358 



THE POTATO 



large growers ship direct to commission houses in 

 Milwaukee or Chicago. In some potato sections 

 the farmers have organized and have warehouses 

 of their own. They hire a man at a salary to 

 handle the stock and ship direct to commission 

 houses in the large cities. 



"A good many progressive growers in this state 

 have built small storage cellars costing approxi- 

 mately from $300 to $500. In a good many cases 

 excavations have been made in side hills and ar- 

 rangements have been made to load the potatoes 

 into these cellars directly through openings in the 

 top, or in some cases provision has been made to 

 back the wagons right into the storage cellars. 



"It costs from $20 to $25 per acre to grow pota- 

 toes in this state. Profits necessarily vary con- 

 siderably, due to the fact that conditions vary so 

 throughout the state. A net profit of $30 per 

 acre would be considered satisfactory in sections 

 where an average yield of 150 bushels per acre was 

 'secured. In sections where the yield runs as high 

 as 300 bushels the profit should be increased pro- 

 portionately. There are a good many growers 

 on the light, sandy soils who do not average a net 

 profit of $25 per acre. 



"Artificial fertiUzers are not used to any extent 

 by the potato growers of this state. The best 

 potato growers use the following crops in three 

 or four year rotations: Clover and some grain 

 crop corn, and potatoes. Liberal applications of 

 manure are made on farms where considerable 

 Uvestock is kept. 



"A system of rotation in this state has been 

 found necessary to maintain the fertility on po- 

 tato farms. Where rotation has been neglected, 

 along with the failure to handle livestock, the 



