394 



THE POTATO 



cut seed per acre and the twelve-inch planting 

 1,250 pounds. 



"The planting was commenced May 21st. The 

 planter was set to ridge the hills quite high. Im- 

 mediately after planting, the land was 'packed' 

 with a float made from four two-inch planks ten] 

 feet long. These planks are nailed together 

 parallel to each other, overlapping about two] 

 inches. This float runs over the high ridges ii 

 the same direction the planter ran, presses th< 

 dirt around the set, and being that it leaves th( 

 surface smooth has a tendency to bring the mois- 

 ture up to the seed. The ground should be har- 

 rowed in a few days, or too much moisture wil 

 be lost. 



"Acre No. 1 yielded 645 bushels, which was ovei 

 100 bushels more than No. 2, and was of a superior] 

 quality, showing the difference in variety. Acre 

 No. 2 yielded more than No. 3, which would indi- 

 cate that planting eight inches in the row was bet-| 

 ter than twelve inches on this particular piece of I 

 ground. The percentage of small potatoes was no 

 greater in the eight-inch planting than in thei 

 twelve-inch planting. On the whole, the per-! 

 centage of small potatoes was less than in thej 

 average crop. 



"Too much cannot be said of the importance of j 

 a good stand. It costs no more to irrigate and 

 cultivate a perfect stand, and the hne between j 

 success and failure often depends on this point.- 

 A more uniform size is produced with a perfect! 

 stand, as big, over-sized tubers are more apt toj 

 develop where they have too much room." 



Seed potatoes from Mt. Sopris Farm have given 

 good results in Idaho. Mr. Alan P. Senior of Twin 



