THE POTATO 393 



plowing, it was very fine and made a perfect con- 

 tact with the bottom of the furrow. This is very 

 important and we find it pays to disk before plow- 

 ing for any crop. After plowing, it was harrowed 

 twice in order to pack the soil and create a dust 

 mulch on top. This harrowing was very beneficial, 

 as a soil which is comparatively compact with a 

 dust mulch on top will hold moisture longer than 

 one which is loose clear to the bottom of the fur- 



row. 

 



While we were preparing the soil we had been 

 getting the seed ready. The seed was selected true 

 to type, and as near the same size as possible. We 

 cut the seed more to conform with the needs of the 

 planter than to our own ideas. Part of this seed 

 had been hill-selected. We found that the planter 

 planted a piece about the size of a hen's egg to best 

 advantage, so we cut our seed in squares about that 

 size. In cutting a potato we always used as many 

 cuts from the seed end as possible, each piece hav- 

 ing one or two eyes. The seed was treated with 

 formaldehyde as per directions. 



"As we had decided to do all the work with 

 horses and machinery, we went to considerable 

 expense and delay to get a planter which would 

 plant a perfect stand in preference to planting by 

 hand. An Iron Age Planter was used. Acre No. 1 

 was planted from four to five inches deep with 

 Dalmeny Challenge, the rows being thirty-three 

 inches apart and the sets eight inches in the rows. 

 Acre No. was planted the same distance, with 

 White Peachblow. Being doubtful as to results of 

 planting eight inches in rows, we planted acre No. 

 3 with Red Peachblows, the same as acre No. 1, 

 except that the sets were twelve inches apart. 

 The eight-inch planting required 1,750 pounds of 



