914 Rural School Leaflet 



POTATO GROWING 

 Daniel Dean 



(A practical farmer) 



The potato was first found by white men in the high mountains of Peru. 

 It thrives better in cool than in warm climates. In our South it is grown 

 m.ostly in early spring or late fall in order to avoid the heat of summer. 

 In Europe larger crops are raised than in this country because the climate 

 is more favorable. In New York State the largest crops are grown when 

 the seasons are cooler than usual. Extreme heat for a few days in summer 

 greatly reduces the vitality of the plants and size of the crop. 



Potatoes need a large amount of water. About 80 pounds of water 

 must be transpired from the leaves for each pound of tubers grown. This 

 is especially needed at the time the tubers are forming in the soil. The 

 largest crops are usually obtained in New York State (except on Long 

 Island) by planting about June i, as usually the fall rains then come at 

 about the right period in the growth of the crop. On the other hand, 

 too much rain in July and August may cause conditions favorable to the 

 spread of the late blight disease. This sometimes kills the tops and rots 

 the tubers in a few days. The terrible famine in Ireland in 1846 was 

 caused by the late blight rotting the potatoes, which constituted the prin- 

 cipal food of the people. 



More potatoes are usually grown in New York than in any other State. 

 The average money return per acre is higher for this crop than for any 

 other commonly raised in New York ; also, it responds more profitably to 

 extra care than do most crops. 



On the other hand, success in potato growing depends on attention to 

 a number of details, neglect of any one of which may ruin the crop or at 

 least make it unprofitable. Among these are the proper kind of soil, 

 good seed of the right variety, proper cultivation, prevention of damage 

 by insects and diseases, and skill in marketing. 



One great necessity with most New York soils is to secure an abundance 

 of humus. As we know, soil is mostly made up of small particles of rock. 

 One of its most essential ingredients, however, is humus — the organic 

 remains of plants that have lived on it. This organic matter decays 

 easily under cultivation and furnishes readily available food to the grow- 

 ing crop. Soils full of humus, such as newly cleared forest land and our 

 western prairies when first cultivated, are among the richest in the world. 

 We should, therefore, grow the potato in connection with other crops 

 that will supply plenty of humus. This is most easily obtained by means 

 of heavy sods, especially of clover, by plowing under in the fall the straw 

 of grain crops, and by the use of barnyard manure. If straw is allowed 



