462 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



POTATO VARIETIES.* 



By Mrs. Hilda B. Nielsen^ Sebastopol, Cal. 



I feel that before attempting to speak about varieties of potatoes I 

 should tell a little about our local conditions so you will feel acquainted 

 with our country and the methods used in growing potatoes in the coast 

 sections of Sonoma and Marin counties. 



The hilltops, hillsides and tiny little valleys are covered with a very 

 fertile alluvial loam which receives sufficient moisture from the summer 

 fogs to grow most excellent potatoes, as well as other crops. Irrigation 

 is not necessary, as sufficient moisture can be retained in the soil by 

 cultivation. 



Many years ago — in fact, in the early '70s — ^practically all of the 

 land adapted to potatoes was in cultivation, and they brought from 

 10 cents to 15 cents a pound. Fortunes were made in those days. Alas, 

 the soil could not keep up its excellent reputation and was allowed to 

 return to pasture and grow heavy timber again. The reason for this 

 decline was not the fact that the ground was worn out, but, I believe, to 

 the couistant method of selling everything but the very smallest potatoes 

 and using these for seed. Today, however, all along our coast country 

 you will find many hundreds of acres of land producing excellent 

 potatoes yearly. All along the coast of the State, here and there, may 

 be found sections of the country that are as well adapted to growing 

 potatoes as our section. 



Regardless of the quantity or quality of seed used, good cultural 

 methods are a necessity if you would raise good crops of potatoes. 



Will you allow me to state here that from a housewife 's point of view, 

 Avhen planting potatoes, either early or late varieties, those with too 

 deep set eyes should not be used. Our markets refuse a deep set eye 

 potato, and especially when potatoes are plentiful a sale can not be found 

 for them at a profitable price to the grower. For instance, the Garnet 

 Chile and the Irish Cobbler are excellent examples of undesirable types. 



Six years ago our land was virgin soil. It has been cropped to 

 potatoes two years out of every three and today our average yield per 

 acre is far larger than in the beginning. The reason for this increase 

 does not lie in a deep soil but in our cultural methods and constantly 

 better seed selection. 



In the fall barley is sown for a cover crop. We get a very high and 

 very rank growth, so that in the early spring we have a large quantity 

 of green gro^i^h to turn under the soil. This barley is plowed under as 

 deeply as possible — from 8 to 10 inches — which adds greatly to the 

 humus. 



In the spring, when the market looks favorable for good prices for 

 early potatoes, the sprouting method is used. This sprouting is carried 

 out extensively in the British Isles. 



Small, medium-sized potatoes are selected from the good seed and 

 placed in sprouting boxes 3 feet by 2 feet, with sides 3 inches high; 

 two handles are made 3 inches above the sides on the ends and are so 

 placed that they allow the boxes to be piled in tiers, one above another, 

 and still have three inches of air space between for ventilation and light. 



♦Address before State Fruit Growers* Convention, Palo Alto, Cal., July 26, 1915. 



