CHAPTER XXI 

 POTATOES 



Potatoes are by far the most important of all vegetable 

 crops. They are grown in every State in the Union and are found 

 daily on the tables of all classes of people. They are always '' in 

 season " twelve months in the year, and constitute the great 

 staple vegetable in all markets. Potatoes are marketed in both 

 the immature and mature stages. At the former stage they are 

 quickly perishable, and are known as '^new potatoes;" in the latter 

 stage they will keep for months under proper conditions of 

 storage. The principal markets are supplied with new potatoes 

 from the South early in the season and with mature potatoes 

 from the North during the fall and winter. 



The potato is essentially a cool season crop. The early crop 

 grown at the South makes its principal growth during the normally 

 cool weather of the spring months, and is nearly ready for market 

 by the time the weather becomes hot, but is capable of continuing 

 its growth into the hot weather if a mature product is desired. 

 The late crop at the North finishes its growth in the cool weather 

 of September and early October. Attempts to grow mid-season 

 crops in southern localities are likely to be disappointing. Some- 

 times a late or second crop is planted in the South on rich, moist 

 bottom land after the time of harvesting the early crop. If the 

 season is cool, this crop is often satisfactory. However, large 

 yields and large tubers are produced principally in the cool climates 

 of the northern states, such as Maine, New York, Michigan, 

 Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Colorado. The last-named State is 

 somewhat to the South, but high altitudes counterbalance the 

 lower latitude. 



The early potatoes produced at the South for northern markets 

 are grown mostly from northern seed planted on fall-plowed 

 ground at the earliest possible date in spring, or even in early 

 or mid-winter at the extreme South. They are planted on sandy 

 land if possible, and heavily fertiUzed to promote rapid develop- 

 ment. As soon as the tubers are large enough to satisfy the 

 demands of the market they are harvested, even though they may 

 be only two-thirds grown. " New potatoes " from Bermuda and 

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