PREPARING TO PLANT AND PLANTING 67 



soil should be loose and fine. The plant foods are decom- 

 posed by the action of the light, sun, and air, and are, there- 

 fore, made soluble. Such fertilizers add the required hu- 

 mus to the soil. All legume crops, such as burr clover, 

 vetch, Texas red oats, and Melilotus Indica in fact, any 

 legume crops are good, providing they make a heavy crop. 



The soil best adapted to the cultivation of potatoes is 

 an extraordinarily rich soil. These soils are generally dark, 

 being a mass of decayed vegetation. However, any soil 

 that is rich and mellow, regardless of color, will yield an 

 abundance of good potatoes, providing all other conditions 

 are favorable, including climatic conditions. There are, and 

 always will be, some regions peculiarly adapted to the cul- 

 ture of the potato. We would say, then, that good soil for 

 potatoes must contain a large proportion of humus, and it 

 is well that this humus be well decomposed at planting time, 

 making the soil fine, loose, and without preventing a free 

 circulation of air. 



Most potato growers prefer a light, sandy, loam soil. 

 The crop and the quality of the potato is generally poor if 

 planted in an extremely light or a heavy clay soil. The po- 

 tatoes grown on a mellow soil will be smooth, while those 

 grown on the heavy clay soils will be ill-shaped. But if 

 your soil has already been chosen for your potato crop, and 

 is a heavy, retentive soil, it is better to select some variety 

 of potatoes that are almost round, and you will note the 

 shape of the tubers produced will be much better than those 

 of the longer variety. Another remedy for the poorer and 

 heavier soils is, as I have stated, the use of dry and green 

 manures each year, if possible. By doing this, there will 

 be more plant food and humus put into the soil each year 

 than is taken out, increasing the value and improving the 



