1376 The Vegetable Industry in New York State 



stir the surface. If the land has been fall plowed and one does not 

 intend to replow, as soon as the land will bear a pair of horses and 

 a light harrow, stir the surface. This will not only stop evapora- 

 tion, but as the air strikes the soil the water will drop down, to be 

 drawn up later when it is needed. Just as in a test tube, the water 

 will not run out so long as one keeps his finger tightly over the 

 top, but remove the fingers and let the air in, and at once the water 

 falls. The same principle of frequent stirring during the culti- 

 vation of the crop, until the tops cover and shade the ground, will 

 do more to conserve moisture and insure a crop in a dry season 

 than any other one thing. 



2. Plenty of vegetable matter in the soil will help to hold 

 moisture. To illustrate: if we put an equal amount of water in 

 two vessels, but place in one a sponge, and leave them both exposed 

 to the sun and air, we know that from the one containing the 

 sponge we can obtain water long after the other is dry. The vege- 

 table matter has the same effect in the soil. I cannot, in the brief 

 space at my disposal, describe and emphasize the question of soil 

 humus as I should like to, but it is most vital to this crop. That 

 is one reason that I prefer a clover sod for potatoes. I know many 

 prefer " old ground.'' I am sure this is because the sod is turned 

 in such a way as to leave the soil open, and the sod does not decay. 

 If it is turned on edge with a narrow lap furrow and then com- 

 pacted, it will decay very fast and be mixed with the soil where 

 it will hold water. Better still, if the sod is thoroughly broken up 

 with a cutaway before it is plowed, the vegetable matter will be 

 incorporated in the soil, and at once decay and feed the plant, and 

 less fitting will be required after plowing. It naturally follows, 

 then, from the above that the ideal soil for potatoes is a loamy 

 one, not so hard or compact that the water cannot readily move 

 through it. 



THE SEED 



We are accustomed to speak of a " seed potato." Really, there 

 is no such thing for a potato is a tuber, and whatever seed there 

 may be is in the ball on top. When we plant a true seed of grain, 

 for example, although it may come from a weak parent, the pollen 

 from the stronger plants surrounding it overcomes, to a degree at 

 least, the inherent weakness. Hence, such seed selected from the 



