Harvesting the Potato 



227 



generally speaking, should be left in the ground as long 

 as is possible without freezing. It should be remembered 

 that starch is being formed and stored as long as the tops 

 of the plants are green. To harvest the crop before the 

 tops die, therefore, means a loss in quantity of potatoes. 

 Early varieties may be dug a week or two before maturity, 

 providing the higher price a bushel more than compen- 

 sates for the decrease in yield. Late potatoes, which 

 are usually stored for part or all of the winter, should 

 preferably be fully mature and in good condition when 

 harvested. 



Kohler,^ of the Minnesota Experiment Station, presents 

 some interesting data on the results of digging potatoes 

 during the period of development. The variety on which 

 the studies were made was the Early Ohio. The tubers 

 were planted by hand on June 3, and the diggings were 

 begun about two months later and continued at intervals 

 of about a week, until the tops of the plants had died : 



Table XII. — Results from Digging Early Ohio Potatoes 

 AT Intervals during the Period of Development 



(In Bushels to the Acre) 



• Minn. Bui. 118. 



