THE POTATO 351 



whole planting is lost from excessive cold and 

 heavy rains, unless the best possible drainage or 

 ditch facilities are made. 



Planting on flat ground without ridgiug would 

 almost always be a failure because of the heavy 

 rains. This is because the land is so flat and the 

 subsoil so impervious. The water could not be 

 carried off until the crop was scalded by the hot 

 sun, or the seed rotted. 



From one to four, generally two to three, irri- 

 gations are usually necessary to mature a crop. 



The yields are about forty barrels, or 112 bushels, 

 per acre. The range is from 75 to 250 bushels per 

 acre. 



The busy harvesting season is from April 10th 

 to June. Harvest hands come long distances to 

 work in the potato fields. The labor is all colored; 

 $1 to $1.50 per day is the wage paid. Forty to fifty 

 cars a day are sent out during the season. Forty 

 to fifty buyers from Northern cities are on the 

 ground during this short harvesting season. The 

 potato-growing area can be about quadrupled. 

 Considerable capital is required to clear the land of 

 pine trees and stumps — about $30 to $75 per acre. 



Ten days before potatoes are harvested corn 

 is planted in the furrows, and when digging time 

 comes the com is six to ten inches high. The po- 

 tatoes are "lifted" or dug by hand. The com is 

 cultivated once or twice and one and one half 

 bushels of cow peas are sown per acre. The corn 

 is harvested in November and the cow peas cut 

 for hay. The cow peas are cut about eight inches 

 above the ground. The stubble is then plowed 

 under. This makes it possible to grow a crop of 

 potatoes every year. The cow-pea stubble and 

 the root system furnish humus to the soil. 



