30 MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. I914. 



comparing shallow planting with high ridge cultivation, some- 

 what deeper planting with a lower, broader ridge, and deep 

 planting with as level cultivation as practicable, was begun. 

 This has been continued through four years with two varieties 

 of potatoes. The results of the experiment are here reported. 

 The deep planted lots were planted at a depth of 5 inches, the 

 medium at 3 t-2 inches and the shallow at 2 inches. 



Full data as to the planting, cultivation, spraying and har- 

 vesting of the crop were kept each season. But in an experi- 

 ment of this type it does not seem wise to use space in report- 

 ing details that, while they are important in showing that the 

 crop was carefully grown, have little agricultural significance 

 beyond that fact. 



The season of 1910 was favorable for a maximum crop as 

 the rainfall was ample and the growing season greatly pro- 

 longed by frost keeping off until October. The seasons of 

 1911 and 1912 were not so favoable and 1913 was particularly 

 unfavorable, although the rainfall in August was greater than 

 the average and saved the crop from the damage that threat- 

 ened from the dry July. 



The time required for planting was the same on all of the 

 plots. The planting, spra3'ing and harvesting were the same 

 for all of the plots with the exception that on the deep planted 

 it was necessary to use four horses on the digger. The deep 

 planted required less hours of cultivation; the medium planted 

 the most. A man and team for cultivating were on the deep 

 plots 26 hours, on the medium 39 hours and on the shallow 35 

 hours per acre. 



There was not much difference in the difficulties of digging 

 between the shallow planted and the medium planted. The 

 deep planted required four horses instead of two on the digger, 

 and a good deal of care was necessary to be sure that the 

 digger was sufficiently deep in the ground to prevent cutting 

 the tubers. 



The yields for the four years are given in the table which 

 follows : 



