1246 EARLE V. HARDENBURG , 



within each region, lack of information on a definite measurement of this 

 degree makes its use in these studies impossible. 



Level culture is the system generally understood to be practiced on Long 

 Island. However, nearly all the growers there, while maintaining level 

 culture thruout most of the season, cultivate a slight ridge toward the row 

 late in the season, at either the last or the last two cultivations. The 

 reasons given by growers of the 1912 crop for this practice, were (1) that 

 digging was made easier and (2) that the tubers were protected from the 

 spores of the late-blight fungus. Altho the potato soils of Long Island are 

 relatively light in texture, the growing-season rainfall of this region, as 

 shown in figure 127 (page 1149), is relatively high. All growers of the 

 1912 crop reported the practice of level culture. 



In Steuben County a system of relatively high ridging is practiced. A 

 ridge is gradually worked toward the row at each cultivation thruout the 

 season, and this is increased late in the season by a specialized implement 

 called a killer. Because of the heavy soil of this region, ridge culture is 

 doubtless of some merit due to the greater ease in harvesting and the 

 protection from blight rot which it affords. All the growers whose 1912 

 crop was studied practiced ridge culture. 



Of the 300 growers in Monroe County, 272 reported the practice of 

 level culture, with a slight ridging toward the end of the growing season. 

 The other 28 growers in this region practiced continuous level culture in 

 1913. 



Only 1 of the 300 growers in Franklin and Clinton Counties practiced 

 level culture in 1913. Ridging is here begun as soon as the crop is up, 

 the tops, and such weeds as have grown since planting, being covered at 

 that time. By the end of the growing season an extreme ridge has been 

 developed, greater than that used in Steuben County. Altho the grow- 

 ing-season rainfall of this region is almost as high as that of Long Island, 

 the light soils which prevail in most of the section do not seem to warrant 

 such extreme ridging. This is a problem apparently impossible of solution 

 by survey methods and one requiring years of test. 



FREQUENCY OF CULTIVATION 



Cultivation as a prime requisite of good crop yields thru its resulting 

 in weed control, moisture conservation, and increased availability of plant 

 food, is one of the oldest known practices of agriculture. However 

 very few experiments of value have been conducted for the express pur- 

 pose of determining the optimum frequency of cultivation. The value 

 of such tests is, of course, dependent on such other factors as duration of 

 the experiment, condition of the seed bed, replication, and time of cultiva- 

 tion. Conclusions drawn must give due consideration to the available 

 soil moisture and fertility and the soil type under which the test is 

 conducted. 



