XIX. TUBER CROPS 



Rootstocks. Creeping stems or branches growing beneath the 

 surface of the soil, or partly covered by it are called rootstocks. 

 Tubers may be regarded as portions of a rootstock greatly en- 

 larged and provided with buds or eyes on the sides. The potato 

 and the sweet potato form our two most important tuber crops. 



The Potato does best in a rich, well-drained soil. The sandy loams 

 in Colorado, Oklahoma, and Ohio seem especially favorable to its 



growth and devel- 

 opment. In these 

 States, under favor- 

 able circumstances, 

 a yield of one hun- 

 dred to one hundred 

 and fifty bushels to 

 the acre is not 



Potato digger. 



unusual. On the 



market such potatoes usually bring from fifty cents to a dollar a 

 bushel and make a profitable crop. The potatoes are usually 

 planted in rows and generally about twelve bushels of seed are 

 sown to the acre. For digging farmers frequently use the potato 

 digger, which saves much time and labor. 



There are numerous varieties of potatoes grown by farmers; the 

 Early Rose and the Minnesota Triumph have been found to give 

 excellent results in the Middle West. 



The potato is a native of this continent. The Spaniards found 

 the Indians eating this vegetable wherever they went in the valleys 

 and along the slopes of the Andes. Later the potato was intro- 

 duced into Virginia by the Spaniards, and from there it was carried 

 to Ireland by Sir John Hawkins. The early use of the potato by the 

 Irish caused it to be known as the Irish potato. At first it was used 

 as a food only for cattle and hogs; but later, during the famine pe- 

 riod, it became an article of general food, not only among the Irich, 



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