99o Ri'ral School Leaflet 



Spraying. — Potato vines arc subject to the attack of potato beetles, 

 which often appear when the plants arc very young and not yet growing 

 rapidly. Spraying in order to poison these beetles and their larvae should be 

 begun as soon as it is seen that they are doing damage. Other foes of 

 the potato plant are fungous diseases, the worst of which is known as 

 late blight The spraying can be done so as to protect the potato plants 

 from both insects and diseases at the same time. Bordeaux mixture is 

 the best remedy for potato blight; and paris green, when added to bor- 

 deaux mixture at the rate of one pound of paris green to fifty gallons of 

 bordeaux mixture, will usually prevent the beetles from doing much 

 damage The spraying should be done often enough to keep the leaves 

 of the potato vines coated with the sprayed materials. Some growers 

 spray for blight as many as five, or even seven, times ; others spray two or 

 three times during the season. In a season when the development of 

 late blight is increased by warm, wet weather, it may be necessary to keep 

 on spraying frequently and thoroughly until nearly digging time In 

 some seasons very good potatoes can be grown without any spraying 

 whatever. 



Digging — For a small potato patch, hand-digging with a spading fork 

 or a potato hook is probably the best practice. Care should be taken 

 not to injure the tubers that have formed in the ground. Where potatoes 

 ripen naturally, one should wait until the vines are dead before digging. 

 If the vines are killed by frost or by an attack of blight it may be necessary 

 to dig the potatoes before they are well ripened. If possible, they should 

 be dug when the ground is dry enough so that the soil falls from them in 

 handling. The time of digging is the best time to choose specimens for 

 the exhibit Choose more than a peck and store the potatoes at once 

 in a cool, dry place where little or no light can reach them. Choose 

 specimen tubers that are of uniform size, shape, and color, and are free 

 from any blemishes. The following score card should serve as an ideal 

 to have in mind in choosing these tubers: 



SCORE CARD FOR POTATO TUBERS 



i . Soundness 25 



2 . vShape of tuber 25 



3 . Uniformity 15 



4 Size of tuber 10 



5. Texture of tuber 10 



6 Shape of eyes 10 



7 Condition of skin 5 



Perfect score 100 



