194 ARID AGRICULTURE. 



ground to be used for potatoes must be plowed 

 deep and a wide, sharp share used to cut off the 

 roots. 



PLANTING The best results are obtained by the use of a 



good potato planter, and such machinery is nec- 

 essary, if potatoes are to be raised on a large 

 scale. The seed should be put in an average 

 depth of four inches when on dry, sandy soil, 

 though they may be planted six or seven inches 

 deep and still give good results. They are not 

 planted deep enough as a rule. Immediately 

 after planting, a good four-horse cultivator 

 should be run through between the rows, loosen- 

 ing the ground to the depth of the plowing, or, if 

 possible, an inch or two deeper than it was 

 plowed. Use a four-horse cultivator and run the 

 shovels close to the rows. Follow the cultiva- 

 tion with the harrow to level the soil and estab- 

 lish the mulch. Just before the potatoes come 

 through the ground, give a second harrowing 

 with a toothed harrow, slanting the teeth a little 

 back. The seed may be dropped distances of 

 from twelve to eighteen inches apart in the row 

 and the rows should be from three to three and 

 one-half feet apart. From five hundred to seven 

 hundred pounds of seed per acre is sufficient. 

 At higher altitudes, where the season is short and 

 potato vines make comparatively small growth, 

 they may be planted correspondingly closer to- 

 gether with the required increase in the amount 



