dred to five hundred and fifty tons of water. Light, sandy soil requires 

 more water than heavier soils rich in humus. If the plant food elements 

 do not exist in the soil in abundance, they should be furnished in some 

 economical way. 



Nitrogen, which is the most expensive, can be furnished by planting 

 some of the legumes, either clover, alfalfa, cow peas, soy beans or vetch. 

 The best yield of potatoes is made on land which has been cropped to 

 clover and the crop turned under the previous fall. Cow peas and soy 

 beans can usually be grown in any section of the country. 



Phosphorus can be furnished by applying barnyard manure. Ten 

 tons of barnyard manure applied to an acre places in the ground an 

 abundance of this useful element. The manure also tends to make 

 available phosphorus which may exist in disintegrated particles of rock, 

 the inorganic substance of the soil. It is never advisable, however, to 

 apply barnyard manure to ground the year it is to be planted to pota- 

 toes. It should be applied the previous year; otherwise, scabby and 

 diseased potatoes may result. 



Potatoes require a large amount of potassium, and if it does not exist 

 in sufficient quantities, it is necessary to apply it in the commercial 

 form. Many potato growers find it very profitable to apply a com- 

 plete fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in such 

 quantities as may be indicated by a chemical analysis of the soil. 



Peaty lands are always deficient in potassium ; hence, it is useless to 

 attempt to grow potatoes on such land without adding potassium in 

 some form. While it is customary, and good results are gained by 

 applying commercial fertilizers in the hill when the potato is planted, 

 the better plan is, in order to have the entire seed-bed brought to a high 

 state of fertility, to apply a mixture to the entire surface and thoroughly 

 disc it in. It is not advisable to apply the fertilizer directly on the 

 potato. Where the mixture is applied throughout the entire seed-bed, 

 the potatoes are more uniform in size, and the following crop, whatever 

 it may be, will secure the benefit of the fertility not utilized by the 

 potatoes. ► 



Cultivation 



The seed-bed should be deep, mellow and free from lumps. It should 

 be thoroughly double-disced before the seed is planted and made com- 

 pact by using a roller or packer. After the seed is placed in the ground, 

 the land should be harrowed, using a spike-tooth harrow or a flat-tooth 

 weeder until the tops are well out of the ground. Subsequent cultiva- 

 tion should be shallow. 



Ridging or hilling potatoes should never be practiced, unless there is 

 danger of water accumulating on the surface; in other words, only where 

 surface drainage is absolutely necessary is hilling desirable. Deep 

 cultivation tends to dry out the seed-bed and to prune roots which is 



