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APR - 1 198;

THE POTATO

Cl)c ifarm Litiratp

THE POTATO

A Compilation of Information from Every
Available Source

EUGENE H. GRUBB

Mt. Sopris Farm, Carbondale. Colorado: Consulting Apriculturist for the
Twin Falls North Side Land and Water Company, Idaho, and the
Sacramento Valley Irrig-ation Company, California; Special
Commissioner to Europe in Potato Investigations for
the United States Government ; author of
"The Modern Delicacy", "Orchard
Heating," "Farmers' Bulle-
tin 386 on Potatoes."

AND

W. S. GUILFORD

Jerome, Idaho, and Willowa, California ; Director of Agriculture, Sacra-
mento Valley Irrigation Company. California.

Garden City New Yokk

DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COJSIPANY

1912

DOUBLEDAY, PaGE & CoMPANY

translation into foreign languages,

including the Scandinavian.

W. C. Brown, president New York Central Lines — a leader in

agricultural j^rogress

LuLher Burbaiik, the world's greatest plant breeder

James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture

DEDICATION

Recognizing their valuable, lasting and unselfish work
for American Agriculture in different fields, for the common
good, this book is respectfully dedicated to

James Wilson

Secretary of Agriculture,

Luther Burbank

The World's Greatest Plant Breeder.

W. C. Brown

President, New York Central Lines.

Three men whose past work, present achievement, and
plans for the future place them high in the list of those
whose names live through all time.

ACKNOWT.EDGMENTS

The authors desire lo acknowledge courtesies so
numerous that to enumerate them is not possible, from
potato growers, government and state agricultural authori-
ties, dealers, officials of transportation companies and
others interested in agricultural uplift, both in America
and Europe. Every source of information has been drawn
on, and credit has been given in the text of the book
where quotations occur.

They also desire to thank Mr. Cassius K. Michael, with
Doubleday, Page & Company, for many valuable sugges-
tions as to the compilation of the matter for this book
and his careful and conscientious work in editing and
preparing the copy for same.

AUTHORS' PREFACE

It is with the hope that a compilation of in-
formation in regard to one of the world's greatest
food plants — the potato — will be of service to
the increasing thousands of people now interested
and becoming interested in practical, scientific
agriculture, that this work is published.

Never before in the history of the world has
the production of human food received as great
attention as at the present time. Population is
increasing with alarming rapidity, while the supply
of land on which it is possible to grow food is
limited. The one solution of the problem is the
production of more and better food on every acre
of land on which crops are grown.

The working out of this problem calls for broad,
liberal education, not the least factor of which is
to benefit by the experience of others. This has
been made a keynote in this work, and while
growers may not see fit to adopt wholly some of
the methods described, it is believed that they
will find the suggestions helpful.

The senior author has grown a large acreage of
potatoes at Mt. Sopris Farm for years, and has
made a careful study of the practical side of potato
growing all over the world. The discussion of
problems, and the suggestions made, are from the
standpoint of the practical grower.

E. H. Grubb.
W. S. Guilford.
March, 1912.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

PAGE

Importance of the Potato . . •

The Potato as Food . . . .

III

Chraatic Requirements

Potato Soils . . . . .

Drainage ......

Seed Slocks and Varieties

VII

Seed-bed Preparation and Phmting

\in

Cultivation . ...

Irrigation .....

101

Harvesting .....

111

Potato Machinery-

119

XII

Selling and Storage

127

XIII

Cost of Growing Potatoes — Yield —

Prices — Profits

141

XIV

Markets and Marketing

154

Enemies of the Potato .

167

XVI

Dming Cars, Hotels, and Restaurants

208

XVII

Fertilizers .....

210

XVIII

The Farm Rotation

221

XIX

Early Potatoes — Specialties .

224

The Burbank Potato

237

XXI

The Sweet Potato

241

XXII

Legislation .....

254

XXIII

Cooking the Potato

261

XXIV

Manufactures ....

277

XXV

Potatoes and Potato Products as Stock

Feed

303

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

PAGE

XXVI

Potatoes for Exhibition — Score Cards

and Standards . . . . .

311

XXVII

Potato Superstitions and Prejudices

319

XXVIII

Recent Development in New and Old Dis-
tricts .....

. 322

XXIX

North Atlantic States .

. 328

XXX

South Atlantic and Gulf States

347

XXXI

The Middle West

354

XXXII

Colorado .....

363

XXXIII

Idaho — Twin Falls County — 1

[Jpper

Snake River ....

382

XXXIV

The Northwest ....

396

XXXV

California .....

409

XXXVI

The Island of Chiloe, Chile .

434

XXXVII

Great Britain ....

. 437

XXXVIII

The Channel Islands .

477

XXXIX

Ireland .....

486

Continent of Europe

489

XTI

History

512

XLII

Botany, Physical and Chemical Com-

position of the Potato

521

APPENDIX

The World

s Food Problem

535

Potato Statistics .......

540

Acreage, Production, Value, Prices, etc. .

•

542

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Field of potatoes on Mt. Sopris Farm at Carbondale,

Colo Frontispiece

James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture . . ^ Preceding

Luther Burbank > Dedication

W. C, Brown, President N. Y. Central Lines ) Page

FACING PAGE

Map showing production of potatoes in the world
Graphic map showing production of potatoes in the

United States ,
Dr. J. H. Kellogg

Battle Creek Sanitarium, Battle Creek, Mich
Some potatoes before paring

After paring

Chart showing origin of potato varieties

A Burbank potato

Standard early varieties ....
Standard late varieties ....
Two views of Iron Age cultivator at work
Potato field at Mt. Sopris Farm
Iron Age potato hoe or ridger .

" " riding cultivator

" " potato digger ....

" " traction sprayer

" " (Improved Bobbins) potato planter
Seed pieces in place of furrows
Dowden potato digger
Deere disk harrow

cultivator
potato digger .
two-way plow .
double-action disk harrov/
shaker potato digger

120

121

122

(<
((
<<

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FACING PAGE

" Picker " in Aspinwall planter 123

Aspinwall two-row planter 123

planter with fertilizer attachment . .123

potato sorter 123

potato planter 124

sprayer ........ 124

Thompson's Greeley potato sorter 125

Dowden potato digger at work on Mt. Sopris Farm . 126

Iron Age digger at work 126

Hauling potatoes to storehouse in "half -sacks" — Mt.

Sopris Farm 126

Iron Age planter at work 127

New potato cellar of Commissioner of Agriculture, A.

W. Gilman 130

Potato storage cellar plan 131

Wart disease of potatoes 172

Early blight 173

Potato Scab 173

Late blight — diseased leaf and tuber of potato . .178
Late blight — last stages of disease . . . .179

Hill of potatoes partly diseased by dry-rot (Fusarium) 194

Various stages in destruction of potatoes by Fusarium 195

Rhizoctonia — showing development of" little potatoes" 198
" — showing stem of young potato plant

affected from the seed 199

The potato eelworm, showing eggs, worm and infected

potato 206

Iron Age sprayer in operation 207

E. L. Cleveland, Houlton, Maine 226

E. L. Cleveland Co. potato storehouse .... 227

Carbondale Peachblow potatoes on exhibition . . 312

An attractive English exhibit of potatoes . . . 313

Map showing some potato districts in the United States 322

D. E. Burley and C. H. Schlaacks 323

James J. Hill 324

Eugene H. Grubb 325

Mt. Sopris and a part of the Carbondale district, Colo. . 374
Lord Ogilvy, agricultural editor of Denver Post,

Denver, Colo 375

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FACING PAGE

Potato digging near Twin Falls 384

Planet Jr. furrower or ridger for hilling potatoes . 384

Potatoes near Jerome 385

Irrigating potatoes near Wendell 385

I. B. Perrine and H. L. HoUistcr 386

Map showing districts in Great Britain where there are

prominent potato farms ...'... 438

Sir Matthew Wallace 442

Potato digging in Scotland 443

Potato field on the farm of Matthew G. Wallace . 443

Mr. Hannah and Mr. Grubb in potato jBeld . . . 450

Potato field on Girvan Mains farms .... 450

Digging potatoes at Girvan Mains 450

Garden on Girvan Mains farms 450

Buildings on Little Pinmore farm, Scotland . . .451

House on Little Pinmore farm 451

Farm buildings, Girvan Mains farms . . . .451

Laborer's house, Girvan Mains 451

A party of leading British farmers 456

Sutton's Windsor Castle 457

Intensive British agriculture illustrated . . . 458

W. Dennis & Sons 464

Potato storage house on farm of W. Dennis & Sons . 465

Titus Kime 470

Northern Star potatoes grown by Titus Kime . . 470

Half acre challenge plot of Northern Star potatoes . 471

Harvesting early potatoes on the Island of Jersey . 478

Oats on the Island of Jersey 478

Plow for very deep plowing used in the Island of Jersey 478

Sutton's Ninety-fold potatoes 479

Composition of the potato 524

Transverse and longitudinal sections of the potato . 525

THE POTATO

CHAPTER I

IMPORTANCE OF THE POTATO

DURING the season of 1911-1912 the United
States has imported large quantities of
potatoes from Europe. The crop of 1911
was a good many milhon bushels short of the
needs of the nation.

This situation causes the thoughtful student of
the food problem to ask why we do not grow more
potatoes. Have we not a suflScient area suited
to the crop.'^ or is the average production per acre
too low, and if so, can it be increased?

A potato shortage is apt to result in this
country any year that weather or soil condi-
tions are unfavorable in our principal producing
districts.

