IIG THE HANDBOOK FOR PRACTICAL FARMERS 



Cultivate often during the growing season. After the plants 

 reach a considerable size, winged shovels may replace the rear 

 teeth of the cultivator and thus throw the soil towards the plant. 

 Keep down weeds throughout the season. 



Harvesting. — AVhere the i3otatoes are gro^^^l on a large acre- 

 age, the potato digger, as shown in the diagram, is used. A small 

 digger mtli bars at the back, which jerks up and down with small 

 arm beneath, is recommended for the small farmer, rather than 

 the plow. Allow the soil and moisture to dry from the skin 

 before picking and sacking. Do not allow the tubers to be 

 exposed to the sun for long. Harvest early varieties when large 

 enough to eat; late varieties, after allowing the vines to ripen. 

 Grading.— U. S. Grade 1 : 



Round varieties graded over one and seven- 

 eighths-inch screen. 

 Long varieties graded over one and three- 

 quarters-inch screen. 

 U. S. Grade 2: 



All potatoes grading over one and one-half- 

 inch screen. 

 Storing. — Average storage temi:)erature forty-five degrees to 

 fifty-five degrees F. The air should be free from odors, and 

 should have good ventilation. The freezing point of the potato 

 is twenty-six to twenty-eight degrees F. Potatoes may be stored 

 in a pit, well-drained and ventilated. For special information on 

 storage, send for Farmers' Bulletin No. 847, United States 

 Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 



Fig. 35. — Colorado beetle or 



leaf; b. larva that eats the leaves; c. pupa 

 feet insect; e. wing-cover; /. leg. 



r 



egg on underside of 

 d. imago or per- 



