34 
BULLETIN 1188, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
The use of commercial fertilizer was practically limited to the 
New York and Maine areas. One grower in Barron County, Wis., 
and one in Montcalm County, Mich., were the only exceptions. In 
the Maine area a heavy application was used, a ton to the acre being 
the common rate. A high-grade fertilizer was used in this area as 
will be noted by the price in Table 37. The usual grade used was 
4-8-4. 5 In the other areas acid phosphate was more commonly 
used. 
Seed. — Only a small proportion of the seed used was purchased, as 
the common practice was to save the seed from the previous year's 
crop. The value of home-grown seed for purpose of these computa- 
tions was the market price of seed on the farm at the time of planting. 
The charge for seed constitutes from 10 to 16 per cent of the total 
cost, with an average for all areas of about 12 per cent. The average 
quantity of seed used per acre was 11.4 bushels for all areas. The 
large variation in some areas, indicated in Table 38, between the 
five growers using the least seed and the five using the most seed, per 
acre, was due mainly to the fact that both hand and machine planting 
were practiced in these areas, the hand planters using less seed. 
Table 38. — Quantity of 
seed used per acre — Potatoes, 
1919 crop, 461 farms 
Minnesota. 
Wisconsin. 
Michigan. 
New York. 
Maine. 
Clay 
County. 
Anoka 
County. 
Barron 
County. 
Wau- 
paca 
County. 
Mont- 
calm 
County. 
Grand 
Tra- 
verse 
County. 
Steu- 
ben 
County. 
Monroe 
County. 
Aroos- 
took 
County. 
All farms 
Bush- 
els. 
12.3 
Bush- 
els. 
9.5 
12.9 
6.6 
Bush- 
els. 
11.6 
16.2 
7.1 
Bush- 
els. 
10.6 
14.0 
7.4 
Bush- 
els. 
7.7 
11.8 
5.7 
Bush- 
els. 
11.3 
15.0 
8.5 
Bush- 
els. 
11.2 
15.2 
8.1 
Bush- 
els. 
13.2 
16.0 
10.7 
Bush- 
els. 
15.4 
14.6 
10.8 
18.4 
Lowest five 
12.1 
Average price planting 
$1.02 
$1.19 
$1.05 
$1.10 
$.99 
$1.05 
$1.00 
$1.05 
\ 
$1. 43 
Many different varieties of potatoes were grown. Many farmers 
grew more than one variety. Early Ohio and Cobbler were the most 
common varieties in the area of Clay County, Minn., and early Ohio 
and Triumph in the area of Anoka County, Minn. Rural New 
Yorker and Petosky were the important varieties in Barron and 
Waupaca Counties, Wis., and Montcalm and Grand Traverse Counties, 
Mich. The Green Mountain was also grown considerably in the Bar- 
ron Countv area. The greatest number of varieties grown were in 
the area oi Monroe and Steuben Counties, N. Y., though the leading 
varieties were Peerless Jr., S. W. Raleigh, and Carman. Cobbler and 
Green Mountain were the common varieties grown in Aroostook 
County, Me. 
Spray and seed treatment materials. — xiside from the areas of 
Aroostook County, Me., and Monroe County, N. Y., the spraying was 
practically limited to poison sprays, Paris green, and other arsenic 
compounds. In the two areas mentioned Bordeaux mixture was used 
occasionally. Two and one-half times constituted the average 
5 That is, 4 per cent nitrogen, 8 per cent phosphoric acid, and 4 per cent potash, the order in which plant 
food formulas are quoted in many sections. 
