240 Practical Farming 



the potato crop. Hence, a crop of cow peas sown after 

 some early crops of the previous season and left to die on 

 the soil is one of the best preparations for the potato crop, 

 since it not only furnishes the humus-making material 

 but saves the purchase of part of the nitrogen, which is 

 essential to the early production of this crop, much more 

 so than with the main crop grown in the North. 



Having such a crop to turn under, the grower prepares 

 his land as soon as possible after New Year's. The ques- 

 tion with these growers is not how little of the commercial 

 fertilizer they can use but how large an appHcation they 

 can make pay. One of the largest growers uses from 

 1,000 to 1,500 pounds per acre of the following mixture 

 to make a ton: 



Acid Phosphate 900 pounds 



Fish Scrap 600 pounds 



Nitrate of Soda 100 pounds 



Muriate of Potash 400 pounds 



Part of this is well mixed in the soil in the furrows by 

 the planting machine and part of it is spread broadcast. 

 The crop is always planted with a machine that opens 

 the furrows, places and covers the fertilizer and opens 

 again and plants the potatoes. The furrows are about 

 three feet wide and the sets are planted about fifteen 

 inches apart. 



The cultivation is done entirely with the cultivator, 

 after a first harrowing to level the soil before the potatoes 

 appear, till the final cultivation, which is done with a small 

 plow throwing a furrow to each side of the row, since it 

 has been found that the early crop is benefited by this, 

 as the sun warms the ridge in the early season better than 



