CHAPTEE VIII 



THE POTATO CROPS 

 Potato Sweet potato 



The potato crops are major horticultural products re- 

 quiring not only choice and preparation of land but fore- 

 thought in the arrangement of rotations and in the assem- 

 bling of equipment and supplies. They are heavy products 

 and require the use of good machinery and vehicles. The 

 grower must prepare for the supply of labor, horse or other 

 power, manures and fertilizers, good seed, insecticides, 

 fungicides and sprayers, graders and handling conveni- 

 ences, and must look long in advance into the transporta- 

 tion and market facilities. The outlay for growing heavy 

 crops on any important scale — which is the only profitable 

 way — is so considerable that the man should be ready and 

 well prepared at the start. The potatoes are " money 

 crops," and are likely to consume a large proportion of the 

 man's time and plan. 



The potato crops are two, the common or Irish potato, 

 and the sweet potato. The former is staple in the North 

 and the latter in the South. The two are so unlike in cul- 

 tural requirements that it is not expedient to endeavor to 

 state principles that apply to both. Yet they are usu- 

 ally associated in the public mind and may be brought 

 together for comparison if not for agreement. What is 



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