We can and must grow more and better po-
tatoes. There are good undeveloped districts
that can produce a large tonnage, and by better
methods of propagation and cultivation the yield
on areas now in the crop can be very greatly in-
creased.

The potato comprises about 25 per cent, of
the food of European and English-speaking
people. Only the Oriental races exist without
it. If the potato crop of Europe should fail,
famine would result, as it did in Ireland between
1840 and 1850. More pounds of the potato are
produced than of any other food crop in the
world.

4 THE POTATO

The number of pounds of food produced to t*he
acre in the potato crop is large, as compared with
some other crops. In a 90-bushel potato crop
there are 5,400 pounds of food; a 14-bushel wheat
crop weighs only 840 pounds.

Although good yields are made by some growers
in the United States, the average production is
only 89.8 bushels per acre, while in Germany the
average yield is 197.3 bushels, and in Great
Britain 186.4 bushels.

In the United States the average consumption
of potatoes per capita is between three and four
bushels. In Europe it greatly exceeds this, in
some sections being more than twenty -five bushels.
The potato furnishes a cheap, wholesome food,
and its use could be considerably increased with
benefit to the race.

At the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan,
under the direction of one of the greatest food
experts in the world, 1,000 people consume 7,000
bushels per year — seven bushels per capita.

The use of the potato can and will be very
greatly extended. In Europe, especially in Ger-
many, the potato is largely used in manufacturing
and for stock food. The price of gasoline and
kerosene is kept down by the low price of spirit
distilled from the potato. A very high-grade
glucose, from which confectionery is made, is a
potato product. It is superior to grain glucose.
Flour which is used in all kinds of cooking is made
from the potato. Potato starch is also made in
Germany and in the United States.

It was with the idea of improving potato con-
ditions that the senior author wrote the following
letter, dated December 7, 1908, to Secretary of
Agriculture James Wilson:

o
5

-a

Jl^ I J»l

POTATOES

AVERAGE 'ANNUAL
PRODUCTION

DEC/IDE f/a99-/90&J ,

IN M/i.i.ib/1/s or Bus»£i.s 1

Graphic map showing production of potatoes in the United States

THE POTATO 5

"It may seem presumptuous on my part to sug-
gest any remedy for the betterment of the present
unsatisfactory conditions obtaining in American
potato growing, but the more I investigate the
subject of potato culture in this country the more
I am convinced of the necessity of more thorough
and special knowledge of potato growing by
American farmers, if they are ever to compete
with the vast influx of foreign potatoes to our
shores. It seems to me urgent that our Govern-
ment exert itself to ameliorate, in some measure
at least, the present deplorable state of this great
and vital industry. We should investigate the
causes whereby the foreign potato culturists are
able to so considerably exceed our own best efforts
of production, and the diffusion of such informa-
tion among our American farmers would be in-
valuable and certainly productive of the use of
more intelligent methods by them, resulting in a
perceptible increase in this great food staple, to-
gether with a much needed improvement in
quality.

"I am fully persuaded that we imperatively need
a more practical knowledge of seed growing and
seed selection, of growing special seed stocks, the
proper storage of seed stocks during the winter,
preparation of seed bed and cultivation, bal-
anced plant foods and fertilization of soil. I
know of no acquisition to agricultural knowledge
so devoutly to be wished, or that would be so
valuable to our farmers.

*'If Germany, with an area not more than twice
that of Colorado, can and does produce fully two
biUion bushels of potatoes annually, and the
United States, in its entirety, a meagre two hun-
dred and seventy-five million bushels annually

6 THE POTATO

(which latter Is vastly overestimated) , we ought to
know what it is that produces such marvellous
results on foreign soils, which have been cropped
for a thousand years."

Since this letter was written the senior author
has carefully studied the European potato situ-
ation, and the results of his investigations are
incorporated in the chapters which follow, being
given in detail in chapters XXXVII, XXXVIII,
XXXIX and XL.

The attention that is given to this matter abroad,
and the esteem in which it is held, are shown by
the following extract from a very able address
by David Young, editor of the North British
Agriculturist, Edinburgh, Scotland, entitled "The
Potato Crop." He says:

til

The potato crop is one of the most important
of all in the rural economy of the United Kingdom.
The potato is an esculent which is largely used and
highly relished as an article of diet by rich and
poor alike. The very poorest of the population
find it one of the cheapest forms of sustenance they
can obtain, and no well-ordered banquet, however
sumptuous, would be considered complete without
the roti-boeuf and the poulet being flanked by the
pommes de terre.

"The potato crop is practically the one farm
crop grown primarily for human food of which the
United Kingdom can in ordinarily favorable sea-
sons supply the wants of its teeming population."

CHAPTER II

THE POTATO AS FOOD

DEFINITE knowledge in regard to, the
world's greatest food crop is very meagre.
This is true not only of the mass of con-
sumers, but even doctors and cooks, who should
be well informed on every subject pertaining to
food.

One of the greatest authorities on food in the
world is Dr. J. H. Kellogg, superintendent of the
Battle Creek Sanitarium, Battle Creek, Mich.
He has spent a lifetime in the study of the vari-
ous articles of food, his investigations covering
all possible sources of information, not only in
America, but in Europe. The following article on
''The Special Dietetic Virtues of the Potato, '** by
this foremost authority, is one of the best ever
written about the potato:

"Soon after the potato was introduced into
Europe in the sixteenth century the ridiculous
notion somehow got afloat that the use of the po-
tato was the cause of leprosy, which at that time
was quite prevalent in most European countries.
The prejudice which was thus created against this
most valuable of all garden vegetables has never
been quite overcome. Various malicious libels
against the good name of this most innocent and
wholesome of foodstuffs are still afloat. Mul-
titudes believe the potato to be difficult of di-

8 THE POTATO

gestion. Even physicians often prohibit its use
on the supposition that it is Hkely to ferment in
the stomach — a mistaken notion, as the writer
will show. The belief is quite general that the
potato especially promotes fat-making, and hence
that its use must be avoided by persons who have
a tendency to obesity. This is also an error. All
foods tend to produce obesity when taken in ex-
cessive quantity; that is, more than the individual
needs to maintain his nutrition on equilibrium.
No foods produce excess of fat when limited in
quantity to actual daily bodily needs.

"The potato is truly a most remarkable product.
It contains within its aseptic covering a rich store
of one of the most easily digestible of all forms of
starch. The observations of Mosse, Von Noorden
and others have shown most conclusively that the
starch of the potato is more easily digested and ap-
propriated by the body than the starches of wheat,
corn, and most other cereals. In laboratory tests
made by the writer it was found that potato starch
digested in less than one sixth of the time of cereal
starches. The experience of hundreds of phy-
sicians in the treatment of diabetics has shown
that in many cases the starch of the potato is
more easily assimilated or better utilized than
other forms of starch.

"Potato gruel made from specially prepared
potato meal or the pulp of baked potatoes has
been found in Germany of very great service in
the feeding of infants and invalids. Potato starch
is far better for this purpose than cornstarch, arrow-
root and similar substances which are pure starch
and cannot be properly considered as foods. The
long continued use of these starches in the feeding
of young infants often results most disastrously.

DR. J. H. KELliKiG

Baltic Crock Sanilaiiuiu. Battle Crock Mich.

M-

Illustration shows desirable and undesirable types of pota-
toes before paring

Same potatoes after paring. At the left is shown Dalmeny
Challenge potato. The unpared tuber weighed 13.4 oz. and the
parings 1.7 oz. or 12.6 per cent. In the centre is shown the Mc-
Cormick potato. The unpared tuber weighed 13.9 oz., and the
parings 3.2 oz., or 23.2 per cent. At the right is shown Red
Peachblow potato. The unpared tuber weighed 9.5 oz., and the
parings 1.2 oz., or 12.4 per cent.

THE POTATO 9

"The potato is not only an easily digestible
foodstuff but possesses much higher nutritive
value than is generally supposed. According to
Gautier, about one fourth of the weight of the
potato is food substance, consisting chiefly (nine
elevenths) of starch. Of the remainder, three
fifths are protein, the tissue-building element, and
two fifths alkaline salts in combination with citric
and malic acids, the acids of the lemon and the
apple.

"From a dietetic standpoint, the potato is per-
haps slightly deficient in protein, though this
statement would be disj^uted by some physiolo-
gists whose experiments appear to demonstrate
that the amount of protein contained in the po-
tato is quite sufficient for ordinary bodily needs.

"The potato is certainly deficient in fats, of
which it contains almost none, because of the fact
that it is not, like so many of our vegetable foods, a
seed, but a curiously modified and enormously
fleshy tuber. This deficiency in fat must always
be remembered in the use of the potato, and the
lack must be made up by the addition of cream,
butter, or some other foodstuff rich in fat.

"What the potato lacks in fat and protein, how-
ever, it makes up in salts, which constitute nearly
5 per cent, of its dry substance and are perhaps its
most characteristic quality from a dietetic stand-
point and one of its chief excellences. These salts
consist chiefly of potash, and in the ordinary form
in which they are supplied do a most important
service in maintaining the alkaline condition of the
blood, which is essential to good health and re-
sistance to disease. Meats contain a very great
excess of acid-forming elements and tend to acidify
the blood. Cereals have some tendency in the

10 THE POTATO

same direction. The lowering of the alkalinity
of the blood by acid-forming foods, especially by
the free use of meat, is unquestionably one
of the chief causes of the rapid increase in chronic
diseases, the mortality from which has doubled
within thirty years, causing a loss annually of
350,000 more lives than would occur if the aver-
age citizen was as healthy as he was thirty years
ago. This is probably also one of the chief causes
of arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries,
gout, rheumatism, Bright's disease, apoplexy, and
other degenerative maladies. The alkaline salts
of vegetables are needed to balance the dietary. If
the consumption of potatoes in this country could
be quadrupled, the result would undoubtedly be
the saving of many thousands of lives annually and
an incalculable amount of suffering from disease.

