THE POTATO 481 



Three bushels of corn (it looks like American 

 corn) were sown over the field before the potatoes 

 were dug so that the digging of the potatoes would 

 cover the seed three or four inches deep. This 

 grows and is used for pasture and forage for cattle 

 and horses. It is also an aid in feeding the land 

 as a cover crop for the next year's potato growing. 

 They did not lose one hour's time in the use of the 

 land. This corn would be up in four or five days 

 and making rapid growth. 



The soil is a disintegrated granite formation. 



Sometimes immediately after harvesting the 

 potatoes they sow the land down to rye grass and 

 clover, and leave it two years. They use it for hay 

 and grazing, sometimes both. The first year after 

 breaking sod they use no barnyard manure; the 

 second and third years they use all the barnyard 

 manure they can secure, twenty -five or thirty tons 

 if possible, with a ton of commercial fertilizer 

 additional to the acre. 



They usually spray two to five times during the 

 growing season. The best farmers always spray 

 five times, and they always secure a full crop. I 

 saw two fields adjoining. The conditions were 

 the same. One was sprayed five times and the 

 owner expected a yield of thirteen tons to the acre 

 or more, while the field alongside, sprayed twice, 

 was completely burned up with blight. There 

 was nothing but the black stalks left standing. It 

 costs about $1.25 to spray each time, and the work 

 is always done by hand, as they cannot use horses 

 in their closely planted fields. 



Their system of using partially grown seed is 

 practically the same as in the early potato-growing 

 districts of England and Scotland. Saving seed 

 in June for the next year's planting is a very 



