EXPERIMENTS WITH POTATOES. 
11 
The yield under mulch is ordinarily greater than with¬ 
out, especially in uncongenial soils, the shading of the 
ground furnishing the proper conditions of temperature and 
moisture at the root, as well as assuring the necessary 
mechanical condition of the soil, so desirable in securing uni- 
' <D 
formity and the greatest possible development of tuber. 
A mulch, to be of any value in a dry climate, should be 
quite a foot thick, using large seed pieces, however, to enable 
the tops to push through the cover. 
This year, instead of placing the mulch on the surface of 
the ground, we ploughed furrows three feet apart and placed 
whole tubers therein, of medium size, and one foot apart. 
The mulch, four inches thick, was placed in the furrow and 
earth to the depth of three or four inches on top covering all. 
The area devoted to this patch was 0.17 acres, yielding 
54 bushels, or at the rate of 324 bushels per acre. Neither 
the yield nor size of the tubers was equal to that secured 
from having the mulch on the surface of the ground. 
Table No. 4—Average Yield of Potatoes Under Mulch for Three 
Seasons. 
Whole 
Potato— 
Large. 
Whole 
Potato— 
Small. 
Seed 
End. 
Stem 
End. 
One 
Eye to 
Hill. 
Table potatoes. 
Small potatoes. 
863 
145.12 
369.3 
187.33 
266.12 
139.8 
254.5 
96.45 
387.12 
48.24 
Total yield. 
508 1-5 
556 3-5 
405 2-10 
350 5-10 
435 3-5 
POTATOES WITHOUT IRRIGATION. 
A piece of side hill land, 0.27 of an acre in area, was 
planted to potatoes of mixed varieties, May 14th. The 
soil was naturally moist from seepage, in fact quite a 
third of it too much so for the best culture of this plant. 
The yield was 57 bushels, or at the rate of 220 bushels 
per acre. 
The rows were opened with a plow, dour feet apart, 
and the seed pieces placed about one foot apart and cov¬ 
ered in the same way. The tubers were the largest and 
finest we have grown this season, and, where the soil was 
not too moist, entirely free from scab. The land had 
never been manured or in crop before. 
