10 POTATO CULT U BE. 



not come out bright and clean, they are for his own use. 

 But the man who raises acres of potatoes for market should 

 grow them where they will come out looking nice, if possible, 

 as that helps to sell them, and he can not afford to plant 

 where there will be much danger from wet- weather rot or 

 seed rotting, or where it will take a very large amount of 

 labor to prepare the soil properly. 



I have said considerable about having the right kind of 

 soil, you will notice. To my mind, in this age it is unwise to 

 try to make our land do what it is not best fitted for. I 

 could, I think, take the heaviest clay on'my farm and make it 

 good potato land. This is possible, but I think it far wiser to 

 use land for this purpose that is naturally about right, and use 

 the clay for what it is best fitted. Of course, it may pay to 

 change the nature of a garden-patch ; but I am speaking of 

 field culture. A friend who has heavy clay land, and keeps 

 a fine Jersey dairy, came here once, and was so impressed 

 with the fact that I was making money out of potatoes that 

 he asked my advice about his going into the business. He 

 was in the habit of growing two or three acres a year. After 

 getting all the particulars, I told him I not only would not 

 grow more potatoes, but I would never again grow even the 

 two or three acres he had been growing ; that it was far 

 better for him to extend the butter business, and grow feed 

 for his cows on the heavy land he had. I am sure this 

 advice was sound. Great success in potato culture will be 

 on soil reasonably fitted for the business naturally. The 

 business is changing, and the market is less and less sup- 

 plied with a few loads from every farm, and more and more 

 from great areas where the business has been gone into on a 

 large scale, under favorable conditions. On unfavorable 

 'soils there will be little profit in trying to compete with the 

 last-namea g r owers, except, perhaps, in a small way for 

 home market. 