*'The great nutritive value of the potato, not-
withstanding the fact that it is three fourths
water, may be best shown by comparing it wuth
other known foods. A study of the nutritive
value of various common foodstuffs shows that
one pound of baked potato is equivalent in total
nutritive value to the quantities of various foods
shown in the following table:

Food Equivalent in Total Food Value to One Pound of

Baked Potato

1^ pounds of boiled potato

5| ounces boiled beef

I pound of chicken
1§ pounds of codfish

2j pints of oysters (solids)

4 pints of clams (in shell)

4| pints of beef juice

10 pints bouillon or beef tea

II pints whole milk

THE POTATO 11

3 pints skimmed milk

8 eggs

9 ounces baked beans
7 ounces bread

If pints oatmeal or corn meal mush

Ig pints hominy (cooked)

1 pint boiled rice

1 pound of bananas

2 pounds parsnips (cooked)

1 pound green peas (cooked)

3 pounds beets (cooked)

4 pounds boiled cabbage

4 pounds radishes

5 pounds tomatoes

5 pounds turnips (cooked)
6^ pounds cucumbers

"From the above table it will readily appear
that the potato is one of the most nourishing of
our common foods. Its value is still further
emphasized by the fact that steamed or mashed
potato digests in two or three hours, whereas roast
beef requires four to five hours, or double the time
(Gautier).

"As already noted, the potato is not rich in
protein, although the amount of this element in the
baked potato reaches the Chittenden standard
of 10 per cent, of the total nutritive value, a pro-
portion which in feeding many thousands of per-
sons, those in health as well as invalids, at the
Battle Creek Sanitarium, we have found amply
sufficient. The writer adopted personally a very
low protein standard in early life and has adhered
to it for more than forty -six years, and with great
benefit. Nevertheless, if a larger amount of pro-
tein is required, it may easily be obtained by
the addition of milk or eggs, substances which
while increasing the proportion of protein also
add the fat necessary to render the potato a com-

12 THE POTATO

plete food. Half a pint of rich milk will thus
balance a pound of baked potato; or an equally
good balance may be made by adding to a pound
of potato two ounces of white bread (two ordinary
slices) and an ounce of butter.

"Bunge, the world's greatest authority on the
chemistry of foods, has called special attention to
the importance of the alkaline salts that are found
in vegetables, and in a much larger proportion in
the potato than in any other vegetable used as food,
the potato containing nearly forty times as much
of this useful element as some cereal foods. No
farmer would think of feeding his horses or cattle
on grain alone. Cereals of all sorts contain a con-
siderable excess of acid-forming elements. Grass
and herbage of all sorts, as well as fresh vegetables,
contain an abundance of alkaline salts, and hence
are a necessary part of the diet of animals. Human
beings, as Bunge has clearly shown, require such
vegetables for the same reason, and the potato is
the most valuable of all known foods as a source
of these essential elements. This is perhaps the
reason why the potato is an almost invariable
accompaniment of meat dishes. Meat contains
an enormous excess of acid-forming substances,
which are to some extent neutralized and anti-
doted by the basic salts of the potato.

"Graham bread with butter, or beans with but-
ter, however, are much better combinations with
potato than meat, for the reason that both meat
and potato are lacking in lime. The body requires
about thirteen grains of lime a day. Meat con-
tains but half a grain of lime to the pound. The
potato contains only about a grain and a half to
the pound. Wheat flakes and other whole wheat
preparations contain four grains of lime to the

THE POTATO 13

pound, and pciis and beans contain eight grains
of lime to the pound. Cow's milk contains four-
teen grains of lime to the pint. The American
people are losing their teeth, and hone diseases
are increasing, as a result of this deficiency of
lime. Professor Sherman of Columbia University
declares that half the people of the United States
are suffering from lime starvation. This is in part
because of the meat diet and free use of cane sugar.
Less meat, a larger proportion of potatoes, com-
bined with wheat preparations and other cereals,
beans, peas, and cow's milk would help to check
this degenerative tendency.

THE POTATO AS A FOOD REMEDY

*'The potato is of immense service as a food
remedy in the treatment of a large number of dis-
eases. It is especially valuable in cases of chronic
intestinal auto-intoxication or 'biliousness.' It
affords bulk for the intestine to act upon, and so
antagonizes constipation. The large proportion
of starch and other carbohydrates encourages the
growth of friendly bacteria in the intestine, thus
preventing putrefaction. For the same reason
the free use of potatoes combats rheumatism and
gout, which are results of chronic intestinal poi-
soning.

*'Tlie potato is valuable in the treatment of
anemia, because it combats the growth in the
intestine of the germs which produce blood-
destroying poisons. The death rate from diabetes,
according to the mortality statistics of the United
States Census Bureau, has increased nearly 50
per cent, in ten years. The freer use of potatoes
as an article of diet and the lessened consumption

14 THE POTATO

of meat would perhaps do more than any other
one thing to suppress the alarming increase of this
fatal malady.

"Arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries,
a disease which causes apoplexy and is associated
with Bright 's disease and various forms of heart
disease besides being the cause of premature old
age, is most often directly the result of chronic
poisoning, the source of which is the putrefaction
of undigested remnants of animal substances
which have been eaten, which undergo decay with
the absorption of poisonous products. The free use
of the potato as an article of diet in place of the
excessive consumption of meat and fish, a prac-
tice widely prevalent, would unquestionably check
the alarmingly rapid development of this disease,
which, according to the United States mortality
reports, has increased 400 per cent, in the last ten
years.

"The potato, buttermilk, and oatmeal diet of
the Irish has developed one of the most sturdy and
enduring races of men to be found anywhere. The
proportion of centenarians in Ireland is more than
ten times as great as in England. There can be
no doubt that the free use of potatoes by the Irish
is in large measure responsible for the remarkable
longevity of this nation.

"The idea that the potato is difiicult of diges-
tion and thus gives rise to fermentation in the
stomach is entirely erroneous. The fault is not
with the potato but with the manner of eating.
When acted upon by the sahva, the starch of the
potato is converted into maltose and dextrin,
which Pawlow of St. Petersburg has shown to be
powerful stimulants of the glands of the stomach.
Properly cooked and well chewed, the potato is

THE POTATO 15

thus not only a good food but an aid to the di-
gestion of other foods. In persons whose stom-
achs have a tendency to produce excessive acid
the stimulating effect of the potato may be so
great as to produce the symptoms characteristic
of hyperacidity, heartburn, tenderness of the
stomach, regurgitation of gas with acid liquid,
and other well-know^n symptoms. This difficulty
is not at all due to fermentation but to an exces-
sive amount of acid and the resulting spasmodic
contraction of the pylorus, so the stomach is
stimulated to violent contraction. The gas con-
tained in the stomach cannot be forced downward
in the proper direction, and so escapes upward.
This difficulty is not likely to occur, however,
except when chewing is neglected. The gastric
juice has little action upon the potato. Coarse
particles of potato may remain in the stomach
many hours, causing excessive acid fermentation,
irritation and eructations. In eating potato every
morsel must be chewed until reduced to a smooth
paste in which no coarse particles can be detected
by the tongue.

"The remedy is simple. Pawlow has shown
that fats lessen the activity of the stomach in the
secretion of gastric juice. Hence, it is only nec-
essary to increase the amount of fat eaten with
the potato. In extreme cases the potato should
be eaten in the form of a puree with the addition
of butter or rich cream. This difficulty is es-
pecially noticeable in persons who have habitually
eaten large quantities of meat when they under-
take to change their eating habits, taking less
meat and more cereals and potatoes. With a
change in eating habits, the unpleasant symptoms
usually disappear in a short time.

16 THE POTATO

"Some persons find it necessary to avoid the use
of tomatoes and acid fruits with potatoes. The
apparent disagreement of the potato witli acid
fruits is chiefly due to neglect to thoroughly mas-
ticate the food. If tlie potato is eaten in the form
of a puree or well mashed, and if the fruit is also
in the form of a puree, or if pains is taken to mas-
ticate it very tliorouglily, inconvenience from the
combination will he rarely, if ever, exi^erienced."

In Chapt(n* XXIII i he potato as food is discussed
further by Mrs. K. II. (iru})b and many valuable
recipes for preparing the potato for the table are
given.

CHAPTER TTI

CLI-MATIC REQUIREMENTS

THE potato grew wild and now grows to pf;r-
f action in southwestorn Colorado, in the
Jlocky Mountains, and under similar con-
ditions in the Andes Mountains in South Arn(;riea.

In these districts the winters are cold, and the
ground is generally covered with snow from early
fall — before the ground freezes — until late in the
spring. There is often a heavy blanket of snow
until May. In the growing season there are 100
to 110 days between killing frosts. During this
period the nights are cool, but there are twelve to
fifteen hours of bright, intense sunshine during the
day. Occasional light showers of a few minutes'
or hours' duration occur, but the total summer
rainfall is very small in comparison to the total
for the vear.

