JULY 1, 1916 



559 



mers back urged that Irish potatoes could 

 be grown by starting them under glass here 

 in the North at a big profit ; and several 

 times the reply has been, " Oh! this is an 

 exceptional season." But for several years 

 there has been a period between old pota- 

 toes and new ones when tlie retail price on 

 the market was from 60 to 75 cents a peck. 

 I have not grown them under glass here in 

 Ohio, because we do not reach here until 

 about May 1. 



I spoke last season about the Early Six 

 Weeks potato, stating that it was free from 

 scab, and more free from blight than any 

 of our other varieties. We not only had 

 beautiful Six Weeks potatoes all thru the 

 summer and fall, but I shipped a barrel 

 down to Florida, and we had them to use 

 pretty much all winter. For some reason 

 they did not sprout so I could plant them 

 until so late that only a few were fit to dig 

 when we left there the middle of April. At 

 the end of a letter to mv "long-time friend" 

 A. T. Cook, of Hyde Park. N. Y., I wrote 

 as follows: 



I am greatly surprised to know that your season 

 is so much ahead of ours here in Ohio. I have not 

 seen a potato here in oiir part of the state above 

 ground as yet. I planted some Early Six Weeks 

 nearly two weeks ago, but not a potato up yet. 



Medina, O., May 25. A. T. Root. 



Below is his reply: 



MY EAELY SIX WEEKS POTATOES. 



I commenced using them on my table .Tune 8. 

 They are super-delicious. I dug some today, June 

 17. They are nice and big. Two weighed 12 ounces. 



This has been one of the latest, wettest, and mosi 

 backward seasons I have ever seen, or the potatoes 

 would have been ready to use several weeks earlier. 

 They were planted in the open ground about April 

 8. I think there never was another potato of such 

 high table qiiality as the true Early Six Weeks, and 

 they are the best keepers I ever grew. 



Hyde Park, N. Y., June 17. A. T. Cook. 



I quite agree with what he says about the 

 Six Weeks being not only a high quality 

 but a splendid keeper. Hyde Park, N. Y., 

 is further east and north than Medina; but 

 by taking pains this Six Weeks potato 

 could easily be gn'own in Ohio during an 

 average season so as to be put on the mar- 

 ket in June. As proof of this, Mrs. Root 

 says a woman in our neighborhood told her 

 about the middle of June that she had early 

 potatoes in bloom planted in the open 

 ground outdoors. Very much can be ac- 

 complished in getting early potatoes by 

 having a sandy or gravelly soil sloping to 

 the south, fully exposed to the sun. but 

 sheltered from the west and northwest chill- 

 ing winds. 



A GLIMPSE OF OUR FLORIDA GARDEK. 



I think I have already explained that I 

 wrote to our Florida Experiment Station, 



asking what crop they would advise during 

 the summer time after taking off potatoes 

 in the spring. Here in the North, we should 

 use clover; but as it does not seem to stand 

 the heat and heavy rains of Florida sum- 

 mers. Prof. Rolfs advised corn and velvet 

 beans, and I took pains to inoculate the 

 beans with the nitrogen bacteria. Below is 

 a brief report of how my experiment is 

 turning out. 



Y'our garden looks fine. I have not seen anything 

 else in Florida to equal it, and nothing in the North 

 to excel it. The ears of corn are beyond my reach, 

 and the velvet beans are immense. 



Bradentown, Fla., June 2. C. L. Haerison. 



FLORIDA KEAL-ESTATE SPECULATORS — TWO 

 SIDES TO THE MATTER. 



Both winter and summer f am having a 

 lot of inquiries in regard to investing in 

 real estate in Florida; and my invariable 

 ansAver is that no one should think of in- 

 vesting a copper in Florida lands without 

 making a trijD and looking things over and 

 getting facts from old residents in the vi- 

 cinit}^ Notwithstanding, thousands upon 

 (housands of dollars are being invested in 

 lands which the purchaser has never seen, 

 and many times in lands they never will 

 see; and I am glad to note that most real- 

 estate agents nowadays recjuest people to 

 come and look over the premises before 

 buying. I also have frequent inquiries in 

 regard to certain real-estate companies, es- 

 pecially if they are located in Manatee Co., 

 where our Florida home is. Well, I almost 

 always turn these letters over to my neigh- 

 bor, E. B. Rood, who deals in real estate 

 aside from his business of truck gardening. 

 One question comes up often, like this: 



" Mr. Root, can you find out if these men 

 are responsible? and will they do all they 

 agree to do? " 



Now, it gladdens my heart to have Mr. 

 Rood reply frequently something as fol- 

 lows: 



" Yes, Mr. Root, T know these parties, or 

 at least I know something about them; and 

 my opinion is that they will do what they 

 agree to do." 



With the above preface let me report to 

 you an incident. Some time last winter, 

 just after Mrs. Root and I had finished our 

 dinner, a man arrived in an automobile, 

 taking out with him a couple of heavy va- 

 lises. He said he had read our journal for 

 years, had purchased supplies of the A. I. 

 Root Co., and liad long felt that it would 

 be a great pleasure to meet A. I. Root face 

 to face, etc. Before taking him over the 

 ground, as T usually do, I said I supposed 

 of course he had been to dinner. When he 



