446 
Tht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Potatoes After Potatoes 
March 25, 3922 
TOURING *330 
SEDAN *093 
GREATEST 
AUTOMOBILE VALUE 
IN AMERICA 
WILLYS OVERIAND™ 
TOLEDO _OHIO 
r Stumps 1 
L 3 Hours '1 
COMBINATION POTATO AND ORCHARD SPRAYER 
A New Product Which is the Latest Ideas of Growers] 
and Scientific Men 
Maximum power, motor pump unit, 150 gallon tank, propeller 
agitator, adjustable wheels, improved Nixon nozzle boom. 
Write for further description of this new machine. 
FRIEND MFG. CO.. GASPORT. N. Y. 
WORLD’S 
RECORD 
D At Minnesota Land Clearing 
.Demonstration ONE man pulled 
k 64 stumps in 3 hours with hia 
B Martinson Wheel- 
■ barrow Stump- 
I Puller. Light, 
W speedy, power- 
f fui. Push it ^■■EQ 
•round like • 
wheelbarrow. 
Clear your own land 
paying high wages for help. The _ 
UARTINSOM 
|wl W H E. L L B A R ft O W |W 
I YE STUMP-PULLER I « 
Is guaranteed. Try it 10 Days Free. It not as 
represented, just, return it and the deal is off. 
Sold on terms bo easy that you will never 
miss the money. Don't fail to write us. 
Martinson Mfg. Co., a. 
1331 Lincoln Building Yfc 
Duluth, Minn. _ 
This attractive 234-page 
book has some of the 
best of the Hope Farm 
Man’s popular sketches— 
philosophy, humor, and 
sympathetic human touch. 
Price $1.50. For sale by 
Rural New-Yorker, 335 
W. 30th St.. New York. 
HOPE 
FARM 
BOOK 
When you write advertisers mention 
7 he Rural New-Yorker and you’ll get 
a quick reply and a "square deal.” See 
guarantee editorial page. : : : 
mswmm 
ALt 
4 uDL 
*asa 
ggttg 
■ i ■ T 1 i i ■ .1 
fir. M TOR DO years f 
Er] 
JR-Bi 
Kyera Pumi 
Do I understand rightly in one of 
Mrs. Unger’s articles that they plant 
potatoes after potatoes each year on same 
land, by heavy fertilization, and a rye 
cron after potatoes are dag? e. d. 
New York, 
It must also be understood that these 
are early potatoes, taken out in late July 
or early August, with the cover crop 
sown as fast as the ground is available. 
Just how long it is possible to continue 
to grow potatoes on the same ground, 
year after year, by applying underground 
crop, is a question that involves the 
character of the man as well ns of the 
soil. Of course the soil is the medium 
through which seed is multiplied. Per¬ 
haps the ingredients are there for a fine 
crop of potatoes, but just as one uses 
flour, sugar and eggs in making a cake, 
so the potato plant uses a certain amount 
of plant food from the soil When the 
Hour, etc., is gone some one has to take 
out the pocket-book and replace it. One 
must put back the plant food that has 
been taken from the soil, and likewise 
rake out the pocket-book. Only the man 
who will conscientiously put back what 
he has taken out of the soil can hope to 
grow potatoes year after year on the 
Same ground. 
There is a natural potato soil, a sandy 
loam, sometimes described as oak and 
chestnut soil, that saves one from wor¬ 
rying about the scab. It contains very 
little plant food, which is not a very 
pleasant thought until you understand 
that there is no food for fungus, cither. 
Sand may well he described as a machine 
for growing potatoes. You put in seed 
and fertilizer, and take out in ratio to 
the investment. It is really a joke to 
say that sand would he "potatoed out,” 
for there is so little to lose. 
Everyone who raises potatoes has to 
fight off bugs to a certain extent, but let 
it he known that sand is the natural 
habitat of the six-footed. The Colorado 
potato beetle is easily kept in check; 
sometimes he mny not appear after the 
first year of thorough spraying. But the 
tiny black flea beetle, scarcely seen un¬ 
less you are on the watch, is not mueh 
of an enter. True, he does not like Bor¬ 
deaux mixture with arsenic, but for that 
reason he seldom eats it. Tt is the larvae 
under ground that cause the damage, cut¬ 
ting into the tender growing tuber which, 
in trying to heal the wound, produces an 
effect, that is often mistaken for scab. 
