208 The Potato Crops 



widespread practice to raise the early crop from northern- 

 grown seed stock. 



Land and tillage. 



The land should be loamy rather than heavy, well- 

 drained, working up deep and mellow. The potato crop is 

 good to follow sod and to prepare the land for other 

 crops. Not only is the land well prepared for the crop 

 and well tilled, but the digging amounts to another tilling 

 and cleaning of the land. 



In most cases a heavy yield of potatoes is largely a ques- 

 tion of moisture, as well as of fertility. If planted late, 

 the crop loses the benefit of much of the winter precipita- 

 -tion. Planting on ridges or hills wastes the soil moisture 

 in most cases. " Hilling up " is often necessary, however, 

 because the land is not deep enough to allow the tubers to 

 grow well below the surface; and in market-garden 

 operations the practice may conduce to earliness by expos- 

 ing the soil more fully to sun heat. The ground should 

 be such as to allow the tubers to be planted at least 

 four inches beneath the level. If the potatoes^ are dropped 

 in a deep furrow, the earth is plowed over them, and the 

 surface may be harrowed two to three times before the 

 plants are up, thus conserving moisture and destroying 

 weeds. 



The land should be fertile, for the tonnage' of the 

 product is heavy. Ealw heavy stable manure is usually 

 avoided, or it may be applied on the sod the preceding au- 

 tumn and plowed under. Well-rotted or old manure is 

 often used. The potato responds specially well to commer- 

 cial fertilizer, and brands rich in potash are preferred. 



