POTATOES 



1707 



plant above the ground is considerable, 

 injury will also take place in the bundles 

 of the tuber, the result being that they 

 become brown or discolored. This par- 

 ticular type of injury has been very fre- 

 quently noted and is spoken of by our 

 English potato growers as "sprain." It 

 is seldom, however, that we notice 

 "sprain" in potatoes that are irrigated 

 in the proper way. 



It will be interesting, therefore, to 

 know how we are to avoid these troubles. 

 In the first place, we should avoid such 

 varieties as are particularly subject to 

 the troubles, or at least find some means 

 of growing them so as to avoid the 

 troubles. One of the varieties which 

 seems to be fairly resistant is the Blue 

 Victor. Since we have seen that injury 

 really takes place during the very warm, 

 dry weather in early July, it would seem 

 that by planting the late varieties late 

 so that their tubers will not begin to 

 form well until after these extremely 

 unfavorable weather conditions have 

 passed, we would easily avoid the 

 troubles. There have been some observa- 

 tions along this line which would seem 

 worthy of our attention. In planting the 

 early varieties we should aim to plant 

 them as early as possible so as to have 

 the tubers ripened and ready for market 

 before severe dry weather conditions ar- 

 rive. Potatoes are by no means the 

 only plants that suffer from high tem- 

 peratures accompanied by low humidi- 

 ties. The Anjou pear is particularly sus- 

 ceptible to what is often called "tip- 

 burn" of the foliage. Even serious drop- 

 ping of the foliage may take place. The 

 cause, of course, is primarily due to the 

 fact that the foliage is not properly sup- 

 plied with water from the root system. 

 Injury may also occur to the fruit. This 

 injury is manifested by a browning or 

 drying of the blossom end of the fruit; 

 for, after all, the fruit is merely a trans- 

 formed leaf and the tip-burn of the leaf 

 is analogous to the blossom-end injury of 

 the fruit. 



The question may be asked why some 

 varieties of plants are subject to this 

 physiological injury and why some are 

 not. This question may be answered by 

 stating that the structures and physio- 

 logy of the various varieties vary. Cer- 

 tain plants have certain inherent quali- 

 ties not found in others, such as resist- 

 ant to drouth, fungus diseases and insect 

 attacks. Even in the human family and 

 in animals generally we find individuals 

 capable of resisting that which others 

 cannot. 



Potato Culture 

 (Adapted to Southern Conditions) 

 For the best results with this crop the 

 soil should be well drained and should 

 consist of a mellow loam with subsoil of 

 clay when possible. Prepare the land by 

 plowing it good and deep, occasionally 

 turning up a small portion of the clay, 

 then harrow thoroughly. Lay off the 

 rows three and one-half feet apart with 

 a shovel plow and apply the fertilizer by 

 distributing it in the furrows at the 

 amount given below per acre: 



Pounds 



Acid phosphate. 16 per cent 425 



Cotton-seed meal oW ' 



Sulphate of potash. 50 per cent l^^ 



Total ions 



The above is approximately an 8-4-10 

 goods. This should be mixed with the 

 soil by running a scooter point in the 

 furrow. The seed potato should be care- 

 fully cut, leaving two or three strong 

 eyes on each piece, being careful to di- 

 vide the eyes on the little end. Cover 

 the potatoes by running a shovel plow 

 on each side of the furrow. Do not allow 

 rocks or other rubbish to fall on the 

 potatoes. If the ground should become 

 baked, it would be well to run a light 

 harrow over the rows, breaking the crust 

 so the plants will push through. 



When the plants are up well cultivate 

 with a five-toothed cultivator and hoe 

 out between the plants, pulling the soil 

 to those that are leaning: also cover 

 roots that are in the least exposed. The 



