i62 Bulletin 130. 



ravages of the potato beetle, but the potato, except early varieties, 

 in this latitude, needs the full season for its perfect development. 

 It must be kept growing from start to finish and he who plants 

 late to av^oid the beetle is diminishing the yield very materially 

 over what it would be were he to plant early, and then by spray- 

 ing and by frequent tillage keep the plants in a healthy, growing 

 condition until the potatoes are fully matured. 



The question will arise with many potato raisers, "Will this 

 extra care pay?" In 1895, the price for potatoes was almost 

 unprecedently low, yet these, on account of fine quality and size, 

 were sold directly from the field for 25 cents per bushel. The 

 same thing was again true in the fall of 1896, and the average 

 gross receipts from all plots, including the one-acre field, was 

 more than $80.00 per acre. 



Within one mile of the University farm a man planted five 

 acres to potatoes, and raised a total of 500 bushels, about 50 per 

 cent of them small and unsalable, leaving a total of 250 bushels of 

 marketable potatoes as the product of five acres. His soil was 

 naturally more fertile than that of the University farm. The cost 

 for plowing must have been about the same per acre, also the 

 cost for seed and of planting and digging, and yet while his gross 

 receipts were not more than $15 per acre the University receipts 

 were $80.00 per acre. The problem for solution then is whether 

 it is preferable to give superior tillage and care and harvest a crop 

 of 300 bushels or more per acre or whether the potatoes shall be 

 permitted to care largely for themselves and give a yield of from 

 50 to 100 bushels per acre. From these experiments and inves- 

 tigations in potato culture we have reached the following 



Conclusions : • 



1. That most arable soils possess sufficient potential plant- 

 food for a bountiful crop. 



2. The average yield for the state is not more than about one- 

 third what it should be, and what it would be were proper 

 methods of cultivation practiced. 



3. The low average in the state is due not so much to lack of 

 potential plant-food as to the insuflScient supply of moisture. 



