10 BULLETIN 784, U. S. DEPAETMEl^rT OF AGKICULTUEE. 



Correlations. — A report on the general practice of the district in 

 storing potatoes will provide good exercises in oral or written lan- 

 guage. A detailed account of the making, filling, and covering of a 

 storage pit will also provide good language material. Another inter- 

 esting language study will be a comparison of the storage methods 

 of the warmer regions with those of the colder regions. 



Arithmetic : Problems involving the amount and value of potatoes 

 stored will be suggested by this lesson. The amounts from each farm 

 and totals for the district. The values of the potatoes on the fall 

 market compared with the value on the spring market will provide 

 further material. 



Geography: Locate the sources of potatoes shipped into the dis- 

 trict. How near does the district store its own supply of potatoes? 

 If the stored potatoes are sold, trace their route to the consumer. 



LESSON V. 



Subject. — Potato judging. 



Problem. — To be able to identify the leading varieties of potatoes 

 and to recognize the chief characteristics of each variet3\ 



Sources of information. — Farmers' Bulletin 533 ; Department Bul- 

 letin 176 ; bulletins of State college of agriculture ; extension leaflets ; 

 circulars; score cards from State college of agriculture. 



Illustrative material. — From seed catalogues and farm papers, clip 

 and mount pictures of varieties of potatoes. From the farmers or 

 from dealers, secure at least three typical specimens of the different 

 varieties of potatoes raised in the district or on sale in the market. 

 These should be carefully taken care of for class study. 



Class exercise. — This lesson is essentially a lesson of practice in 

 studying the varieties of potatoes. The following leading factors 

 should be noted : 



1. Trueness to type, uniform in size, shape, color, etc., according 

 to variety of class ; no mixture. 



2. Uniformity: General uniformity in shape, length, and circum- 

 ference. 



3. Shape of tuber : Round, oval, or long, according to class or 

 variety. 



4. Color: Conforming to class or variety and free from green. 



5. Size: Medium — average weight for early varieties 8 ounces, or 

 late varieties 12 ounces. 



6. Eyes: The eyes of the potato should be medium deep, well de- 

 fined, and not too numerous. Deep eyes cause waste in paring. 

 Shallow eyes are low in vitality, and too many eyes denote poor stock. 



T. Skin: Smooth without cracks or blemishes. The skin may be 

 whitish, brown, reddish, yellowish brown, blue, or black, depending 



