430 FIELD CROPS 



stored in the North and shipped south only in time for 

 planting. 



A point that must be considered in selecting seed pota- 

 toes, especially if one is raising them for market, is the market 

 demand. Too many growers have individual preferences 

 regarding varieties and types of potatoes and try to raise 

 potatoes that please them, without regard to the kind that 

 the large buyers want; consequently they experience diffi- 

 culty in selling their crop at good prices. Buyers, as a rule, 

 want medium-sized, smooth, clean, shallow-eyed potatoes of 

 good quality. If one takes into consideration the fact that 

 it costs from 5 to 10 cents more to peel a bushel of rough, 

 uneven potatoes than of smooth, uniform ones, and that the 

 loss in peeling the deep-eyed kind is very much greater, he 

 will see a very good reason why the dealers are willing to pay 

 from 15 to 25 cents more for potatoes of a good type. Only 

 by growing such potatoes as the market demands can one 

 hope to secure the best prices for his surplus. 



562. Preparing Seed for Planting. Seed potatoes always 

 show a tendency to sprout as soon as the weather becomes 

 warm. The production of sprouts that are long enough to 

 break off in handling takes just so much plant food from the 

 seed tubers. Seed potatoes should be kept in a cool place 

 during the spring, and stored so that air can circulate freely 

 about them. A low temperature can usually be maintained 

 in the root cellar or basement if the windows and doors are 

 opened during the night and closed during the hotter part 

 of the day. It is usually well to treat potatoes for scab be- 

 fore planting, (Sec. 577). 



563. Cutting Seed. Experiments have shown that 

 pieces of seed potatoes weighing 2 or 3 ounces give better 

 yields than smaller pieces. The general practice, however, 

 is to plant about 10 bushels of seed to the acre. To plant 



