Potato planting is one of the very first duties in the early spring. Ground manured in the fall is best; fresh manure induces scab 
Potatoes Worth Having—By 13, ID. Darhinawomn, 32 
Pennsyl- 
WHY NOT ECONOMIZE BY GROWING A YEAR’S SUPPLY FOR YOUR FAMILY EVEN IF YOU HAVE 
TO RENT A VACANT LOT ?—HOW TO HAVE FINE, MEALY POTATOES THAT KEEP ALL WINTER 
Gl ee most delicious potatoes are “new” 
potatoes, as opposed to those that are 
allowed to mature before being dug. And 
the varieties and cultural methods for pro- 
ducing these in perfection, as opposed to 
the supply of larger tubers for winter stor- 
age are quite distinct. But quality in pota- 
toes goes deeper, since some varieties are 
bred for perfection in baking, while others 
are adapted for salads and for frying. 
The baking varieties ought to cook to 
a fine, flour-like texture,in an hour or less, 
when baked or roasted ina hot oven. The 
salad varieties are of firmer texture, suitable 
for slicing, and do not break up into fine 
particles except when baked for a much 
longer time. 
The mealy varieties will burst open and 
fall apart if cooked too long, but they are 
the best for general use because they require 
less time for cooking and because baked 
potatoes are healthier than fried potatoes. 
The solid varieties are not so convenient 
and economical for general use, because 
they require more time and fuel, and if 
underdone they are lumpy; but they are 
greatly valued for hotel and restaurant use 
in some sections, because when boiled in 
the skins they remain firm and solid a long 
time and are just what is wanted for frying 
and for salads, whereas a baked potato 
loses its hotness, mealiness, and often its 
color five minutes after it is taken from 
the stove. 
Quality in potatoes also depends on cul- 
tural conditions. The best mealy potatoes 
are produced on a warm, sandy soil; 
these will be of convenient size and keep 
well. The largest but poorest potatoes 
are produced on wet, heavy soil; these are 
coarse grained, soggy, too large for con- 
venient handling, and quick to decay. 
We ought to pay more attention to va- 
rieties. Some will cook dry and mealy as 
soon as they reach full size even when 
freshly dug; others can be cooked more 
quickly and evenly after they have been 
dug for some time and the tubers have par- 
tially dried out, and yet others continue 
firm and solid when cooked even after they 
have been stored in the cellar all winter. 
VARIETIES FOR THE EARLY CROP 
The extra early varieties will ripen from 
two to four weeks earlier than any of the 
main crop varieties and may be two months 
earlier than the latest, but they have to 
sacrifice size to earliness, and the potatoes 
are mostly round, not oblong. The plants 
are stiffly erect, free from side branches, and 
have heavy compact leafage. The potatoes 
lie closely together in the hill, thus permit- 
ting close planting in rich soil. And with 
an early planting, the growth is made and 
the crop matured before there is any danger 
of the foliage being attacked by blight. 
The earliest and hardiest variety is Quick 
Lunch or Noroton Beauty, producing round 
10 
tubers of a very pale brownish color with 
carmine splashes around the eyes. Eureka 
Extra Early and Early White Ohio are 
similar in form and growth, rather larger 
in size and a little later in season, with 
smooth white skins and very attractive in 
appearance. These varieties grow rather 
larger than the White Triumph and Red 
Triumph potatoes, which are extensively 
planted in the south for early Northern 
markets. All the varieties in this class cook 
firm and solid, but those named are free 
from any hard core, and in my estimation, 
are much finer in flavor than the special 
salad potatoes which are imported from 
Germany. 
VARIETIES FOR THE MAIN CROP 
The main crop varieties produce larger 
potatoes and more of them than the earliest 
varieties, and the potatoes are generally 
oblong. ‘Their stems are of a spreading 
or vine-like character and branch freely; 
and in a warm, wet season they develop a 
second growth of branches and foliage after 
having blossomed. The rows should be 
placed farther apart, and there is a greater 
necessity to guard the plants from the blight 
and the potato bug. 
The earliest of the main crop varieties 
may be two to four weeks earlier than the 
latest and heaviest yielders and they are 
distinct in that the potatoes cook to a dry 
mealy, floury texture as soon as they reach 
