Rural School Leaflet 929 



field is as good as 70 cents in the spring. A member of the Long Island 

 Potato Exchange considers a 20-cent advance on 60-cent potatoes necessary 

 to make holding profitable to the grower. 



Several potato growers who have watched the markets for many years 

 have said that in the long run it pays better to sell directly from the field 

 than to hold. This is probably true, and if one were to choose between 

 holding and selling in the fall as a regular practice, the latter is what he 

 should do. 



But it is also true that in some years it would pay the farmer to hold 

 his crop. By learning what the total potato crop in the United States 

 will be and the condition of the European crops, he can tell what the price 

 is likely to be. If it seems that potatoes will advance more than enough 

 to pay the cost of holding, it would be advisable to hold. If the advance 

 is only a little greater than the cost, it would be better to sell in the fall. 



GROWING POTATOES IN THE SCHOOL GARDEN 



E. F. McDonald 

 (State Education Department) 



The question of the rural school garden is one that presents difficulties 

 and many methods have been suggested as to the best manner of procedure. 

 It is believed, at the start, that good results can be gained by limiting the 

 scope of the work to the type plant of the current year. Boys and girls 

 will gain more of general and particular value through the study of soil 

 preparation, seed selection, growth, spraying, and care demanded by the 

 potato plant than through more diversified study. Hence, it is recom- 

 mended, where there is an opportunity, that a potato plot be maintained 

 and that simple experiments be conducted to make clear, by field 

 demonstration, the facts contained in the regular articles on potato 

 culture appearing in the leaflet. 



The plot need not be large; an area twenty feet square, or even less, 

 would be sufficient for the object intended. Certain rows should be 

 sprayed once, others twice and three times, and also check rows left. 

 During school days the plot can easily be kept in excellent condition by 

 the pupils under the direction of the teacher, and during vacation the 

 trustee should appropriate a small amount of money to one of the pupils 

 to give it proper care; or the crop might be sold for the benefit of the 

 person who has taken care of it during the vacation. 



Under the direction of the district superintendent, a town or district 

 exhibit could be held, prizes awarded, and interest thus created for future 

 work along similar lines. 



