THE POTATO 459 



of his success in fertilizing is in getting the proper 

 proportion of barnyard muck and artificial fer- 

 tilizer. 



The crop is cultivated twice and hoed once. 



The head lands in the fields are not planted, so 

 it leaves room at the ends of rows without tram- 

 pling the crop. 



The seed is stored in stone buildings. There are 

 windows in the roof and sides that can be fully- 

 opened and there are large doors in the ends. 



The potatoes begin to throw out sprouts about 

 December. He keeps these from developing too 

 rapidly by opening doors and ventilators. He 

 says the sprouts will not grow if there is a cir- 

 culation of air at 45 degrees to 50 degrees F. 

 When the sprouts are one and one half inches long 

 he checks their growth, and greens and toughens 

 them by circulation of air and light. One of the 

 great problems of early potato growing is to hold 

 back the development of the sprouts until the 

 time of the planting. Another great secret im- 

 parted by Mr. Bums is that if seed potatoes are 

 boxed at once and put into storage before wither- 

 ing or greening, and if only partially matured when 

 dug, only the terminal bud or eye develops. One 

 sprout gives the best crop, and it is ten days or more 

 earlier. There is no disease and no spraying. He 

 had the best 300 acres of wheat I have seen, except 

 an irrigated crop. It was as heavy as would 

 grow without lodging. For this crop he used from 

 180 to 200 pounds of seed per acre, and it will 

 make a sixty-four-bushel yield. 



He has Irish help for harvesting — 100 of them 

 now( at time of visit). It costs $11 an acre to dig 

 and pick up. They commence work at 4 a. m. 

 and work ten hours. 



