286 SCHOOL AND HOME GARDENS 
Culture. With a garden rake go over the entire patch 
before the potatoes come up. If rains are frequent, it 
may be wise to do this two or three times. 
Cultivate with a hand hoe or a wheel hoe after every 
hard rain. The early cultivation may be three or four 
inches deep. After the plants are in good growing con- 
dition, cultivate the surface only. When the vines begin 
to bloom, draw a layer of soil an inch or two deep around 
the plants. This will hold the moisture and keep the 
tubers from being exposed to the sun. Keep a loose 
layer of earth between the rows until the vines furnish 
enough shade to prevent excessive evaporation of mois- 
ture from the soil. While the potatoes are ripening, pull 
weeds that come up, to keep them from going to seed. 
If horse power is to be used, make the rows three feet 
apart. Harrow the entire patch just before the potatoes 
come up; one good harrowing will be sufficient. Use a 
hand hoe to remove weeds and loosen the soil between 
the hills after plowing. 
The yield may be increased by putting straw or ma- 
nure between the rows when the plants are in good 
growling condition. 
How to grow very early potatoes. Select an early va- 
riety and cut the tubers in the usual way. Place an 
inch of compost in a four-inch flowerpot. Cover the 
compost with an inch of sand. Place a piece of tuber, 
eyes up, on the sand. Fill in with sand, but leave half an 
inch of space for watering. Pack several pots with leaf 
mold in a box about four inches deep. Water well and 
