to Potatoes at the West. 



aside from the uncertainty of the crop ; and, unless the seed comes from 

 the North, the quality continues to deteriorate, and, in a few years, becomes 

 worthless ; the heat giving them the quality of those tubers where the rains 

 have washed the earth from the hills, and exposed the root to the rays of the 

 sun. Such potatoes are unhealthy, insipid, and worthless for food ; leathery 

 and sodden in texture ; and wanting in the essentials of a good potato grown 

 under more favorable conditions. 



Here, our winters are mild, followed by a long rainy season before 

 planting, or the time that we usually plant, potatoes. It is a very general 

 rule with us to plant after we are done wdth the corn, or seldom before 

 that crop has had considerable attention ; and then plant such varieties as 

 best suit the more northern sections. We act as though a variety that 

 would mature at the North must certainly do so in our longer seasons ; but 

 we do not take into consideration that the season is divided, that the potato 

 only makes a good growth during the rainy months of spring and the cool 

 days of autumn. Here is where we commit the first error, in not planting 

 sufficiently early for our early-maturing varieties to mature before the long, 

 hot days of summer ; and then, again, to plant the latter part of June, so that 

 the greater part of the growth may be completed in the cool days of au- 

 tumn. We thus have two short seasons instead of one long one : for this 

 reason, it is advisable to plant quick-maturing varieties, and at two periods ; 

 one for summer, and one for autumn and winter use. 



In case of a cool, moist summer, all late-maturing sorts, like the Peach- 

 blow, produce good crops ; for nothing occurs to arrest the growth : but 

 these seasons are exceptional, not the rule. 



There are conditions of art that will in part compensate for those of 

 Nature, and with their aid we may add a greater certainty of success. In 

 the south part of this State and Missouri, straw has been used with very 

 satisfactory results, by increasing the quantity and improving the quality. 



The ground is prepared in the usual way, and the seed receives a very 

 slight covering of earth ; is harrowed and rolled, and then covered with 

 straw four to .six inches deep. No further attention'is required until the 

 time of harvesting. A coating of leaves or prairie hay will answer a good 

 purpose. Last year, I mulched or top-dressed half an acre that had been 

 planted in June, using half-rotted barnyard manure for the purpose. The 



