296 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off, Doc. 



HO\A' TO MAKE KEASONABLY SURE OF A SUCCESSFUL 

 CROP OF POTATOES ON A HEAVY LIMESTONE SOIL. 



Bv Hon. W. F. Beck. Xuzareth, Pa. 



^Vbeu 1 wpeak of raisiug a successful crop of potatoes ou a heavy 

 limestone soil, it is because 1 uever bad an opportunity to" grow a 

 crop of any kind on a different soil. I was born and reared in a 

 section of country wbicb is limestone land altogetber for miles 

 around, and ever since I bad tbe pleasure of managing a farm bad 

 to contend witb sucb. As many of us know, it is naturally ricb 

 in plant food, but easily compacted, being underlaid witb a clayey 

 and sometimes gravelh' or sandy sub-soil. It becomes very bard 

 wben dry, frequently forming large cracks wben an insuflScient 

 supply of moisture is present to keep it from sbrinking. All intelli- 

 gent farmers wbo have made a special study of potato growing, 

 and wbo have had experience in this line, are very familiar wath tbe 

 fact that such is not an ideal soil for growing potatoes, and that 

 looseness and richness of soil and a plentiful supply of soil moisture, 

 continuously during tbe growing season, are absolutely required 

 to insure success. Hence, it is that an abundance of humus or 

 humus-forming material, sucb as decaying organic matter, becomes 

 sucb an exceedingly valuable adjunct in the formation of an ideal 

 soil for this purpose. 



It has the property of making tbe soil mellow, porous and per- 

 meable to air and w'ater, wbicb aids decomposition of tbe mineral 

 matters, thus making plant food soluble; it fixes ammonia that 

 would otherwise be carried awav by heavv rains, and increases tbe 

 water-absorbing and moisture-conserving capacity of the soil, all 

 of which are features that will prove to be of tbe utmost import- 

 ance when trying to make reasonably sure of a successful crop of 

 potatoes on a heavy limestone soil. "With considerable experience 

 of almost twenty years, I am fully convinced that the potato crop 

 should have its place in a rotation where it wall immediately follow 

 a crop of clover, or clover nnd timothy mixed, if you please, cut 

 once for bay. 



This should be cut rather high, however, thus leaving much more 

 vitality to tbe plants, wbicb. nnrlor sucb conditions, will not only 