When you are selling your crop it. might 
as well be scab. 
Possibly this little pest was more 
prevalent last year thau it will be again 
in some time. In 3021 the open Winter, 
followed by a dry Spring and Summer, 
seemed to have fostered the flea beetle 
in great numbers. We have observed 
how he takes to certain dry spots in our 
field, and have formed these conclusions 
after noting that, we were not Iroubled 
in years of heavy snowfall or after a 
long wet period. Although much of the 
early crop was unsalable, faithful spray¬ 
ing gave noticeable results; in fact, pota¬ 
toes grown in succession seemed to fare 
no worse than those In rotation. As a 
rule the early crop is the one to suffer 
most. 
The cover crop is man's way of fol¬ 
lowing nature's method. It is the most 
important factor in putting hack what 
one has taken out, and also, if I might 
mention it, a means of keeping down the 
fertilizer bills. This is not to say that 
one can get along without, for the belter 
and more fertilizer you use the more 
cover crop is produced, and the potato 
crop will reward you in like ratio. Life 
being short, it does not seem advisable to 
do with less than from 000 to 1.000 lbs. 
per acre of the best that money can buy. 
Rye is the ideal cover crop for the late 
potato grower, for it does not. freeze out, 
but when sown in August it stops growing 
a month before the growing season is 
over. The early grower who expects to 
plow in November will get better results 
with a grass that matures the first year. 
Buckwhpat plowed under in the succu¬ 
lent stage can offer a much greater value 
in green manure, and Italian rye grass 
holds the record for giving more roots 
and turf in a shorter season than any 
other grass. For the man who must plow 
in November they are superior to rye. 
although Ilubam. the annual Sweet clover, 
would be given first place if it were not 
so dear. The Winter’s snow, rain and 
freezing will decay the green cover crop, 
disintegrate the soil and make splendid 
conditions for growing potatoes the fol¬ 
lowing Spring. This is the real secret 
of keeping up the soil—to keep it stocked 
with decaying vegetable matter and to 
change root systems. Throe months of 
potatoes and three months of cover crop 
is a form of rotation. From an econom¬ 
ical point of view it is ideal, for the fer¬ 
tilizer left over from the potatoes serves 
for the cover crop. Nature is very keen 
oil seeing that nothing is wasted. 
As we come hack to rhe question of 
how long the practice of planting pota¬ 
toes continuously may ho kept up, 1 can 
only quote from the experiences of some 
who have been in the business longer 
than our modest term of thrro years, 
though they have been successful ones, 
and we are looking forward to a fourth, 
TIerp in the "Potato Book.” by Grubb 
and Guilford, page 443. is the record of 
Matthew G. Wallace, of Dumfries. Scot¬ 
land. who was knighted by King George 
for his services in the potato industry. 
Mr. Wallace’s whole work is potato pro¬ 
duction. lie has grown potatoes every 
year for 20 years on the same 200 acres 
of light sandy loam, using Italian rye 
grass sown in July at the rate of three 
bushels per acre. In addition, he uses 20 
tons of manure to the acre on the cover 
crop and 000 lbs. of expensive fertilizer. 
Ilis average yield was about 200 bushels. 
His seed is only partially grown or 
matured, sprouted in the sun by means of 
trays, and dropped by hand, thus hasten¬ 
ing the crop fully two weeks at each end 
of the growing season. The seed is never 
cut. but planted whole, 40 bushels to the 
acre. 
Another example is that, of Mr. Han¬ 
nah of Girvan Mains, Scotland. Ilis 
acreage is the same, and he has grown 
potatoes oil the same ground for 30 con¬ 
secutive years. Ilis system differs, as 
follows: Instead of plowing under the 
rye grass, as at Dumfries, Mr. Hannah 
buys 3,000 head of sheep, which are 
started grazing about August 1. When 
finished for market they are slaughtered 
once a week until the sheep and pastur¬ 
age are all gone. No grain is fed. nothing 
but rape or rye grass pasture. Then, as 
he lives near the seashore, there is avail¬ 
able a certain amount of seaweed, which 
he spreads on at the rate of 40 tons per 
acre as far as if goes, finishing out with 
barnyard manure, 20 tons per acre. 
