Potato Culture in Colorado 
17 
U. S. Grade No. 1 
*“This grade shall consist of sound potatoes of similar varietal 
characteristics, which are practically free from dirt or other 
foreign matter, frost injury, sunburn, second growth, cuts, scab, 
blight, dry rot, and damage caused by disease, insects, or mechan¬ 
ical means. The minimum diameter of potatoes of the round 
varieties shall be one and seven-eights ( 1 %) inches, and of pota¬ 
toes of the long varieties one and three-fourths (1^) inches. In 
order to allow for variations incident to commercial grading and 
handling, 5 per centum by weight of any lot may be under the 
prescribed size, and, in addition, 3 per centum by weight of any 
such lot may be below the remaining requirements of this grade. 
U. S. Grade No. 2 
This grade shall consist of potatoes of similar varietal charac¬ 
teristics^ which are practically free from frost injury and decay,and 
which are free from serious damage caused by dirt or other foreign 
matter, sunburn, second growth, cuts, scab, blight, dry rot, or other 
disease, insects, or mechanical means. The minimum diameter 
shall be one and one-half (l^^) inches. In order to allow for varia¬ 
tions incident to commercial grading and handling, 5 per centum 
by weight of any lot may be under the prescribed size, and, irj 
addition, 5 per centum by weight of any such lot may be below 
the remaining requirements of this grade.” 
VARIETIES 
Experience has shown that certain standard varieties do better 
in some localities than others, and this preference or adaptation 
to soil and climatic conditions is now fairly well established for 
Colorado. With these facts known, the grower need not experi¬ 
ment with new varieties or with old ones, but can take up the work 
at once without passing through the period of experimentation. 
For the convenience of potato growers, we may divide the State 
into districts, based upon climatic conditions, geographical loca¬ 
tion, and soils, and assign varieties to these districts which have 
proven best adapted to them. Number 1, the Greeley district, 
comprising Northeastern Colorado, with Greeley as a center; 
No. 2 , Divide district, comprising Douglass, Elbert, and El Paso 
counties; No. 3, Northwestern district, comprising Moffat and 
Routt counties ; No. 4 , Intermountain district, including the vallevs 
and mesas of Garfield, Eagle, and Pitkin counties; No. 5, Western 
Slope district, including Mesa, Delta, and Montrose counties; 
No. 6 , Southwestern district, including Montezuma and La Plata 
counties ; and No. 7, San Luis Valley. 
District No. 1 is the oldest potato-growing section in the 
State, and the crop is grown as a part in the regular rotation. 
