TYPES OF FAHM1NG 47 



produce a crop of corn. If the land is too rich, it is in- 

 jurious to oats, as they grow too much straw and too little 

 grain, and are likely to lodge. 



37. Potatoes are much like oats in their climatic re- 

 quirements. They require cool, moist weather and do 

 best on rather light, deep soils. Most of the potato 

 supply of the country is grown north of the best corn land. 

 In the irrigated sections of Colorado, Utah, and neighbor- 

 ing states, potatoes do well. The altitude keeps the 

 weather cool, and the moisture is supplied by irrigation. 

 Early potatoes are grown in the South during the cool 

 season. Early planting provides fairly good climatic 

 conditions, and the high prices received make up the dif- 

 ference. 



Potatoes will grow on acid soils. This makes them the 

 most important cash crop on many of the poor soils of 

 northeastern United States. Root crops, such as sugar 

 beets and mangels, are favored by the cool, moist weather, 

 but these require considerable lime, so that they are not 

 much grown except on good soils. The potato yields of 

 Europe are often cited to show how poorly we in America 

 farm. It would be just as fair to compare corn yields in 

 the best parts of Illinois with Europe to show how poorly 

 they farm in Europe. We can never hope to equal the 

 potato yields of Europe, because their climate is so much 

 better for the crop. For the same reason, they can never 

 hope to equal our corn yields. The European climate 

 is much better for root crops, oats, wheat, and grass. 

 The Gulf Stream is quite as much responsible for their 

 good yields of these crops as are the methods of farming. 



38. Grass crops require cool, moist conditions for their 

 best growth. One of the great problems of southern 

 United States is the grass question. Except in the 



