains why appearance, waste in preparation and the suitability of seed stock could all matter to a grower.
Scientific names and explanations should be understood as those of the publication’s period. Current diagnosis requires current references rather than a direct assumption that every historical term has retained the same scope.
Injury that resembles disease
Tip burn, also called leaf burn or scald, receives its own section. The discussion considers weather and growing conditions instead of assigning all damaged leaves to an infectious organism.
A further section addresses arsenical poisoning of potato leaves. Galloway observes that the very mixtures applied against pests could produce injury that was confused with blight.
This is a particularly revealing part of the bulletin. It shows an agricultural author attempting to distinguish damage from a disease and damage caused by the attempted remedy.
Historical treatments and interpretation
Treatment discussions accompany the principal diseases. They include Bordeaux mixture and seed-disinfection methods, with advice about application and handling.
Some procedures involve mercury compounds, arsenical materials or other hazardous chemicals. These are obsolete historical directions and should not be followed as current instructions for a garden or food crop.
The concluding remarks emphasize the relationship between investigation, prevention and crop losses. Readers can use the bulletin to study the development of plant-disease advice without adopting the remedies it records.
Who will find it useful
This free ebook is suited to agricultural historians and readers comparing early potato references. It offers a small, clearly arranged set of disease descriptions rather than an extensive research monograph.
The PDF contains 12 digital pages, retaining the original cover, transmittal letter, contents, list of illustrations, main text and closing bulletin list. Dark marks appear at some margins. The illustrations and small scientific names benefit from enlargement; the printed contents provide a convenient route to individual subjects.
Book details
- Author: B. T. Galloway
- Publisher: United States Department of Agriculture; Government Printing Office, Washington
- Year: 1899
- Edition: Farmers’ Bulletin No. 91; 1899 issue
- Digital length: 12 PDF pages
- Language: English
- File size: 1.25 MB
