THE POTATO 413 



up to date, and improvement in seed work is com- 

 ing very rapidly. 



Like almost every agricultural section in the 

 West, the soils are spotted. Here they range from 

 a very heavy clay, locally called "blue mud," to 

 pure drift sand. In the grades" between these are 

 the fine, well-aired, well-drained, fertile, easy-work- 

 ing sandy loams that are known as the "potato 

 lands. " The total area of such soils is not over 

 7,000 to 8,000 acres. The water table on most of 

 this best potato land is about twelve feet below the 

 surface of the ground. 



The preparation of land for potatoes is most 

 thorough, three important factors being kept in 

 mind: 



'!) Conservation of moisture. 



(2) The making of a deep, mellow seed nest. 



(3) Killing weeds. 



After the crop is off the land in the fall, a heavy 

 growth of volunteer grain and weeds starts up. 

 In January, when this is one to two feet high, it is 

 plowed under, generally eight to twelve inches deep. 

 After this the ground is kept thoroughly worked 

 and free from weeds until May. One of the pop- 

 ular tools for making a mulch and killing weeds 

 is a knife weeder and cultivator, consisting of 

 blades attached under a solid frame. It is a local 

 tool patented at Ventura, Cal. The cutaway disk 

 harrow is also used for this winter working of the 

 soil for killing weeds and conserving moisture. 

 Another local tool is a jointed plank drag filled with 

 harrow teeth. 



The plowing in January opens up the soil, 

 permitting the easy absorption of the largest 

 possible quantities of winter rainfall. The almost 

 continuous cultivation following this breaks the 



