CAMPBELL'S SOIL CULTURE MANUAL 11/7 



CHAPTER XXII. 



GROWING POTATOES. 



The potato is another crop which in the catalogue 

 of the the western farmer is too often listed with the things 

 which he thinks can only be grown where there is an abun- 

 dance of water in the soil for the plants and to waste. The 

 potato is a strong grower and does require a great deal of 

 soil fertility, but it is not a crop to be confined to the more 

 humid regions. 



There are persons who have been insisting for a long 

 time that the only thing to do if potatoes are to be grown 

 in the west to supply the demand for home consumption, 

 some new variety must be developed or imported that 

 will better suit the climatic conditions. This is a vain 

 hope except so long as little or no attention is given to 

 the vitally important matter of the proper fitting of the 

 soil for the crop. 



Of course there is always danger of loss from the rav- 

 ages of insects and from leaf or tuber diseases; but it 

 can be safely asserted that these dangers are not as great 

 in the semi-arid belt as in other parts of the country gen- 

 erally. In fact the better preparation of the soil made 

 necersary here and the perfect cultivation which must 

 be followed for success, practically insures against loss 

 from any of these various causes. 



In fact, many farmers have been making a success 

 with potatoes in the semi-arid belt for a number of years. 

 The writer has knowledge of instances in southern Nebraska 



