Rural School Leafi:j:t. 979 



The Potato 



Georc.e it. Wheeler 

 Carroll, N. Y. 



The potato is best adapted to sandy or clay-loam but it will grow 

 very well on any soil. It does not require a warm climate like the corn. 

 but will grow in cold, rainy weather as well as in sun-shiny weather. 

 The potato does not need much cultivation, but will thrive best if culti- 

 vated at least four times during the season. 



The land on which potatoes are to be planted should be plowed 

 thoroughly and harrowed at least twice. If the potatoes are to be grown 

 in drills a shovel-plow can be used to mark out the land but I do not 

 think they grow so well in drills as in hills. I use a hand made 

 marker drawn by a horse. 



This is made of a small log with thills attached. Holes are bored for 

 the legs and handles. The legs are set three feet apart, two or three 

 are enough. The ground can be marked very quickly in this way. 



Great care should be taken in selecting the seed. The potato should 

 have several eyes and be large and smooth. When they have been 

 selected they should be cut in pieces having four or five eyes each. If 

 planted in hills two pieces to the hill are enough. One piece every 

 eighteen inches should be planted in drills. 



Wlien the potato plants are two or three inches high they should be 

 cultivated with a cultivator. They should be hoed when they are two- 

 thirds grown. All cultivation should be suspended as the vines begin 

 to blossom as the little potatoes are started and should not be disturbed. 



If any potato bug eggs are found they should be destroyed. They are 

 in a yellow mass on the lower side of the leaf. A good way to destroy 

 the potato bugs is to use paris green. A teaspoon of paris green to a 

 gallon of water will generally kill the bugs. 



One of the greatest enemies of the potato is the blight. It begins 

 at the tip of the leaf, gradually working toward the stem. The leaf 

 first turns brown and then withers and dies. Blue vitriol, lime and water 

 sprayed on the potatoes when the vines are green will keep the blight off. 



The potato is a native of both North and South America and was 

 first brought to Europe by Sir Walter Raleigh. The potato bug origi- 

 nated in Europe. The potato is grown extensively in the central and 

 northern part of the United States and British Isles. 



Editor's Note. — As a matter of fact the potato beetle does not occur in 

 Europe. It is one of the few serious pests of American origin. The 

 home of the Colorado potato beetle is in the Rocky Mountains where it 



