A ^TUDY OP Quality in Potatoes. 



233 



The moisture content of the soil during the growing season has a 

 marked influence upon the quahty of potatoes as well as upon the 

 yield, but it is also impossible at the present time to say what the 

 optimum moisture conditions are. And it is likewise impossible to 

 say which of the two factors, temperature and moisture, is the 

 more important or more potent in determining the quality of pota- 

 toes. During most of the growing season, samples of the soil were 

 taken at 5 p. m. in duplicate at depths of two, four, six and eight 

 inches. These samples were taken from the corresponding positions 

 on the east and west sides of the area planted, by carefully digging 

 out the soil with a trowel to the required depth and sifting it through 

 a .5mm. sieve, after which it was immediately sealed in glass jars 

 and taken to the laboratory for the moisture determination. The 

 following table shows the percentages of moisture taken each week 

 practically throughout the growing season, at the different depths 

 and with averages: 



Table Showing Percentage of Moisture at Different Depths, with 



Averages. 



As might be expected, the moisture content of the surface two 

 inches runs much lower than the deeper layers, during the growing 

 season, and it is much more variable in this uppermost layer. It 

 is believed that this variation in moisture has a deleterious effect 

 upon the quality of the potato, especially in the tendency to develop 

 coarse cellular structure, and, to some extent, in influencing the 

 tendency to compound growth. 



