386 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



of feeding prescribed in this article, T li;ive succeeded in producing 

 over 27,000 eggs in one year from an average of 200 pullets. 



The CHAIRMAN: Owing to the fact that several of those who 

 have papers on this afternoon's program not having yet returned 

 from their visit to the Huntingdon Reformatory, we will now take 

 up the fourth topic on our program, "Easiest and Most Profitable 

 Way to Grow Potatoes," by Mr. John W. Cox, of New Wilmington, 

 Pa. 



Mr. Cox presented his paper as follows: 



EASIEST AND INfOST PROFITABLE WAY TO GROW PO- 

 TATOES. 



Bv JOHN W. Cox, New Wilmingtim. Pa. 



The easiest way to produce a crop is not always the most profit- 

 able, but usually economy in labor, by using the proper machinery, 

 and by doing the work at the proper time, will increase the profits. 

 Vv'ith the present scarcity of farm hands and the high wages which 

 a farmer is obliged to pay in order to secure them, any crop can be 

 made more profitable by reducing the cost of production by using 

 the best farm machinery. 



In order to make potato growing profitable, it is necessary to 

 have a soil that will produce a good yield of marketable potatoes. 

 It is also essential to be located near a good market. With the 

 present high rate of freight it costs too much to place the product 

 on the market if it is necessary to ship a long distance. 



The potato crop is one of the most profitable as well as one of the 

 most discouraging crops raised by the general farmer. Amongst 

 the discouraging features can be nami d the extremes in moisture. 

 It is often either too wet or too dry. A late frost will often 

 seriously injure early planted potatoes. Some years the potato 

 bugs will destroy the crop, unless considerable time and ex])ense 

 is devoted to their destruction, and^the blight often strikes them 

 before the tubers are half-grown. Some of these conditions the 

 farmer has under his control, others he has not. He can conserve 

 moisture to jt certain extent, by luiving the soil well filled with 

 humus and by properly preparing the seed-bed before planting, but 

 if it proves to be an excessively wet season he has no way to dis- 

 pose of the surplus moisture. 



The kind of soil in which potatoes are grown has an influence on 

 th(^ finality. On a niiick soil they are generally of a poor quality, 

 and usually on moist black soils. A potato of poor quality often 



