THE POTATO 337 



pelled to increase this amount from year to year, 

 and to date they are using 1,800 to 2,000 pounds 

 per acre. This, coupled with the expense of spray- 

 ing with Bordeaux mixture two or three times in 

 the season and the added expense of combating the 

 potato beetle, brings the expense of growing po- 

 tatoes to from $70 to $75 an acre, but a yield of 240 

 bushels per acre is produced. 



These lands are valued at $80 to $120 an acre, and 

 the tenant farmers pay $10 to $20 an acre rent for 

 growing potatoes, according to the richness of the 

 soil and distance to railways. 



Their proximity to large and populous cities, the 

 cheap and rapid transportation facilities, with the 

 splendid edible qualities of their potatoes (that 

 their natural soil and climatic conditions give), as- 

 sures them a good business. 



The growers of this district can, however, well 

 pay more attention to livestock and diversified 

 farming in connection with their potato work. 



POTATO CULTURE IN NEW YORK STATE 



The information that follows is by Mr. T. E. 

 Martin, Superintendent of Demonstration Farms 

 of the New York Central Lines. 



"For best results in potato culture in New York 

 State tile drainage is as much of a necessity in soils 

 that contain excess water as is plant food. 



*'In my personal experience at farming in west- 

 ern New York, thirteen miles south of Rochester, 

 latitude 43 degrees, elevation 550 feet, fifty-seven 

 acres, Dunkirk series of soil, a thorough drainage 

 system of 3,265 rods (over ten miles) was estab- 

 lished at a cost of about $2,000. This work was 



