189 



purchased at the drug store will be sufficient formany tests. Dilute 

 it about one-half with water. This starch, after being changed to 

 sugar, supplies the young plant with nourishment. Dig up the 

 pieces you have planted and see which start first, shoots or roots. 



The " potato " is an enlarged underground stem provided with 

 numerous buds similar to those on the stems of plants above ground. 

 These buds are placed spirally on the underground stem or tuber 

 with a considerable degree of uniformity. As on the stems of other 



108. — HoiD to illustrate the spiral arrangement of the eyes. 



plants, the buds are less numerous and weaker at the base and most 

 numerous and vigorous at the top or upper end. On a smooth well 

 developed long potato, the spiral arrangement of the buds may be 

 illustrated by sticking a tooth-pick or pin in each eye, beginning at 

 the base or stem end, and connecting the pins with a string. 



Farm Kotes ox the Potato. 



Having seen the potato growing in the school room, some infor- 

 mation may be given respecting its treatment in the field as a crop. 



Potatoes are easily raised, even under adverse conditions, although 



they i-espond quickly to superior fertility and tillage. The average 



yield in the United States during the last ten years was ^^.^ bushels 



per acre, although from three to four hundred bushels per acre are 



not uncommon under superior tillage when soil and climate are at 



their best. 



19 289 



