30 
Colorado Experiment Station 
seed should be used. The varieties which are best adapted to con¬ 
ditions are not always the best market varieties, but the Pearl, the 
' Charles Downing, and the Irish Cobler, are among the best 
varieties. 
Potatoes should never be irrigated by sub-irrigation methods, 
because such soil treatment tends to increase the ravages of potato 
diseases. Land for potatoes should be in a high state of fertility 
and deeply plowed. Irrigation should be by the furrow method 
after the potatoes have been ridged. Small streams of water 
should be used and great care taken not to over-irrigate. The Colo¬ 
rado Experiment Station has published complete bulletins on potato 
culture which can be obtained when more detailed information is 
desired. 
FLAX. 
Flax does remarkably well on the soils and under the climate 
of the Valley, but existing freight rates render it inadvisable to grow 
the crop with the expectation ol selling the seed in outside markets 
as prices are not usually high enough to cover the necessary freight 
charges and leave a profit to the grower. Flax is an excellent 
crop to use sometimes as a supplementary feed for livestock. For 
dairy and pure bred herds especially, a small amount of ground 
flax added to the rations will give tone and quality to the animals. 
For such purposes it is sometimes advisable to grow flax. For a 
cash crop prices usually make it unprofitable. 
Land for flax should be prepared as for the small grains. It 
should be seeded very early in the spring, preferably in April, 
twenty to twenty-five pounds of seed being used per acre. Flax is 
subject to a disease known as flax wilt. To reduce the dangers of 
this disease to a minimum, all seed should be severely fanned to 
blow out all light seeds. The remaining heavy seeds should be 
treated with formialdehyde so as to kill all of the wilt spores ad¬ 
hering to the seed. 
Irrigation .,—Flax does not require heavy irrigation, but it 
should be kept growing continuously with light or moderate appli- 
catious of water. The last irrigation should be given not later 
than the beginning of the blooming period. Late applications of 
water tend to keep the crop green, thus preventing proper filling and 
maturing of the seed. 
Harzresting .—Flax may be harvested with a binder in the same 
manner as small grain. The bundles should then either be shocked 
or allowed to dry until cured. In many seasons flax can be har¬ 
vested best with a self-rake or an ordinary mower having bunching 
attachments. When the straw is thoroly dry, it may be stacked 
or thrashed with a common grain thrasher. 
