THE POTATO 



Potatoes thrive in a deep, moist soil which is well- 

 drained and loamy, with an abundance of humus or de- 

 caying vegetation. The details of culture vary consider- 

 ably in different regions, but all agree in having the roots 

 so well covered that there is plenty of room for the tubers 

 to mature without exposure to the sun and air. 



In regions where potato production is a specialty the 

 culture, planting, spraying, digging, and sorting is done 

 with the help of special machines, but in most regions 

 the work is done by hand. The most successful growers 

 cut the tubers to not more than two or three eyes before 

 planting, the cuttings being placed about a foot apart 

 in rows about three feet apart. The crop requires a 

 complete fertilizer with an abundance of potash. A good 

 average yield is about two hundred bushels per acre, 

 but much greater yields are obtained by scientific culti- 

 vation. 



In the southern states the production of early tubers 

 for northern markets is one of the most important phases 

 of the great truck crop 

 industry. Northern 

 grown seed of early 

 varieties is planted as 

 early as the cHmate 

 allows. The new pota- 

 toes are packed in 

 slatted barrels with 

 burlap covers and sent 

 by rail to New York 

 or Boston and other 

 northern cities. From 



COLORADO POTATO-BEETLE 

 these great centers they are 



distributed to local markets everywhere. 