Nothing but the strongest plants and animals
live under these conditions, but such grow to the
highest perfection and strength. The air is vital-
izing and invigorating. Vigorous, healthy peoj)le
choose it, while debilitated people of low vitality
jjrefer more mild conditions.

Long hours of bright sunshine make the potato
in its native home free from disease; and where
the tuber is grown imder less favorable conditions
the ingenuity of man has supj>lied as nearly as pos-
sible the things that nature has furnished in the
Rocky Mountain region referred to.

18 THE POTATO

At Prospect Farm, at Redstone, on Crystal
River, in the coal fields of western Colorado,
potatoes were grown for the camp during the early
'80 's. This farm was maintained for eight or ten
years, then abandoned. Potatoes have grown
in this neglected field from year to year without
replanting, ever since that time. Under the con-
ditions in this natural home of the potato the
growth of the plant is checked by the frosting of
the haulm, or top, in the early fall. This stops the
rank, watery growth and the tuber ripens in the
dry soil. This growth checking seems an essen-
tial in the growing of the highest class product,
and where frost does not come in time the same
effect has been secured by mowing off the tops.

Since potatoes have been grown commercially
under similar conditions to those in the home of
the wild potato, it has been found that varieties
last longer there without "running out" or "chang-
ing seed." Old varieties that have become less
valuable each year in other districts are revitalized
and restored to their original perfection when
planted there. The places referred to are the
Carbondale district in Colorado; the Twin Falls
country and other sections along Snake River in
Idaho; and an instance of this reinvigoration is
the success of the "Perfect Peachblow" at Mt.
Sopris Farm, Carbondale, Col. At Dalmeny Farms,
Edinburgh, Scotland, conditions are similar in
some particulars, and potatoes live over winter in
the ground and produce crops the next year.

While the potato grows best and with the least
care from man in its native habitat, it has been
adapted to a wide range of climatic conditions.
It is successfully grown in practically every coun-
try in the temperate zone and in some places under

THE POTATO 19

very unfavorable conditions. The potato cul-
turists of Europe have originated and adopted
cultural methods and moulded varieties to con-
ditions in a most scientific, skilful, and practical
way. Potatoes are grown successfully on shifting
sands so light that they are thatched with straw
to keep the soil from blowing away, and on clay
lands so heavy that they require close tiling
(underdraining with tiles forty to sixty feet apart)
and the most careful, watchful cultural methods.

It is true that there is no place in the temperate
zone where potatoes cannot be grown by adding
artificially to the natural conditions those things
necessary to make the soil and climate approach the
natural environment. It necessarily follows, how-
ever, that in selecting a place to grow potatoes under
ideal conditions some of the mountain valleys of
the Rocky or Andes Mountains would be chosen,
other things being equal. Latitude and altitude
are synonomous as far as they relate to potato
conditions when other requirements are the same.
There are good districts north at low^ altitudes
and good potatoes grown at high altitudes south
or at low altitudes south at sea level where nights
are cool and the air is moist.

Maine, New York, Michigan, "Wisconsin, and
Minnesota are examples of low altitudes north,
the Snake River country, the Greeley and Car-
bondale districts of high altitudes south, and
Santa Rosa, Lompoc, and Salinas on the Pacific
coast in California, and southern Great Britain
and the Channel Islands of low altitudes at sea
level.

These statements as regards north and south
refer to the north temperate zone and would be
reversed for the south temperate zone.

20 THE POTATO

The sweet potato is another consideration and
is described in another chapter.

It is possible that the change in temperature
each day, which approximates 30 to 50 degrees,
has something to do with the vitahzing of plants,
the same as man is apparently invigorated and
restored daily in these mountain districts where
such changes occur.

CHAPTER IV

POTATO SOILS

DRAINAGE is the most important requisite
in a potato soil. It must either be present
naturally or supplied artificially.

So important is this subject considered that a
chapter on tile drainage is being included (Chap-
ter V).

As in the subject of climatic requirements,
much regarding the soil requirements of the potato
may be learned from a study of the soil conditions
in the home of the wild potato. In its native
habitat the potato grows in loose, friable, well-
drained, easily worked, perfectly aerated soil.

The physical or mechanical condition of a po-
tato soil is a more important factor than the fer-
tility, although any plant requires a rich soil for
its greatest development.

For the uniform, perfect development of all
parts of the potato plant there must be a constant
supply of air and oxygen, moisture and fertility.
It is impossible to grow good potatoes in a water-
logged soil.

Where soils are infected with disease it is found
beneficial to turn out the furrow in which the po-
tatoes are to be planted, allowing the sun and air
free access to it. European growers who practise
this believe that they lessen liability to infection.

In the Twin Falls country in southern Idaho —
one of the best potato growing sections in the world

22 THE POTATO

— the soil is called lava ash, is very mellow and
friable, does not bake, can be worked at almost
any time in the year, is rich and well drained
both by a natural slope and by deep coulees run-
ning through it to Snake River.

At Greeley, Col., some of the soil in which
potatoes are grown is a medium desert loam,
drained by an underlying strata of coarse gravel ;
other soils are heavier.

The soils at Carbondale are a reddish granite
formation and very mellow. The country is very
steep. It is drained by the Crystal River, a
rushing mountain stream with an abrupt fall.
This gives ample drainage to the more level mesa
or table lands on which potatoes are grown.

In Wisconsin, Michigan, and other Middle West-
ern States many of the best potatoes are grown on
river sands and sandy loams — soils that are very
well drained naturally.

In the Salinas and Lompoc districts in Cali-
fornia the best potato soils are friable, sandy
loams.

In Aroostook County, Maine, the soil is rolling,
well drained, of lime-shale formation, and easily
worked at all times.

Large quantities of potatoes are now being
grown in the Red River Valley, in Minnesota and
North Dakota, on the big grain farms. The soil
is a rich alluvial deposit.

Potatoes are grown on well-drained sandy soils
in Great Britain, but also on heavier soils per-
fectly drained. The soil in some places in Europe
has been made suitable to the crop, even when not
naturally so. There are places where sand to a
depth of five inches has been hauled on and incor-
porated with heavy clay. Other heavy soils are

THE POTATO 23

kept filled with humus by cover cropping and the
use of barnyard manures.

These experiences show that districts not gen-
erally considered capable of growing potatoes —
like the territory around Denver and some parts of
California — can be made to produce the crop if
proper methods of soil treatment are used.

The opinions of various authorities as regards
potato soils are very interesting*, because each is
based on local conditions and experience. While
there may seem to be differences of opinion, all
really agree on the essentials — drainage, aeration,
and easily worked, mellow, porous soils.

Wm. D. Hurd, of the University of Maine, says:

"In its native state the potato is found growing
on high, dry plateaus. One of the first essentials
then is a well-drained soil. The kind of soil and
proper drainage influence yield, cooking quality,
liability to disease, and keeping quality of the
tubers. 'Virgin soils' grow potato crops of the
finest quality because they are usually free from
diseases which affect the crop and have an abini-
dance of organic matter and available plant food.
The most desirable potato soil is a deep, free, easy
working loam. Loams which are inclined to be
sandy are usually too poor in plant food and dry
out readily, while those inclined to clay may be
too hard and apt to retain too much moisture.
A proper supply of humus is very important in
potato growling. The humus content determines
to a great degree the moisture content of the soil.
The potato is a crop which uses considerable
water in making its growth. Much moisture is,
of course, lost by evaporation from the soil, but
aside from this it is estimated that a yield of 225

24 THE POTATO

bushels of potatoes to the acre takes 1,420,000
pounds of moisture from the soil. Unless humus
has been supplied in the application of stable
manure to previous crops, green crops such as
rye, oats, clover, etc., should be turned in to
supply this."

David Young, editor of the North British Agri-
culturist, Glasgow, Scotland, says :

"The potato crop is not at all fastidious as to
the soil in which it is grown, provided the soil be
properly cultivated and manured, and in practically
all classes of soil, excepting the stiffest clays, this
crop may be successfully grown."

Professor A. R. Kohler, Assistant in Horti-
culture, University of Miimesota, in "Bulletin
114," says:

"A sandy loam soil usually produces potatoes
of better quality than a heavier soil does. It
also has the advantage of remaining in a more
mellow condition during the growing season,
thus giving the tubers a chance to become more
shapely, and making it easier to dig the crop.
A heavier soil will sometimes produce a larger yield
because it is often more fertile, but brown rot of
the tubers is apt to be worse on such soils. New
land is the best for large yields, or sod land which
has been in clover or meadow. Sod land is some-
times infested with white grubs and wire worms
which may do much damage. These pests are
not likely to be present in sufficient numbers to
do very extensive injury unless the land has been
sod for some years."

THE POTATO 25

In a treatise on "Early Potato Growing" for
the Department of Agriculture and Teelinical In-
struction for Ireland, Matthew G. Wallace says:

"Soils have considerable influence on earliness.
Sandy loams are best, red or gray. It is wonderful
what can be done even with poor sand under favor-
able circumstances and with generous treatment.
Here again Rush (a district) may be cited. Much
of the soil there appears to be drifting sand, and
farmers have to resort to an expedient of lacing it
with straw and seaweed to keep it from blowing
away and laying bare the potato sets. Still it
bears good crops of potatoes. Black lands, or bogs,
are not suitable for early potatoes, as the frost
seems to grip more keenly there, and, besides, the
sample is not so nice, nor is the quality so good."

Walter P. Wright and Edward J. Castle, in
Pictorial Practical Potato Growing," say:

"Potato soil is a loam w^ith an inclination to
heaviness rather than sandiness, but cultivation
will do much to bring either a clay or a sandy loam
into line."

