Potato Growing in New York. 



197 



every month except September, 1899, and May, 1900. These plats 

 had been under intensive cultivation since 1894 without manure, 

 and the amount of humus in the soil was becoming reduced so that 

 the effect of the drought was markedly manifested. 



Hilling vs. Level Culture. From the beginning of these experi- 

 ments it was the practice not to hill the potatoes, believing that 

 level tillage was more rational ; but as many farmers persist in urging 

 that hilling is desirable, some plats were given this treatment and 

 the following table "gives results: 



Table IV. — Showing Yields of Plats Given Level Culture Compared 



WITH Hilling at Last Culture. 



These comparisons are all of adjoining plats cultivated the same 

 number of times. The ordinary practice of many farmers is to 

 "hill up" at about the third working and "lay by" the crop. A 

 better practice would be to give several additional cultivations 

 without hilling. Unfortunately, our experiments were so arranged 

 that we cannot make comparisons of the two methods and have the 

 plats adjoining, though in the following instances they were near 

 enough to be fairly comparable: 



