Vegetables with Edible Tubers or Roots 249 



eyes in each piece will start, the rest remaining dormant. 

 The pieces are dropped about a foot apart in the row and 

 covered by means of a plow, and if the land is loose, 

 rolled. When irrigation is used, it is impossible to culti- 

 vate across the rows and they should then be made as 

 straight as possible so that the cultivator can run very near 

 the row. It is possible to raise good crops of potatoes 

 without hoeing at all. 



For fields that cannot be irrigated, the rows may be made 

 2f or 3 feet apart. Two by 2 feet is too close for good culti- 

 vation. When labor is hard to obtain, it will be found 

 cheaper to raise the crop in checks. In such a case, the 

 rows may be marked out 2| feet apart with the crossmarks 

 2 feet apart. If labor is cheap, the rows may be marked 

 out 3 feet apart, and the potatoes dropped about a foot 

 apart in the row. Such fields usually have to be hoed 

 once or twice. Cover the pieces with 4 or 5 inches of soil. 



While potatoes like decaying vegetable matter, barn- 

 yard manure is rarely used on account of its tendency to 

 induce scab. It is difficult to make the soil too rich, but 

 whether it will pay to use large quantities of commercial 

 fertilizer depends on the conditions of the markets. 

 Lime or other corrective of acidity should not be used. 



Cultivation of potatoes. 



The cultivation is much the same as for tomatoes, and 

 should be carried on in the same way. When the potatoes 

 are about to come through the ground, a good harrowing 

 with a smoothing harrow or horse weeder will destroy many 

 weeds and will take the place of the first hoeing. 



The cultivation should be thorough, and the first cul- 