Organic matter, or humus, is a great factor in
potato soils. It tends to hold light, drifting soils
and makes them more retentive of moisture.

When properly worked, loams, sandy soils,
alluvial silt soils, lava ash soils, granite soils,
limestone soils, and many others are good for
potatoes.

The following by Lord Ogilvy, from the Denver
(Col.) Post, is interesting to the student of potato
soils:

26 THE POTATO

"A Greeley farmer said the other day that his
soil was a good one, especially for potatoes, if he
kept it built up so that it would not blow. This
soil, twenty years ago, was considered about worth-
less, except to grow alfalfa, and there was con-
siderable difficulty in securing a stand. Even in
this unfavorable season (1910) the output of pota-
toes is 125 sacks to the acre.

"This particular farmer moved off a very rich
bottom farm, which was a heavy producer of all
crops except potatoes, on to the land he occupies
to-day. I remember that his neighbors said he was
foolish for moving, that the bottom land had twice
the productivity of the other tract.

"The man who moved said that they were right
in a general way, but that he had always made his
money with potatoes, which blighted on the bot-
tom lands and were only of moderate quality, and
that the nature of the subsoil made their irriga-
tion a matter of chance.

*'I have myself seen water turned on at one
comer of a field in such lands, come bubbling up
forty or sixty rods away, having in some places
sub-irrigated considerable areas to the point of
saturation, in others passing through contracted
channels, leaving the surrounding soil as dry as a
bone.

"The man who moved and the man who suc-
ceeded him on the bottom farm have both done
well by specializing (the latter growing sugar-beets)
somewhat on the crops their lands were adapted to,
but the potato man has made his money easier, has
had less help than is entailed in growing beets, and
has been able to make good with the help of his own
family; in other words, has had the more self-con-
tained business venture.

THE POTATO 27

"By the use of plenty of alfalfa, mostly fed on
the place, he has added to his sandy soil the ele-
ment it needed by increasing its organic and humus
content, and the sand seems to contain those other
elements necessary to the growth of good, clean
potatoes."

The value of aeration is very convincingly il-
lustrated by digging into a hill of potatoes grown
on heavy, poorly drained and aired soil. The
deeper into the hill that tubers are found, the
rougher and more diseased they are. It is also a
notable fact that the exhibit potatoes from an
average field are those that develop close to the
surface.

CHAPTER V

DRAINAGE

IN ATTEMPTING to accomplish the object
sought in this work — i.e., that of embodying
in one pubKcation as nearly as possible all
that is available and valuable information in the
potato field — the subject of drainage is held to
be of such importance that considerable space is
devoted to it. The following article is made up
of extracts from "Bulletin 199" of the Agricultural
Experiment Station of the University of Wis-
consin and is by E. R. Jones, one of America's
foremost drainage experts:

"Of the several conditions which influence the
growth of crops none is more important than the
amount of water in or on the soil. While w ater in
a thin film around the soil grains is absolutely es-
sential to plants, an excess is as bad as a deficiency.
The removal of this excess is known as land
drainage. Surface drainage deals with the sur-
face runoff, and under-drainage with the water
which occupies the spaces between the soil grains.
Most land has some natural drainage, but many
acres have it to such a limited degree that an im-
provement therein is found profitable.
"Too much water is detrimental because:
"1. It makes areas so soft that they cannot be
cultivated. When these soft areas are long and
narrow in form, they cut the upland into ir-

THE POTATO 29

regular pieces that cannot be cultivated con-
veniently.

"2. It delays cultivation, particularly in the
spring.

"3. It makes soils cold: (a) because in the spring
more than half of the heat that the soil receives
is used to warm this unnecessary water; (b) be-
cause its evaporation consumes heat that the soil
could otherwise retain; and (c) because its pres-
ence in the soil prevents the entrance and down-
ward movement of rainwater, which in the spring
is usually warmer than the soil.

"4. It crowds out the oxygen from between the
soil grains, thus hindering the necessary decom-
position of organic matter in the soil.

"5. It prevents all crop growth where it stands
on the soil to a sufficient depth. Where it stag-
nates only a few inches from the surface of the
soil it prevents healthy root development below
that depth. The shallow root system thus devel-
oped limits the depth from wliich the plant may
get water, and with it plant food material.

"The occurrence of an excess of water in a soil
or on an area is an indication that some source
supplies water faster than it can be removed. The
water is either coming too fast or it is going too
slowly. Areas at the foot of uplands from which
numerous small or large springs run during the
greater portion of the year owe their wetness to the
excessive seepage from the upland; while reten-
tive clavs, due to the fineness of the soil, and flat
muck or peat marshes, due to lack of fall, are too
wet primarily because the water is very slowly re-
moved from them.

"It is evident that the drainage conditions on
an area may be improved either by hindering the

30 THE POTATO

entrance of damaging water upon one side, or by
facilitating its removal from the other. To ac-
complish one or both of these improvements
drains must be constructed which will give gravity
a better opportunity to remove surplus water.

"When the drainage needs of our lands are ana-
lyzed it is evident that those that have good drain-
age owe it to:

"1. Some natural condition that prevents the
entrance of an excessive amount of water;

*'2. A valley or ravine to serve as an outlet for
the water that does enter;

"3. A surface slope to allow the escape of sur-
face water to the outlet, or

*'4. A subsoil sufficiently porous to admit of
some under-drainage.

*' Consequently, improvements in drainage con-
ditions consist of:

"1. Protection ditches in the absence of natural
protection ;

"2. Outlet ditches where there are no valleys
or ravines;

"3. Surface ditches to aid the limited slope in
removing surface water, or

"4. Covered under-drains to facilitate the re-
moval of damaging water from wet subsoils.
Some areas need only one of these types, while
others need them all.

*'When water oozes into the dead furrows and
shallow ditches until they are kept wet almost
continuallv it is an indication that the land needs
tiling. The water table, instead of extending
horizontally from a tile, bends upward at a slope
that increases with the retentiveness of the soil.
It is evident that laterals may be farther apart in
sand than in clay, and that the deeper the laterals

THE POTATO 31

are the farther apart they may be. Four rods is
a common interval in clay subsoils and eight rods
in open subsoils. In muck or peat it is frequently
best to put them eight rods apart at first, and if
that does not i)rove to be close enough together
an intermediate line may be put in later in each
space, making them eventually four rods apart.
In rare cases of springy soils it has been found
necessary to have lines of tile two rods apart.

"A single line of tile in a wet sag is frequently
sufficient, but if more than four rods wide, two
lines are better, each to be located as near to its
side of the sag as seems necessary. In this way
the centre of the sag, unless it is exceedingly low,
will be protected from the seepage of the adja-
cent upland.

"Mains are generally located parallel to a nat-
ural water course — a little to one side if there is
danger of washing by the surface runoff. Sub-
mains should be so laid out as to give the lat-
erals a sufficient gradient without an excessive
depth.

"Instead of permitting each lateral to dis-
charge directly into the outlet ditch, it is best to
put in a main perhaps four rods away from the
ditch and parallel to it, to receive the discharge
from the laterals. The expense is but little
greater because of the saving in the length of
the laterals, and there is an advantage in having
only one outlet — that of the main — to look
after.

"The water in an outlet ditch should be enougli
below the banks to afford an outlet for a line of
tile which may be laid to it from any part of the
marsh of which the ditch is the direct outlet. This
line of tile is entitled to a depth of 3 feet at the

32 THE POTATO

head, and a gradient of 0.1 foot in 100 feet. On
a marsh exactly level and with no part more than
half a mile from an outlet ditch, this means that
the 3 feet of depth at the head, added to the 2.64
feet of fall in a half mile requires a depth a little
more than 5J feet deep at the outlet. With an
allowance of 2J feet for the depth of the water in
the outlet ditch, it is evident that, under these
conditions, it should be dug 8 feet deep. Where
there is a surface slope toward the ditch, its depth
may be decreased by an amount equal to the fall
causing the slope. Following this rule, the depth
may, in rare cases, be reduced to 4 feet. Tile out-
lets may be submerged for a short time during
flood flow without serious results.

"It is impossible to drain too deep for the
majority of farm crops. Our upland soils remain
moist where the water table is 100 feet or
more below the surface. It is true that a drained
peat unless compacted with a heavy roller will
dry out almost completely to a depth of from 3 to
6 inches. How^ever, below that depth, it is un-
usual if the peat does not remain moist regardless
of the depth of the water table.

"When plants 'dry up' in a peat soil it is an
indication that at some time the water table has
been so near the surface that onlj^ a shallow root
system was developed. With deep drainage from
the beginning, conditions favor the development
of a root system deep enough to reach through the
dry layer at the surface into the moist soil below.
This is the moisture that must be relied upon dur-
ing a drought. It is best to prepare for a drought
by deep drainage during the w^et season of the
year.

"Tile laid deep seem to begin their increased

THE POTATO 33

discharge as soon after a rain as do those laid
more shallow. However, the rate of increase does
not seem to be so great in the deep tile in reten-
tive clay soils. To this is probably due the fact
that deep drains continue their discharge when
shallow drains have become nearly or wholly dry.
Furthermore, deep drains are effective for a
greater distance on each side of themselves than
are shallow drains. Generally speaking, tile should
be laid deeper in sand, muck, and peat than in
clay.

