328 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



which are impossible in a country lacking the regulation 

 of soil moisture, appeal to the common sense of the world 

 at large. Bankers know that agricultural production must 

 be increased by some means, and they see that irrigation 

 is the only sure means of which civilization has any 

 knowledge. It is not to be wondered at, therefore, that 

 sentiment is changing in the financial centers, and that 

 the outlook for irrigation and all western development 

 work has improved. 



While Europe has been helping her agriculturists and 

 promoting their enterprise for more than seventy years, 

 by means of ample and cheap credit or money accommo- 

 dation, we have done absolutely nothing for our western 

 farmers in a similar way. Although we knew that they 

 are the guardians and producers of our permanent wealth, 

 we have left them to administer that trust with never a 

 special effort to give them access to money or credit, 

 cheaply and certainly, as we should have done and as 

 Europe has done. We were only interested in what we 

 could get out of them, and selfishly left them to their fate 

 in financing their own requirements. So, to our egotism 

 we add selfishness two national attributes we fain would 

 dispense with. 



That we did not lack precedents to alter the rural 

 credit situation in this country may be seen at a glance 

 from the following statistics: Germany has not less than 

 18,000 financial institutions to assist farmers and work- 

 men, 10,000 of which are purely rural. During the year 

 1910, the total business transacted by these concerns 

 amounted to $1,500,000,000. Austria operates 4,000 "popu- 

 lar" banks; Belgium, 300; Italy, 7,000; France, 5,500, and 

 Hungary, 700. England has recently introduced them 

 with every prospect of their success. Through the loans 

 made to farmers by these credit associations, agriculture 

 and its votaries in Europe have thriven amazingly. 



The day of excessive interest rates has passed, for the 

 essence of these banks is to give borrowers "cheap" ac- 

 commodation. Farmers with empty stalls, through this 

 assistance, now own large herds. Their home life has 

 been improved, their fortune has been started, their pro- 

 ductive energy has been quickened, and their profits have 

 been considerably enlarged. 



Probably in a year or so we will look into the estab- 

 lishment of similar institutions to benefit farmers in this 

 country, for a senatorial committee is now gathering data 

 to that end. 



There is an educational impulse in connection with 

 the coming opening of the Panama canal, which also 

 will help all worthy western enterprises. It is apparent 

 that the trade expansion in the far west is largely due 

 to the canal. The soundness of western enterprises has 

 long been appreciated by the few, and from this on it 

 will be known to the many. 



LARGE PROFITS IN POTATOES. 



All progressive farmers who can bring their plans 

 into the right shape are going ahead with potatoes. 

 Prices continue on a high level and the market demand 

 is so keen that foreign producers are making large ship- 

 ments to this country. If American farmers are wise 

 they will control this market and reap the big profits 

 which are to be gained from potato culture. 



The fact should be kept in mind that the proper kind 

 of cultivation will give a yield of about 200 bushels per 

 acre, whereas the average in this country is under 100 

 bushels. The yield in parts of Maine as well as in the 

 Northwest often runs upwards of 200 bushels, while in 

 Germanv it is close to 200. England and Ireland fall a 

 little behind Germany. For nearly two year$ now the 

 price per bushel to American farmers has been $1 to 



$1.50 where they have sold to private customers and 75 

 cents to $1.25 when shipping to commission men. It is 

 well to compare this price and yield to wheat figures. In 

 raising the grain farmers are in great luck if they secure 

 20 bushels per acre and receive $1 a bushel. 



Potatoes do not require the richest of soils. They 

 will thrive in a sandy loam. Soggy land is bad for the 

 crop and if any such has to be used it ought to be 

 drained. Regular moisture in light quantities on any 

 ordinary farm will insure a good crop of potatoes. An 

 irrigated farm has advantages over any other, but where 

 the rainfall is insufficient a dust mulch should be kept 

 around the growing crop for the purpose of conserving 

 such moisture as there is. It is unwise to let potato 

 ground harden and bake in the sun. By giving reason- 

 able attention to the product along the lines indicated 

 success will be attained in almost any section of the 

 United States. Potatoes do well in rotation with clover, 

 millet, corn, beets, rutabagas, cabbage, etc. It is feasible 

 to dig a crop of early potatoes in June or July and then 

 immediately sow millet, rye or fodder corn on the same 

 ground. It is also a good plan to plant late potatoes on 

 land from which clover, cowpeas, rye or any other early 

 crop has been taken. 



There are sixteen states in which the cultivation of 

 sugar beets is already well established in this country. 

 Practically all of these states are large producers of 

 potatoes. More significant still is the fact, recently 

 brought out by an exhaustive inquiry, that the use of 

 sugar beets in rotation with potatoes, corn, wheat and 

 other crops increases the yield of every one of these crops 

 from twenty-five to fifty per cent. In the case of potatoes 

 the increase was 46.2 per cent. 



Early 'Rose, Triumph, Early Michigan and Early 

 Ohio remain standard early varieties, while some of the 

 best late ones are Burbank, Peerless, Peachblow and 

 Green Mountain. There are many variations in these 

 types, but for all practical purposes the potatoes can be 

 recommended as named above. 



It is necessary to be on guard against disease and 

 insect pests. A healthy growth of potatoes can hardly 

 be expected on soggy land or where spraying is neglected. 

 Good seed is of the highest importance, and with this 

 point settled thorough cultivation will insure a crop five 

 years out of six. The sulphate of copper solution is per- 

 haps the best all-around article for warding off disease 

 and pests, as well as for prolonging growth in order to 

 get good-sized tubers. If something further seems to 

 be needed in fighting insects paris green will be found 

 effective. The standard varieties resist disease better 

 than any others, and it is unwise to experiment with im- 

 ported potatoes, or those about which little' is known. 



Potatoes are so hardy that they are raised to ad- 

 vantage in the most northerly states, and even in Siberia 

 and other cold countries. Seed produced in the North 

 will show good results in Southern states, but this is a 

 rule that will not work both ways. Tubers originating 

 in a semi-tropical climate have to be acclimated in the 

 North before returning satisfactory crops. 



THE POTATO. 



Doubleday, Page & Co., of New York, have brought out a 

 volume which is easily the best work ever published on the 

 subject of potato culture. The book was written by Eugene 

 H. Grubb and W. S. Guilford, who are instructive writers 

 and acknowledged authorities on all such matters. 



More pounds of potatoes are produced than of any 

 other food crop in the world. In 45 bushels of potatoes, 

 which would be a light yield for an acre, there are 2,700 

 pounds of food, while in 14 bushels of wheat, a fair average 

 for this grain to the acre, there are only 840 pounds. 



This able volume proves several important things. The 

 first is that the potato is one of the most profitable crops 

 that any farmer can raise. Another is that the food value 

 of the product is underestimated. It is also shown in a most 

 comprehensive way that potatoes come to their greatest 

 yield and highest perfection in regions which enjoy a regular 

 supply of moisture preferably a regulated supply. Hence, 

 this is an ideal crop for irrigated lands. 



Doubleday, Page & Co. will send the potato book on 

 receipt of $2, and we have no hesitation in recommending it 

 as the most complete and authoritative work ever published 

 on the subject. 



