THE POTATO 369 



in the Greeley district, where work is thorough and 

 intense; varieties of potatoes studied for their 

 particular adaptations, and the method of culture 

 also made to fit the potato. 



"The growing of potatoes begins with seed 

 growing or its purchase. The selection is only 

 partly carried out before the seed is cut, and must 

 continue through that process, rejecting every- 

 thing that shows badly under the knife. The 

 preparation of the ground has begun years before 

 with the seeding of alfalfa to enrich it with manure, 

 and by its root contents. When the specially 

 built alfalfa plows turn the sod we are nearer the 

 last end of potato growing than the beginning, for 

 we have the seed selected and the medium in 

 which it is to be grown full of stored fertility, the 

 result of forethought. The good seed is planted 

 at the right moment and the land is not allowed 

 to rest, for the heavy horses in harrowing, leveling, 

 and planting have compacted it too much and lack 

 of air circulation breeds disease. The cultivators 

 at once follow the march left by the planter and 

 should run as deep as a plow sole stirring and 

 aerating the soil. 



"From then on clean, absolutely clean, cultiva- 

 tion until the time when the ditches are put in to 

 guide the water through the rows. The depth of 

 these will vary according to the fall of the land, 

 and what is known as the Kersey, a wooden mold- 

 board ditcher, is much used. This has an attach- 

 ment for distributing earth on top of the rows, to 

 keep potatoes from frost and sun-scald. Just 

 when the water and how much, whether in every 

 other row or all, is something which every farmer 

 must know for himself, for the time will vary ac- 

 cording to the condition of the soil, altitude, and 



