34 POTATO CULTURE. 



grow together, almost like a crop of clover, shading the sur- 

 face quite perfectly. 



Second, the distance apart that potatoes should be planted 

 depends somewhat on the richness of the land. With wheat, 

 the richer the land the less seed should be sown, because it 

 will stool out more on rich land than on poor ; but with po- 

 tatoes, just the reverse seems to me to be true. The richer 

 the land, the nearer together we may plant. The idea is 

 this : There is only a certain amount of plant-food available 

 for the crop, therefore vary the distance apart as nearly as 

 you can, so that there will be just about enough potatoes set 

 to use up all this food in growing to a good nice size. If you 

 plant too far apart, the available plant-food will not be all 

 used up, and your tubers may be too large ; if you plant 

 too near together, there will not be food enough, and the 

 result will be smaller potatoes. Of course, as seasons vary, 

 you can not expect to be always right ; but you can come 

 nearer to it than if you put in your seed without any care or 

 forethought. 



Now, with these two matters in mind, try to come as near 

 right as you can. For the medium-early varieties that I 

 grow, and my soil, drills about 32 inches apart, and a piece 

 of seed from 13 to 16 inches in the drill, seems as near right 

 as I can make it. This pretty much covers the surface, and 

 still is not close enough to make tubers smaller than my 

 customers want. If I wanted tubers larger, I would drop 

 pieces farther apart in the drills. Thirteen inches apart has 

 been our rule; but a variety like the Freeman, which is 

 inclined to set a good many in a hill, will, I think, do better 

 at 16 inches apart. They will average larger, and still not 

 too large. I tried them 32 inches each way, and some grew 

 altogether too large, and the yield per acre was not nearly 

 what it was with a piece every 13 inches in the drill. Of 

 course, the variety has much to do with the distance apart 

 they should be planted. Some of the strong-growing late 

 varieties would better be planted in drills 36 inches apar 



