9 
The potato resembles every other vegetable, in useful, 
profitable agriculture, in that it has certain specific, well de¬ 
fined wants, as to the chemical constituents of the soil and 
their mechanical constitution. Even where the proper plant 
food exists in the soil, if the plant is hemmed in by a hard, 
baked surface, there can be no healthy development. To 
produce healthy crops, soil must be pliable and porous, so 
that, with the aid of air and moisture, assimilation may take 
place readily and a* hospitable relation exist between the 
plant and its environment. 
With the hope to overcome some of these difficulties, 
which, it may be said, are common in many Western soils, 
especially where irrigation is practiced, a half acre was pre¬ 
pared in the following manner : On land occupied by sugar 
beets the season previous, straw was placed to a depth of 
eight or ten inches. June 5th the following season, the 
straw was burned and the ashes plowed under at once. Then 
on the Qth and 10th oneTourth of an acre was planted to 
seed of Mammoth Pearl and the other one-fourth acre to 
Rose Seedling. The seed was cut in large sized pieces, with 
one and two eyes and planted in furrows four to six inches 
deep. 
As soon as tops appeared above the ground, a light har¬ 
row was brought into use and this was continued at intervals 
of a few days until the tops were so large as to make the 
work injurious, after which time they were cultivated with a 
small, fine-tooth cultivator. When the ground was partially 
shaded by tops, a furrow was run between each two rows 
from north to south. On August 1st, when plants were in 
blossom, the ground being dry, irrigation was commenced. 
The water was confined to furrows and allowed to run long 
enough to moisten the rows quite thoroughly. By this time, 
the roots were spreading so far that cultivation would have 
been injurious, so that in order to keep the soil in healthy 
condition, it was necessary to irrigate about once a week, for 
the remainder of the season, which was done. 
Potatoes were harvested October 7th. The plat of Rose 
Seedlings produced at the rate of 108 bushels per acre. The 
plat of Mammoth Pearl at the rate of 252 bushels per acre. 
These potatoes, in both instances were of most excellent 
quality. 
During the winter of 1891, two one-half acre plats were 
prepared in same manner as described in last experiment. 
The first one-half acre was burned over and plowed in 
March and planted with Rose Seedlings potatoes, March 24. 
The second one-half acre was burned over and plowed, 
June 5th, then planted with Mammoth Pearl, June 9th. After¬ 
cultivation and irrigation was intended to be the same as in 
previous year. 
