86 THE POTATO 



in Connecticut, up and down the Connecticut 

 valley were men that ate, drank, and slept tobacco. 

 And so there are men that eat, drink, and sleep 

 potatoes down in Aroostook County, Maine. ' 



"The potato is so generally and extensively 

 grown, we are so familiar with its qualties and the 

 various methods of culture, that most farmers are 

 very positive as to the best methods of growing 

 this crop. During the past twenty-five years 

 hundreds of experiments have been made at experi- 

 ment stations and by practical growers, and the 

 results from experiments in propagation and cul- 

 ture are so conflicting that the careful student will 

 be very slow in drawing conclusions. While he 

 will be convinced that there are ideal ways of treat- 

 ment under certain conditions, he will be equally 

 convinced that under different conditions very 

 different practice will be necessary to insure* the 

 best crop. In potato growing, as with most farm 

 operations, the soil and atmosphere are such deter- 

 mining factors that there is no best way. Each 

 farmer who would grow potatoes to the best advan- 

 tage must be sufficiently intelligent to under- 

 stand the conditions of the soil on his own farm. 

 The methods of preparation of soil, of planting, 

 cultivating and fertilizing the crop depend largely 

 on the character and condition of the soil and the 

 season. 



"The successful growing of the potato crop 

 demands careful and conscientious work from start 

 to finish. There are many details which, if 

 neglected, mean partial failure, and which must be 

 complied with in order to insure the fullest success. 

 It is not practicable in a short paper to hint at 

 more than a very few factors which enter into 

 successful potato growing. Among the most im- 



