THE POTATO 77 



fertility it furnishes and the bettered mechanical 

 condition. Some of the best cover crops are the 

 clovers and alfalfa, peas, vetch, rye, and Italian 

 Rae grass. 



If the manager of an agricultural proposition 

 knows the conditions necessary to accomplish a 

 required result, his problem is to bring about these 

 proper conditions. When Prof. F. H. King, one 

 of the world's greatest soil authorities, was at the 

 head of the Soil Physics Department of the Agri- 

 cultural College of the University of Wisconsin, 

 his slogan was "Learn to know why for this 

 teaches how and when. " 



The philosophy of seed-bed preparation for 

 potatoes and the planting of the crop is simply 

 this: 



First. The soil must be loose and mellow to a 

 sufficient depth to make it possible for the root 

 system to spread freely, and for the tubers to form 

 readily and develop uniformly and normally. 



Second. The soil must be sufficiently firm that 

 the rootlets may come in contact with the soil 

 particles from which the nutriment for the plant is 

 taken. 



Third. There must be sufficient moisture, but 

 not too much. 



Fourth. There must be sufficient fertility, and 

 it must be in such available form that the plant 

 can use it readily. 



Fifth. The soil must be warm enough at plant- 

 ing time to start the plant vigorously and rapidly. 



All of these conditions in the nearest possible 

 perfection are necessary for the production of the 

 most profitable crops. A deficiency in any one 

 will mean loss. 



Thorough seed-bed preparation kills weeds and 



