Harvesting the Potato 235 



acre by machinery will vary from 87 cents to $1.67. As 

 this machine, digging between 3 and 6 acres a day, keeps 

 from 10 to 15 men busy picking, it would appear that 

 about 3 men are needed to pick up the potatoes on an 

 acre. 



If the potatoes are sorted in the field, this item must be 

 added in figuring the cost of harvesting. The quantity 

 which can be sorted in one day will depend a great deal 

 upon the type of sorter used. From 500 to 1000 bushels 

 can be sorted by a machine in one day. 



It is almost impossible to make an accurate estimate 

 of the cost of hauling from the field to the storage cellar. 

 The size of the wagon used and the distance of hauling 

 will vary greatly, and even an approximation of the cost 

 of this operation would probably be valueless. 



The grower should always remember that the care 

 which he exercises in harvesting his crop will mean an 

 appreciable difference in its marketability. Cut and 

 bruised tubers bring a lower price when sold directly 

 from the field, and they are a complete loss when put into 

 storage. Poor judgment as to time and method of har- 

 vesting will have a detrimental effect upon yield and 

 upon quality. The farmer who spends time and money 

 to raise a good crop of potatoes should be equally careful 

 in getting his crop to the market or into storage in the 

 best possible condition. 



REFERENCES 

 Agee, Alva. 



1904. Potato Production. Kansas Agr. Report. 

 Agee, Alva. Penn. Dept. Agri. Bui. 105. 



Bennett, E. R. The Colorado Potato Industry. Colorado Bui. 

 Eraser, Samuel. 



1905. The Potato. N. Y. (Orange Judd Co.), pp. 143-146. 