*'In narrow wet ravines and in springy spots
the demands made upon single lines of tile may
require a diameter of five or six inches. With
the vast majority of laterals, particularly those in
the gridiron systems, this is larger than the diame-
ter actually required if the tile remain entirely un-
obstructed. However, there should be made an
allowance: (1) in sandy soils, for the sand that
finds its way into the tile while they are being laid,
and before they are properly blinded; (2) in peat
soils, for the uneven settling that may take place
and cause a tile to 'jog' slightly past the ad-
jacent one; and (3) in all soils, for the empty space
that should be maintained in the top half of the
tile to facilitate the entrance of water. Laterals are
most efficient as collecting drains when they are
less than half full. They lose this efficiency when
made to discharge under a pressure head. For
these reasons three-inch tile should be rarelv laid
except in retentive clay soils and then in lines less
than five hundred feet long. Four inches is the
diameter most commonly used.

"Areas requiring drainage are usually so nearly
level that it is necessary to make the best possible
use of every inch of available fall. The gradient

34 THE POTATO

of laterals may be increased by laying them shal-
low at the head and deep at the outlet, sometimes
only two feet deep at the head and three and a half
at the outlet. The gradient of a main cannot be
controlled in this way, because at the head it must
be deep enough to receive the discharge from the
laterals. However, the diameter of the main may
be increased to give it the required capacity. A
gradient of a tenth of a foot, or about one and a
quarter inches, to a hundred feet is generally con-
sidered a minimum gradient for laterals. The gra-
dient in large mains may be decreased to almost
nothing, because the diameter of the tile itself
may be considered as constituting a gradient.

"With the cost of the main seldom more than
$4 an acre, and the cost of the labor and tile for
laterals fairly constant at about 75 cents a rod,
it is the frequency of the laterals that is the chief
factor in determining the cost of tile drainage.
The cost will range from $20 to $35 an acre ac-
cording as the laterals are placed four rods
apart or eight rods apart. This frequency should
be based upon principles which have been dis-
cussed in the preceding pages. It is safe to say,
however, that while eight rods is the interval
which in some soils may yield the greatest dividend
upon the money invested in the improvement, yet
there is no danger of eventually getting the lat-
erals too close together.

" Where under-drainage is desired tile are cheaper
than open ditches of the same depth. Further-
more, they offer no obstacle to cultivation, take
up no surface space, and are more permanent than
the ditches. There are tile in Wisconsin that are
working as good or better than ever at the end of
thirty years, and in some states the life of tile

THE POTATO 35

has been miieli longer than that. If tile are laid
more than two feet deep, it does not hurt them to
freeze if they are empty when they freeze. There
should be no sags in a grade line to prevent the
tile from emptying themselves. Silt also has a
tendency to settle in such sags. At that depth
the expansion of the water in the walls of the tile
has but httle apparent effect upon the tile. Tile
exposed to the frequent and sudden freezing and
thawing occurring at an exposed outlet or on the
surface of the ground may crumble in a single
winter.

"There is danger in sandy subsoils of the en-
trance of soil particles larger than can be removed
by the running water. Sand enters with ease, but
is carried away with difficulty. Tile laid in sandy
subsoil should be 'blinded' or entirely surrounded
by and packed with clay, muck, or old grass.
This being done, cracks an eighth of an inch wide
are permissible.

"A single tile may break some years after being
laid, and the earth that enters is apt to render the
line useless above that point. Such a place can
usually be found with ease. The broken tile
should be replaced with new ones, after the earth
has been removed from the tile that have been
wholly or partly filled.

"On springy areas having a slope sufficiently
great that water runs rapidly in shallow ditches
the flow of water will invariably indicate the
proper direction for main and laterals. On areas
less favored with a fall a few^ preliminary readings
with a level are of value to indicate how small the
fall is. If less than two feet in eighty rods, none
but a survevor's instrument should l^e used for the
remainder of the work. If greater tlum that

36 THE POTATO

amount, a carpenter's level carefully used or
perhaps the water's surface in the bottom of the
trench will do. Borings made with an auger or
post hole digger will show the nature of the sub-
soil, and the size, depth, and frequency of the
laterals should be based thereon."

CHAPTER VI

SEED STOCKS AND VARIETIES

AVERY frequent question asked by amateurs
and others is, "What is the best potato?"
The answer is that there is no universally
"best" potato, but that certain varieties have
proved best for certain conditions, and as con-
ditions change, or the varieties change, further
changes must be made.

There are hundreds of varieties of potatoes, a
large number of them good under certain con-
ditions. This must be determined by experiment
and test in the locality in question.

The origin of a number of the leading varieties,
showing shape and relative size, is shown on the
accompanying " Pharo's Potato Chart. " The time
of maturity is also shown, EE meaning Extra
Early; E, Early; Med., Medium, and L, Late.

Practical results seem to indicate that when po-
tatoes are grown under favorable conditions (such
as the mountain districts of Colorado, Idaho, and
other parts of the West), and when cultural meth-
ods are good, they do not "run out" and deteri-
orate.

Lack of care in selecting seed true to type, use of
small whole seed and small cut seed, and storage
under conditions that lessen vitality, tend to
weaken the plant and the strength and size of root
system, all of which result in lessened vitahty and
an inferior "run out" product.

38 THE POTATO

It is generally considered that seed grown at
high altitudes or well north is superior to lower
altitude or southern seed. One reason for this
is that the frost checks late growth and the tubers
do not fully mature. Partially matured seed keeps
better and makes stronger growing plants that are
less liable to disease.

Certain districts in Maine, Wisconsin, Colorado,
and other states make a specialty of growing seed.

The potato is not propagated commercially from
a seed, but from a cutting from the tuber, the tuber
being an enlargement of an underground stem.
Potatoes grown from the true seed ball of the
potato do not reproduce true to type.

An interesting discussion of seed and varieties
is contained in "Potatoes," a lecture delivered by
Arthur W. Sutton before the Royal Horticultural
Society and reprinted by permission from that
body and Mr. Sutton. An extract follows:

"There is a misunderstanding arising from the
fact that 'seed potatoes' and 'potato seed' are
sometimes regarded as synonymous terms. 'Seed
potatoes' are grown from perfectly true and reli-
able stocks, the crops being carefully examined
year after year with the special object of insuring
the perpetuation, unmixed, of any given variety.
Frequently the tubers Ox an ordinary crop, which
are too small for market, are kept back for plant-
ing, and dignified with the title 'Seed Potatoes.'

"I need scarcely remind you that potatoes are
mere enlargements of undergiound stems, short-
ened and thickened, in which starch is stored up in
smaller or larger proportion according to the char-
acteristics of the se\eral varieties. Like other un-
derground stems, the tubers possess buds or eyes.

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THE POTATO 39

from which, by fresh shoots, the plant is capable of
redevelopment; and although the tubers may be
preserved through the winter for planting again
in the following spring they are neither more nor
less than portions of the plant which died down
and apparently ceased to exist in the previous
autumn. Hence the life of a single potato plant
may be prolonged year after year until through
weakness or deterioration it comes to an end.

"Potato seed, on the other hand, is totally dis-
tinct in every way, being the seeds formed in the
potato berries which some, though not all, varieties
of potatoes bear freely. A berry may contain
from 100 to 300 seeds, the average of five berries
examined being 232, and as the parent plant ap-
pears able to control but slightly the distinctive
character of its progeny, and as all the different
seeds from one potato berry may produce plants
differing from one another, not only in form, but
many of them in color also, it is here we find the
great possibilities for improving the race by selec-
tion of the better seedlings. Even if no cross-
fertihzation of flowers was attempted, great im-
provement might be made by the selection of the
most promising seedlings during the first few years
of their existence; but where judicious crossing of
the best known varieties is undertaken, we can in a
great measure combine in some of the resulting
seedlings the merits of both male and female par-
ents, although even then no two seedlings from the
same berry may be exactly alike.

"Those who attempt to raise seedling potatoes
must possess abundant patience. Like many
other species which are not habitually multiplied
by seed, the potato has a remarkable tendency to
revert to the wild form. It may be necessary to

40 THE POTATO

cultivate 100 or even 1,000 seedlings before find-
ing one which is really worthy of a place among
the better varieties already existing. M. Vilmorin
says that in France the raising of seed potatoes has
been proceeded with in a somewhat haphazard
manner; whereas, in England, on the other hand,
a more systematic method has been followed, rich-
ness in starch, excellence in flavor, power of resist-
ing disease, with little tendency to develop haulm
(top), being the characteristics we on this side of the
channel generally seek. Unfortunately, he says,
they are not always able to profit in France by
progress realized in England, because the French
have a marked preference for potatoes with yellow
flesh; whereas in England, for many years past,
there has been a preference for white-fleshed pota-
toes. On this account even the celebrated Mag-
num Bonum, which my house had the honor of
introducing in 1876, after having enjoyed a brief
popularity in the Paris markets, has been almost
aba*ndoned as a table variety on account of the
flesh being too pale in color. M. Vilmorin re-
marks that in Germany considerable attention has
been given to the raising of seed potatoes, and more
particularly with the object of obtaining varieties
which are specially adapted for the production of
alcohol and starch. "

Improvement in the potato comes from a search
for the ideal. The Irish Farming World says :

The potato wanted should possess the follow-
ing essentials:

" (1) It should be a heavy cropper.

*' (2) It should have good table qualities.

*' (3) It should be a good disease resister.

