^32 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



3 4-5 bushels for each person, and to bring the price below GO cents, the crop 

 must approximate very close to 3^ bushels for each person. If we have a pop- 

 ulation of 50^ millions for 1882, we will have to raise 170,750,000 bushels, iu 

 order to make them bring less than 60 cents per bushel. The largest potato 

 crop harvested heretofore I think was in 1879, which gave 181,000,000 bushels, 

 and the price was 44 ceuts per bushel, making the average value per acre 

 $43.09. Iu the same year Michigan gave her largest crop, which was 10,991,- 

 900 bushels, and sold for 41 cents per bushel, the average yield being 113 

 bushels per acre, making the value per acre $40.33. In the year 1879 Michi- 

 gan ranked as the fifth potato State in the Union. Only four others having 

 raised larger amounts, and for quality Michigan stands at the head. 



With these few figures I will leave this matter lor your consideration, and 

 pass along to the most difficult part of my paper, to wit: How to raise 

 potatoes. 



The manner of growing potatoes is so variable that I can do no better than 

 to give my experience. The first and most important part is to select the right 

 variety, and thus far I think my judgment has served me correctly. I plant 

 nothing but Early liose. For a good quality, early maturity, expense in keep- 

 ing clean, and in digging, and for one that will always sell for the highest 

 price in the market, the Early Kose has no equal. Since I have been raising 

 them, there have been no kss than a dozen different varieties recommended as 

 a superior to the Early Rose, but they have failed to stand the test, and the 

 Early Rose is yet the standard in the market. After selecting a variety to 

 plant, the next question that arises is what kind of ground shall they be 

 planted upon. I prefer a clover sod, one that was mowed or pastured the 

 summer before. As to the merits of such a piece of ground I need not speak. 

 I prefer it without manure, as the potatoes will be smoother, of a better quality, 

 and not so easily affected by disease. I think the best time to plant Early 

 Rose potatoes is about the first of June. The old bugs are then through 

 flying, and by the time the young ones begin to prospect the potatoes will be 

 nearly ripe. I also think that potatoes planted at this time of the season, 

 when the ground is warm and dry, are not so much affected by drouth. I 

 plant in rows three feet apart each way, which is about the right distance to 

 be conveniently worked, and to insure a good yield of a good quality. I plant 

 small potatoes, by dropping one for each hill, and do the covering with a hoe, 

 which I think is the only tool that can be successfully used in covering 

 potatoes. I do not think small potatoes better than large ones, but they are 

 more convenient in dropping, and good for nothing else, so that when potatoes 

 are high, there is quite an item saved in the bill of expense. That small 

 potatoes are good for seed, and do not cause the potato crop to degenerate, I 

 am perfectly satisfied. I have planted small ones for the last seven consecu- 

 tive years, and instead of my potatoes running out, they are growing better. 



I also think that a potato should be planted whole in order to get the best 

 results. It will commence to grow sooner, propagate earlier, and withstand a 

 drouth better. 



I find that no more stalks or vines grow from a whole potato than from its 

 half if planted alone. 



The work among potatoes should be nearly all done with a horse and shovel 

 plow, which is about the only tool required in tending Early Rose. They 

 require a good deal of earth to be thrown around them in order to keep them 

 covered. I believe they succeed best in being planted upon the top of the 

 ground, as they nearly all grow in a bunch, necessarily causing the ground to 



