Other Points in Potato Culture. 203 



crops. I must have plenty of tillage to help make plant food 

 available, not having an excess right at hand, and to prevent 

 evaporation, which is more rapid from my soil with so much less 

 vegetable matter in it. His tillage here with my conditions would 

 be ruinous some seasons ; mine with his conditions might be en- 

 tirely unnecessary and extravagant. The richer the soil in avail- 

 able plant food, the less tillage may be required. Right in this 

 same line some old farmers say: "We used to get larger crops than 

 you do now with only an A harrow to scratch the ground a 

 little. What is the use of all your costly tillage tools?" This is 

 true, but their soil was then, if they got such crops, fertile and 

 full of vegetable matter. They were some like Mr. Smith's garden. 

 Now the vegetable matter is often pretty well used up, and 

 soil harder to work and coarse and lumpy. It is wise to get this 

 old condition back by clover growing and otherwise, but mean 

 while we must pulverize the lumps and stir up the soil to let in 

 air that could once go in easily without. As the soil is not now 

 mellow from its natural condition, we must make it somewhat so 

 by hard work. Conditions have changed and we must change to 

 meet them. Sixty years ago, large crops of wheat were grown on 

 this farm, and with the A harrow only. Twenty-five years ago it 

 had got down to eight bushels per acre with such tillage. With 

 the advent of better tools by tillage only we raised the average 

 per acre decidedly. We could have done it with plenty of 

 manure and little tillage, but little of manure and plenty of tillage 

 was within our reach and the other was not. 



I have just been reading Mr. Carman's excellent book on the 

 new potato culture, and would like to quote what he says about 

 picking beetles by hand : ' ' When writers advise us, as many have 

 done, to gather the beetles by hand, we want to tell them that if 

 they would practice this advice for one season they would not 

 care to offer it again." Well, friend Carman, we have tried it on 

 many acres for many seasons. The trouble with you was just 

 what I stated before reading your book. You tried it, probably, 

 on a small patch, with plenty of beetles all around, perhaps. 

 I would not do it myself under those circumstances. To-day, 

 June 3oth, I do not think you could find a tablespoonful of 

 beetles or larvae on my farm. The season for them is practically 

 over for us. But I do not care to push my way at all, simply to 

 fully describe " Our Farming?" 



The best way to store potatoes for winter in the cellar is in 

 boxes or barrels covered from the air and light. You cannot keep 

 all the air out, but you can and should the light. A cellar light 

 enough so you can see to walk around, even, is no place to store 

 potatoes in uncovered. Tubers of the finest quality will soon be 

 poor enough. I seldom eat good potatoes away from home ; at a 

 hotel, practically, never. People do not take care of them, even 

 if they are good when they store them. If you have a little light 



