136 



POTATOES 



the results in the accompanying table and chart. With the variety 

 Carman No. 3 the most profitable rate of seeding was with half 

 tubers using twenty-five bushels per acre, when the price was fifty 

 cents a bushel. With the Bovee variety shown in the chart, the 

 greatest profit was with two-eye pieces using fifteen bushels 

 per acre. 



Results of Using Different Quantities of Bovee Seed Potatoes per Acre. Average 



for Two Years 



Treating to Prevent Scab.— Before the seed potatoes have been 

 cut they should be soaked for an hour or two in a solution of 

 formalin composed of one pint of formalin (40 per cent strength) 

 in thirty-two gallons of water. The scab disease (Fig. 82) is 

 likely to be introduced into any garden soil if the seed potatoes 

 have not been treated by some method to kill the scab spores. The 

 method here given is very inexpensive and is not a dangerous one. 



Sprouting Seed Potatoes. — Either before or after the potatoes 

 are cut for planting they are sometimes spread on a barn floor or 

 indirect sunlight, to cause more rapid growth as soon as planted. 

 (Fig. 83) According to trials at the Missouri Station, this practice 

 of greening and sprouting is hardly worth while for old seed. 



Planting Potatoes. — The distance between rows is usually about 

 three feet. The distance between plants in the rows may be from 

 eight inches to two feet, depending on the soil and the variety. 



