THE POTATO 423 



his single crop of potatoes, Sing Kee is too shrewd 

 a farmer to put all of his eggs into one basket, al- 

 though he still makes spuds his main crop. An 

 American who is his close business confidant makes 

 this statement of Sing Kee's present farming opera- 

 tions; He has four thousand acres in potatoes; 

 100 acres in onions; 400 to 600 acres in beans; 560 

 acres in asparagus; and 300 to 400 acres in seeds. 

 It will be hard to beat that combination. 



"No part of his farming operations indicates to 

 the uninitiated the skill and daring of Sing Kee as 

 a cropmaker so much as the simple fact that he 

 has 200 to 400 acres devoted to the production of 

 seeds. Seed-raising may be said to be the su- 

 preme test of farming skill. The seed for this part 

 of his operations is sent to him by a seed house the 

 head of which makes this statement in comparing 

 the average American farmer with the alien, and 

 particularly with the Oriental: 



'* 'I should not think of letting a seed contract to 

 many American farmers. Experience has taught 

 me that failure would be the almost certain result. 

 But the men who have been raised in the Old 

 World traditions of intensive cultivation are able 

 to qualify in this highest refinement of field hus- 

 bandry. I wish that it were otherwise, but it 

 isn't. The average American farmer has more to 

 learn from the alien farmers of every race now rep- 

 resented on our own soil than he can possibly 

 realize or appreciate. The first step toward as- 

 similating the skill and the knowledge that these 

 alien and intensive tillers of the soil have brought 

 to his door is a realization of his lack of their mar- 

 velous mastery of plant life, their intimate and al- 

 most intuitive understanding of the secrets of 

 plant production.' But Sing Kee isn't afraid to 