It may he the coming problem—what 
to use as a supplement for that rich 
barnyard manure, which is so vapidly 
diminishing in supply since auto machin¬ 
ery was introduced. Personally. I feel 
that the only safe reliance is the cover 
crop, augmented by fertilizer and sup¬ 
plemented by the same agent. Like many 
others I am looking forward to the day 
when we can Afford to grow 30 acres of 
Huliarn just to plow under, for quite pos¬ 
sibly it wili give more fertility than the 
rye-grass cover crop, So far we have 
been nhle to keep up the yield, hut every 
good farmer likes to progress in efficiency. 
At least never have we fallen back to the 
low record of our first year before we 
grew a cover crop (100 bushels to the 
acre). We were able to double it the 
second year, and the third, although per¬ 
haps 1.500 bushels were ruined by the 
flea beetle, we could still show an in¬ 
crease in salable product over the first 
year, though it seems prior to our com¬ 
ing throe cows were kept instead of one. 
not to mention a pen of pigs. We have 
hanked on the fertilizer hag and green 
manure entirely. After all. it is Nature’s 
Way. MRS. F. H. UNGEB. 
New York. 
Farm and Garden Notes 
Increase from $200,000 to $275,000 in 
the amount that would he available during 
the next fiscal year for nroventing the 
spread of the European corn borer is pro¬ 
vided for in an amendment to the agri¬ 
cultural apnropriation bill adopted March 
10 by the House of Representatives. An¬ 
other amendment adopted increases from 
$466,500 to $502,240 the appropriation 
for investigation ..f the food habits of 
North American birds and of the rearing 
of for-hearing animals. 
An analysis of the 3921 exports of 32 
of the principal agricultural products 
grown in the United Stales, made public 
March 1 1 by the Department of Agricul¬ 
ture. shows that more wheat was export¬ 
ed during (he year than in any preceding 
year, and that for the first time the ex¬ 
port value of wheat and wheat flour ex¬ 
ceeded the value of rotton exports. Ex¬ 
ports of corn in 1921, including corn- 
meal converted into terms of corn, were 
larger than in any other year since 1900. 
$ince 1010 the United States has become 
an exporter of rice, the exports of 000.- 
050.000 lbs. in 1021 being more than 23 
times the average annual rice exports 
from 1910 to 1014, 
OBITUARY. — Dr. William Warner 
Tracy, for many years connected with the 
Department of Agriculture and one of 
the best known seed experts of the coun¬ 
try. died March 1 at the home of his son. 
John E. Tracy, in Washington. Dr. 
Tracy was horn in Ohio in 1845 of Pil¬ 
grim stock, and at an early age moved 
with his parents to Vermont. At the out¬ 
break of the Civil War he enlisted in 
Company D, 45th Massachusetts Infan¬ 
try as a private, refusing to accept a 
commission as captain. In September, 
1.8(53, he was invalided home and after a 
long period of convalescence entered the 
Michigan Agricultural School. Follow¬ 
ing his graduation from college he joined 
the firm of D. M. Ferry X- Co, of Detroit 
and was assigned to the task of develop¬ 
ing n trial ground and plant breeding de¬ 
partment for the firm. His services in 
this connection won for him a world wide 
reputation as an expert in vegetable va¬ 
rieties and as a practical plant breeder. 
In 1903 Di-. Tracy entered the govern¬ 
ment service and for 18 years was an ex¬ 
pert in the Agricultural Department, re¬ 
tiring in April. 1921. He was the author 
of many books and bulletins on the sub¬ 
ject of horticultural varieties and vege¬ 
tables and was. regarded ns a leading au¬ 
thority in his lines of investigation. In 
view of his accomplishments he was given 
the honorary degree of Doctor of Science 
by his alma mater. 