^;*?>^^,

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Standard Early Varieties: upper left-hand corner shows Early
Ohio; u|)per rij;ht-hand corner shows Early Rose; lower left-hand
corner shows Irish (\)l)l)lcr; lower right-hand corner shows
Trinniph. The Irish Cohhler is not as vet raised extensively in
Wisconsin, hut is a standard early variety of the East. — Eroin
University of Wisconsin Agricultural Exi)eriment Station Bulletin

>~ -■!-.!-■?•_

'v^ Vi

Standard Late X'arieties: Upper left-hand corner shows Burbank;
upper right-hand corner shows Green [Mountain; lower left-hand
corner shows Rural New Yorker; lower right-hand corner shows
Peerless. These varieties represent typical commercial types.
The Green Mountain is not raised commercially in AYisconsin, but
is one of the leading late varieties of the East. — From University
of Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin

THE rOTATO 41

<(i

Or, in other words, *the three R's' of the ideal
potato are: Rcproductiveness, Rehsh, Robust-

ness.'*

It must always be remembered that varieties
moved from one locality to another, especially with
radical changes of conditions such as European
varieties brought to America, must be acclimated
before the best results can be expected. It is possi-
ble that excellent sorts imported from England
have been discarded before they have become
thoroughly adapted to our conditions.

In Europe potatoes are classed as "soft" and
"hard," depending on their texture and keeping
quality. When cut seed of the "soft" varieties is
used it is apt to decay rapidly.

The experts in the United States Department of
Agriculture are doing a great work in breeding
and hybridizing potatoes. In 1910 Prof. L. C.
Corbett of the Bureau of Horticulture, who is in
charge of the Experimental Farm at Arlington,
near Washington, w^as growing 40,000 plants —
the results of cross-pollinizing almost every known
variety. Careful records are kept of every plant.
In the experimental potato field over one half mil-
lion tubers were produced.

This work gives promise of wonderful results for
the American potato grower in new varieties that
will be greater yielders of a higher class product,
stronger growers, and more disease resistant.

The varieties of potatoes in highest favor differ
in almost every locality, as has been already noted.
In order to give an idea of the varieties being tried,
with some views as to their value, quotations will
be made from several sources. This information
will be of comparative value, only, to the indivi(hial

42 THE POTATO

grower, and must be used more for the purpose of
deciding what might be well to try than to follow
the suggestions blindly.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

In "Bulletin 3" of the New Hampshire Experi-
ment Station is the following:

** As our New England markets demand a round
or oblong white potato, we recommend for main
crop the planting of such varieties as the Green
Mountain and Delaware, or varieties that closely
resemble them.

"As seedsmen are each year introducing and
selling at fabulous prices new and untried varieties,
the most of which are soon dropped from their
catalogues and forgotten, we advise growers to de-
pend on standard sorts that have been fully tested
and found adapted to their soil and market, and
allow their experiment station to test the novelties
for them, thus preventing a large annual waste of
time and money. "

OHIO

That the Ohio Experiment Station has tested
hundreds of varieties of potatoes and is yet con-
tinuing this work is reported in "Bulletin 218."

"Many new varieties are constantly being offered
by originators, introducers, or dealers in different
parts of the country. A few of these prove of
value; an occasional one is excellent; many are
quite inferior to our already well known and
standard kinds. The question of varieties is one
that cannot be treated in a general way with equal

TIIE POTATO 43

benefit to all potato growers. Each grower must
determine for himself those varieties which do best
under his pjirticuhir conditions of soil and climate,
and use his own judgment in retaining the choicest
of these for home use, or market, or both.

"It has been remarked by certain growers, too,
that it is well nigh useless to buy new varieties;
for, an many cases, they declare, the alleged new
variety proves to be only an old sort renamed and
sold at a fancy price. This position tends to con-
fusion and misunderstanding and often unjust
criticism of originators, introducers, and dealers in
pure seed stock. True, there are cases in which
old varieties may have been reintroduced under
new names — we are aware of a limited number of
such cases — but such deception is more rare than
general. Usually the confusion of growers is oc-
casioned by the fact that there are several distinct
types, families, or groups of potatoes and that the
hundreds of varieties of different origin may be
classified in these several groups. Indeed, there
are many varieties of separate and distinct origin
which follow a single type so closely as not to be
readily distinguished from each other, either by
habit or growth of plant or character of tubers,
even by an expert potato specialist.

"To present in completeness and with absolute
accuracy the lists of varieties belonging to the
various groups would tax the most careful student
of botany. Such exact classification is neither
necessary nor advisable in a purely practical treat-
ise of this kind. In the following classification
the writer has not only reduced the groups to the
least possible number, but mentions only a few
of the many varieties which might easily be in-
cluded in each one. The classification is based

44 THE POTATO

principally upon similarity of the character of the
tubers of the different varieties, without special
consideration of the similarity of the plants of
each. In many cases, however, there is a similar-
ity of plants as well as of tubers.

^^The Triumph Group: Round, white, red or mot-
tled; first early. Bliss Red Triumph (known also
as Stray Beauty, Strawberry and Bermuda red),
Bliss White Triumph, Norton Beauty, Nott's
Early Peachblow, Woods' Earliest.

^'The Early Market Group: Round or oval, flat-
tened; white or slightly tinted; very early; good
quality, much superior to the Triumph group.
Early Market, Early Standard, Early Petoskey,
Irish Cobbler.

^^ Early Ohio Group: Very similar to Early Ohio
in various ways. Early Ohio, Early White Ohio,
Early Six Weeks, Baker's Extra Early, Peck's
Early, Acme, Ohio Junior.

''Early Rose Group: Long or oblong, cylindrical or
flattened; pink or white or mottled. Early Rose,
Early Roser, Mountrose, Northern Star, Early
Fortune, Early Bovee, Early Sensation, Early
Northern, Algoma, Miller-Brooke, Early Break-
fast (white). Early Michigan (white).

"Green Mountain Group: Oblong to long; some-
what irregular in form; usually white or straw
color. Green Mountain, Whiton's White Mam-
moth, Gold Coin, Ionia, Uncle Sam, Washington,
Happy Medium, American Giant, State of Maine.

""Seneca Beauty Group: Long or oblong, smooth;
small, very shallow eyes; red, pink or white with
pink eyes; quality excellent. Seneca Beauty,
Livingston (White Seneca Beauty), Piqua Chief,
Pat's Choice.

''Rural Neio Yorker Group: Round or oval, much

THE POTATO 45

fl<attened; few shallow eyes; color iisiiallj^ white;
quality variable. Rural New Yorker, Ilural Rus-
set, Banner, Carman No. 3, President Roosevelt,
Prosperity, Sir Walter Raleigh, Ohio Wonder,
Green's No. 21, White Giant, World Wonder."

MINNESOTA

The Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station
in "Bulletin 118" furnishes the following infor-
mation :

"1. The better varieties of potatoes are as
follows:

"Recommended for planting: early. Early Ohio,
and for southern markets, the Red Bliss Triumph;
late, Rural New Yorker No. 2, Sir W^alter Raleigh,
and Carman No. 3.

"Worthy of trial: early, Acme and Norton
Beauty; medium early. Early Bird, Early Mich-
igan, Early Norwood, and Queen of Sweden;
medium to medium late, Carman No. 1, Norcross,
and New Queen; late, Pingree and California
Russet.

"2. Twelve groups of potatoes, more or less
distinct, are being studied. The more important
commercial groups in Minneosta are the Rural,
Ohio, Michigan, Cobbler, and Green Mountain
groups.

"The indications are that, whenever a valuable
new variety of potato is originated, different deal-
ers put it on the market under different names.
Other evidence also indicates that some dealers
put well-known and well-established varieties on
the market under new names. Many dealers do
not seem to be sufficiently careful to keep their

46 THE POTATO

potato seed stock pure or true to variety name.
Some, if they run out of a variety, will substitute
the one nearest like it which they have on hand.
The result of these pernicious practices is an end-
less confusion of varieties, which may require
years of study and observation to unravel. To
the farmer it means that he is never sure of the
variety he is getting, unless he knows the general
reliabihty of the firm from which he buys, and
that it has a man in charge of its potato depart-
ment who knows varieties."

COLORADO

The following is from "Farmer's Bulletin 386"
of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, by the
senior author:

*' Years of experience have demonstrated that
comparatively few varieties of potatoes are really
adapted to Western or mountain conditions.
Among the early varieties none has been so univer-
sally successful as the Early Ohio. This potato is
of fine quality and uniform in size and shape,
though not a heavy yielder. Another good potato,
though not so early, is the Rose Seedling.

"For a medium to late variety, the Dalmeny
Challenge, a Scotch variety, is being used quite
extensively on the western slope of Colorado.
For later varieties, the \^liite Pearl, and Rural
New Yorker No. 2 are more extensively used at
Greeley, in the San Luis Valley, and in the Un-
compahgre Valley; and the Perfect Peachblow is
the favorite in the upper Grand Valley. The lat-
ter variety has been grown continuously by the
writer for twenty -five years, and under the system

THE POTATO 47

of seed selection already described it has become a
much better and more perfect type of potato than
it was ten, twenty-five, or even sixty-five years
ago, when first introduced."

KANSAS

Secretary F. D. Coburn, of the State Board of
Agriculture of Kansas, says:

"Early varieties for summer marketing are
planted mostly, and of these the Early Ohio is by
all odds the favorite, followed to a small extent by
the Early Rose and Triumph, as named. The
small proportion of late sorts planted are the Bur-
bank and Peachblow. Even for winter use the
early varieties are grown, and left undisturbed in
the ground until fall. While some home-grown
stock is planted. Northern-grown seed is found
best, and each year thousands of bushels are
shipped in by planters and dealers, who buy from
Minnesota and eastern North Dakota, in the Red
River Valley."

