FARM CROPS. 181 



are set out the crop should be well worked to keep 

 down all weeds. The vines grow rapidly and should 

 not be moved more than is necessary in hoeing or 

 cultivating. 



Poor land should receive an application of organic 

 matter supplemented with fertilizer. A fertilizer 

 furnishing 2.5 per cent, of nitrogen, 7 per cent, of 

 available phosphoric acid and 8 per cent, of potash, in 

 available forms, is desirable. 



How to Plant. The potatoes are placed in a bed 

 made up of good soil and manure, and after they have 

 sprouted the slips are pulled and transferred to the 

 field. For early potatoes bedding should be started 

 as soon as all danger of heavy frost has passed. The 

 slips should be set in four feet rows about eighteen 

 inches apart. The vines grow rapidly, and in a few 

 weeks may be trimmed and the cuttings so obtained 

 planted out. The season in which potatoes may be 

 planted, especially in the South, is quite long, as a good 

 crop may be produced in 90 to 100 days. 



Harvesting. In digging potatoes place them in 

 small heaps in the field. These heaps should be scat- 

 tered along the rows to insure thorough drying be- 

 fore storing them. Potatoes should be handled very 

 carefully, so as not to bruise and rub the skin off. 

 Bruised potatoes admit the germs which cause rotting. 



Storing and Preservation. Potatoes may be kept in 

 banks of earth or pits; but perhaps potato houses 

 are more satisfactory. When banked, a well-drained 

 spot is desirable. Some straw or hay should be 

 placed upon the ground, and the potatoes should be 

 piled in heaps. After the heaps are built to the de- 

 sired size, a thin layer of straw, hay, or corn stalks 

 is placed over the potatoes. Then this is partly cov- 

 ered with earth, leaving the tip of the heap exposed 

 for ventilation. Before freezing weather this tip 

 should also be covered. Potatoes keep well this way 

 until spring, when they begin to sprout. 



Storage House. If a large acreage is planted, a 



