522 



POTATO 



POTATO 



,747. A " long ' ' potato, with shallow 

 eyes; peels with little waste. 



spring and disked in. It is important for potatoes 

 that there be plenty of humus, hence the crop is 

 frequently grown after a crop of clover or on a two- 

 year-old sod. It would do well after a much older 



, _^ sod,but there 



^ '•-- is likely to 



' be trouble 



from wire- 

 worms and 

 white grubs; 

 for this rea- 

 son, when po- 

 tatoes are to 

 be planted on 

 such land, it 

 is considered 

 advisable to follow another crop, such as oats or 

 corn, by potatoes, which may then be grown for 

 two or three successive years if desired. If com- 

 mercial fertilizers are applied, generally a complete 

 fertilizer — containing nitrogen, phosphoric acid 

 and potash — gives best results. Nitrate of soda is 

 a good source of nitrogen for potatoes. 



Seed. — The seed tubers may be planted whole or 

 cut; a piece weighing about three ounces, or as 

 large as a good-sized egg, and having at least one 

 good eye, being the most profitable. It pays to dig 

 the heaviest-yielding plants by hand and save their 

 progeny for seed. Heavy-yielding plants will gen- 

 erally reproduce heavy yielders, and vice versa. 

 The tubers used for seed should be sound, free from 

 coarseness and second growth and be true to name. 

 If planted in rows thirty-six inches apart and the 

 plants fifteen inches asunder in the row, it will 

 require about seventeen bushels of seed per acre. 



The storage of seed is a very important factor. 

 It should be kept in a cool, well-ventilated place 

 to prevent much loss of weight, until ten or four- 

 teen days before planting 'time, when it may be 

 spread on the barn floor or in some well-lighted 

 place, which will cause the seed to begin to grow 

 before planting. The shoots made under such con- 

 ditions will be very small. If the seed is scabby, or 

 from scab-infested land, it may be treated with 

 formalin. [See next page under Enemies.] 



Seeding. — Planting may be done by hand or 

 machinery, the latter being by far the cheaper 

 way, although still unsatisfactory, because there is 



no planter, 

 known to the 

 writer which 

 will handle a 

 seed piece of the 

 size required. On 

 sandy loam soils 

 the seed may be 

 planted three or 

 four inches 

 deep, and level 

 culture adopted with profit. Under other condi- 

 tions, planting two or three inches deep and subse- 

 quent drill culture may be good practice. Where 

 irrigation is practiced, rows are often four feet 

 apart, but under other conditions three feet is 

 generally considered ample. 



Fig. 748. A " long ' ' potato, difficult 

 to peel economically. 



The time of planting depends on whether an 

 early, mid-season, or late crop is being grown. 

 Generally the early crop is put in as soon as settled 

 weather comes and the ground is workable. Care 

 must be taken that the plants are not frosted, as 

 they are sensitive. The late crop is planted in the 

 middle or latter part of May in the North. fThe 

 planting dates throughout the country are given 

 in Chapter VII, pages 138-140.] 



Subsequent care. — Cultivation begins a few days 

 after planting and consists of harrowing the land 

 with the spike-toothed harrow or 1;he weeder to 

 destroy all weeds before they are well started, a 

 policy that should be rigidly maintained. The 

 weeder may then be used once a week until the 

 plants are seven to ten inches tall. By this time 

 the plants may have been cultivated 6nce, with the 

 cultivator set three or four inches deep ; they 

 should receive subsequently about four more culti- 

 vations, each one shallower than its predecessor, 

 the second one being not more than two to two and 

 a half inches deep, thus giving a total of about five 

 cultivations at intervals of seven to ten days. By 

 this time the tops 

 will meet in the 

 rows. 



Varieties. — In 

 choosing a vari- 

 ety to plant, a 

 number of factors 

 must be consid- 

 ered. Among 

 these may be men- 

 tioned : 



(1) Good cook- 

 ing quality and 

 flavor. These are 

 partly influenced 

 by the soil, season, fertilizers, ability to mature 

 before frost and other factors. 



(2) Yield. This is dependent on adaptation of 

 the variety to its environment. 



(3) Ability to resist diseases. No blight-proof 

 variety exists, but some possess more resistance 

 than others. 



(4) Color of skin and tuber. Some markets re- 

 quire one color, others another. 



(5) The nature of the skin. A netted or rough 

 skin is preferred. 



(6) The shape. Some markets discriminate in 

 favor of a particular shape. Varieties are some- 

 times classified according to shape, as round, flat 

 round, kidney and the like. 



(7) Depth and frequency of eyes. Deep and 

 numerous eyes are not economical in peeling. 



(8) Time of maturity. In the northern states 

 varieties are classified according to the time taken 

 to form salable tubers ; thus, "earlies" are ready 

 to harvest in 70 to 90 days after planting, "second 

 earlies" in 90 to 130 days, while late varieties 

 may sometimes continue to grow for 200 days. 



(9) The character of the foliage and top. Straight 

 upright stems bearing thick hard leaves are desired, 

 since such are probably less liable to diseases, and 

 are easier to spray. 



Fig. 749. 



A ' ' round ' ' potato, with 

 shallow eyes. 



