228 The Potato 



The plants took practically three months to mature. 

 Three weeks of this time were taken up in coming through 

 the soil. About five more weeks were consumed by the 

 crop in getting ready to produce tubers. Most of the 

 potatoes are produced during the last month of growth. 

 During this last month, there was a daily gain of about 

 7 bushels of marketable tubers to the acre — up to the 

 time the vines died. 



The potatoes were classified as to size on the following 

 basis : 



Small — 1^ ounces or less. 

 Near small — 2 ounces to 1| ounces. 

 Medium — 5 ounces to 2f ounces. 

 Large — 9 ounces to 5 ounces. 

 Very large — over 9 ounces. 



This table warrants the conclusion that potatoes should 

 be harvested after the tops die, if we are to secure the 

 highest yield. It also shows that there is a loss of yield 

 if we harvest the crop before it is mature, and that this 

 loss increases with the increase of time between the date 

 of harvesting and the time of maturity. 



In the case of early potatoes, it is often possible to 

 obtain prices high enough to overbalance the loss in yield 

 and to make it profitable to dig them before they are 

 mature. 



Table XIII has been arranged from figures given by 

 Kohler, to show relative prices at which potatoes should 

 sell if dug one and two weeks before maturity. 



Potatoes which are harvested before the tops die and 

 before the tubers can be easily separated from the stems 

 are usually immature. Such potatoes are not up to the 

 American standard of quality for cooking, and are almost 



