HOME VEGETABLE GARDENING 
POTATOES— CULTIVATION AND FIGHTING 
INSECTS 
A S SOON as the young plants push through the soil, 
which is generally about three weeks after planting, 
hoe the rows, carefully breaking the soil into fine particles 
all about the sprouts. When three to four inches tall, 
hill them slightly. This work is quickly, easily, and most 
thoroughly done with a double wheelhoe. 
Go over the patch after every shower, hoeing and weed- 
ing and hilling. End of July or early in August the 
Colorado potato beetles are apt to appear. They are 
best fought by sprinkling Slug Shot over the vines while 
they are wet with dew or rain. Or the vines may be 
sprayed with Arsenate of Lead or a Paris Green solution, 
using a tablespoonful of the poison to a pail of water. 
Above all, the potato patch must be kept free of weeds. 
Weeds are a heavy drain on soil fertility; so are potatoes. 
Both cannot thrive in the same patch without detriment 
to the cultivated crop. The watchword is weeding. 
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