52 
HINTS ON RAISING FARM CROPS 
POTATOES 
Ths Irish potato is grown in nearly all coun¬ 
tries of the civilized world, and in' nearly all 
parts of our own country we find this im¬ 
portant crop in evidence. It is not only grown 
as a field crop, but many town people raise at 
least a few early potatoes for their own use, 
to last them until the late potatoes come on 
the market. The Irish potato differs from the 
other crops that we have studied about in re¬ 
gard to its method of propagation. When w~e 
speak of “seed” potatoes, we do not mean 
the real seed, but the real potato, or tuber, 
cut up into pieces, as this is the popular method 
of reproducing this particular crop. The or¬ 
dinary potato has several indentations, or 
“eyes” which have the faculty of sprouting 
and producing a new plant. In fact, most of 
the common potatoes do not produce genuine 
seed any longer. When the farmer gets ready 
to plant his potatoes, he cuts up these potatoes 
into several pieces, each piece containing at 
least one “eye,” and plants them in a well- 
prepared seed bed at a depth o ? f from three to 
five inches. It is generally best to fall-plow 
the land, and then work it up well in the 
spring if best results are to be obtained. 
There are many different varieties of po¬ 
tatoes now being grown, and these varieties 
are classed as early varieties, or late varieties. 
Some of the common early varieties are the 
Early Ohio, Early Rose and the Bliss Triumph. 