WASHINGTON

In "Popular Bulletin No. 11" of the Washington
State Experiment Station A. G. Craig says:

"There are often different strains of a single
variety of potatoes which differ from each other
in their characteristics — especially yield — more
than do the different varieties. Many varieties
possess more characteristics in common than do
two different strains of the same variety. Hence,
the importance of a well-bred strain of any given

48 THE POTATO

variety for seed purposes. Select only such vari-
eties for late potatoes as will mature early enough
to give ample time for digging in the fall under
normal conditions. A few of the best of the many
hundred varieties which have been grown on the
station farm and at other places in the state are
described below. They are arranged in groups
according to their habits of growth, and in each
group the varieties are placed in the order of
preference — yield, shape, color, character of eyes,
etc., being taken into consideration — as judged
by the results of our tw^o years' tests.

'^ Group 1: Varieties that produce new potatoes
early, and mature early in the season: New Queen,
White Ohio, White Rose, Pick's Early, Irish Cob-
bler, New Early Standard, Six Weeks, White Star,
King of Michigan, Early Thoroughbred, New
Century, New Climax, Early Ohio, Early Rose.

^' Group 2'. Varieties that produce new potatoes
early and mature early in September: Sweet Home,
Champion of the World, Early Excelsior, Rural
Red, Crine's Lightning, White Victor, Early
Hamilton.

Group 3: Varieties that produce new potatoes
early but mature late: Burpee's Extra Early,
Arcadia, Crown Jewel, Bovee, Algoma.

'''Group Jf-: Varieties that produce good, market-
able tubers and ripen early in the fall; promising
for localities where potatoes have a tendency to
grow too late in the fall: New Burbank, American
Wonder, White Lily, Medium, Carman No. 1,
Sir Walter Raleigh, Green Mountain, Vermont
Gold Coin.

'''Group 5: Varieties that yield heavily, matur-
ing late in season: Governor Folk, Ross Favorite,
Rural New Yorker No. 2, Snowflake Junior, Car-

THE POTATO 49

man No. 3, Burbank, White Beauty, White Mam-
moth, North Pole Easterly, Great Divide, North
Pole Stinnett, Harvest King, North Pole.

Group 6: Heavy yielding varieties; undesirable
for market purposes, but may be grown for stock
feed: Johnson's Seedling, Purple and Gold, Pin-
gree. Red Jacket, Empress of India. "

GREAT BRITAIN

The following letter from Arthur W. Sutton,
Royal Seed Establishment, Reading, England, ex-
plains the variety situation in Great Britain:

" As regards a list of the best potatoes now grown
in Great Britain, I should like to explain that it
would be quite easy to double and treble the sorts
mentioned in the enclosed list, but you have asked
for a list of the best potatoes now grown in Great
Britain, and I have therefore confined myself to
those I consider the best, and those which at the
same time are fairly widely cultivated.

"You are of course aware that whenever a po-
tato is introduced which proves to be of exceptional
merit, a great number of other so-called novelties
very rapidly appear in commerce under different
names, which cannot be distinguished from the
original type. This applies particularly to the
class of 'Up to Date,' some of the most popular
of this type of potato being 'Duchess of Cornwall, '
'The Factor,' and 'Scottish Triumph;' also types
corresponding very closely to 'Sutton's Abun-
dance, ' such as ' Cramond Blossom, ' 'The Provost,'
'Diamond,' and 'The Crofter,' also to 'Lang-
worthy,' which very closely resembles 'Clarke's
Maincrop.'"

50 THE POTATO

Following is a list of potatoes chiefly grown in
Great Britain:

Earlies. Sutton's May Queen: This variety is
very extensively grown, especially in the very
earliest districts, such as Cornwall, Jersey, etc.,
and is without doubt the finest and best cropping
first earlv.

Sutton's Ringleader: White kidney, white flesh,
the earliest potato grown.

Sutton's Harbinger: A white round, white
fleshed variety, an excellent cropper of superb
flavor.

Sutton's Epicure: A white round, white fleshed
variety. This variety is more largely grown than
any other variety in the north, as the northern
people prefer a round to a kidney variety. This
particularly refers to Ayrshire one of the earliest
districts in the United Kingdom.

Sutton's 90-fold : This is a heavy cropping white
fleshed kidney, of American texture.

Sir John Llewelyn: White kidney, white flesh,
a heavy cropping first early.

Duke of York: White kidney, yellow flesh, an
excellent cropper, of good flavor.

Second Earlies. Sutton's Windsor Castle: A
vv^hite round, white fleshed potato, heavy cropper,
considered by connoiseurs to be one of the best
flavored varieties in cultivation.

Sutton's Supreme: White kidney, white flesh,
heavy cropper, excellent quality.

British Queen: A heavy cropping variety of
good flavor, largely grown by farmers.

Sharpe's Express: WTiite kidney, white flesh,
excellent cropper, of good flavor.

Late Varieties. Sutton's White City: White
kidney, white flesh, handsome shape, perfect cook-

THE POTATO 51

ing quality, and has withstood the ravages of the
"black scab" or "wart disease."

Sutton's Abundance: White round, white flesh,
very heavy cropper, of splendid flavor.

Sutton's Superlative: White kidney, white flesh,
one of the heaviest cropping main crop varieties
grown.

Up to Date: Wliitc kidney, white flesh, excel-
lent flavor, one of the most popular varieties.

King Edw^ard VII: Pink mottled kidney, white
flesh, heavy cropper, and is largely grown in the
Midlands.

SIZE OF SEED AND RATE OF SEEDING

Growlers will be found to recommend the use of
seed varying in size from cut pieces having one
small eye to whole seed weighing six to eight
ounces.

The best growlers everywdiere — those who are
getting the greatest yields — are using larger seed
each year, as will be noted in the chapters on
Great Britain and the Channel Islands.

A simple fundamental is the reason for it: the
furnishing of more nutriment to supply the needs
of the young plant.

The rate of seeding is dependent entirely on the
size of the seed piece and the distance of planting.
Growers use from 300 to 5,000 pounds per acre.
The practice of successful growers indicates the
best policy to be:

High fcTtility of soil

Close planting

Whole seed or large seed pieces

Heavy rate of seeding per acre

52 THE POTATO

At Mt. Sopris Farm it has been found that it is
cheaper to grow medium sized seed in large quan-
tities per acre (by planting in rows thirty-two
inches apart and hills six inches apart), store it
separately and plant whole, than to cut seed.
It costs $5 to $6 per acre to cut seed, and there
is greater danger from dry rot with cut than
with whole seed.

In "The Potato Crop" Mr. David Young,
editor of the North British Agriculturist, of Edin-
burgh, Scotland, and one of the foremost agri-
cultural authorities in Great Britain, gives the fol-
lowing very interesting information about potato
varieties :

"If in the first two centuries (from the time of
its introduction) the progress of potato culture
was very slow in the United Kingdom, a different
state of matters prevailed in the early part of the
nineteenth century. By that time the valuable,
or rather we should say invaluable, properties of
the potato crop had been fully realized, and its
culture on a large scale was the order of the day
throughout the country. The plan of producing
new varieties from the seeds in the 'plums' or
'apples' was w^ell understood also, and early in
that century there were numerous different vari-
eties in general cultivation. The famous whole-
sale seed firm of jMessrs. Peter Lawson & Son,
Edinburgh, which still retains its pristine emi-
nence in the Scottish seed trade, was then de-
voting great attention to potato culture, and in
the agricultural museum, which was located in
the chambers owned and occupied by the High-
land and Agricultural Society, it had specimens
of over 100 different varieties on exhibition.

THE POTATO 53

"It is also interesting to note that the National
Agricultural Society of Scotland was a pioneer of
progress in potato culture. In 1827 the society
awarded a medal to Mr. Richard Lowthian Ross
of Staffold Hall, Cumberland, for bringing out a
new variety of potato called Staffold Hall, which
that gentleman had grown successively on a deep
rich soil, approaching clay, for a long period and
had never found it to present the least symptom of
curl or disease of any kind, either on its foliage or
tubers, and its produce per acre he has found in
several instances to exceed thirty tons.

"In the premium article by ]Mr. Peter Lawson on
'The Comparative Value of Different Varieties of
the Potato,' published in Vol. IX. of the society's
Transactions, it is recorded that the * Staffold Hall, '
or ' Late Wellington, ' as it is sometimes termed, was
found superior in specific gravity and quantity of
starch contained in a given weight of tubers to any
of the others there enumerated, amounting to
seventy-three. It would rather seem that if a
potato answering the description of the Staffold
Hall were to be brought out nowadays it would be
hailed with universal acclamation as the very
kind that potato raisers and potato growers had
for many long years been looking for and striving
to obtain.

"In the 'Agriculturist's Manual,' published in
1836 by Messrs. Peter Lawson & Son, 'Seedsmen
and Nurserymen to the Highland and Agricultural
Society,' there is given a list of 140 different vari-
eties in ordinary cultivation, and full particulars
are given respecting each variety under the differ-
ent heads of ' Habit of growth, ' ' Foliage, ' ' Flower, '
'Shape of tubers,' 'Color and other peculiarities
of skin,' 'Fold of increase,' 'General remarks' and

54 THE POTATO

'Weight of starch in one pound of tubers.' From
these 'General remarks' we learn that some
varieties were then marked as 'healthy,' 'pretty
healthy, or 'very healthy,' while others were
marked as 'unhealthy' or 'very unhealthy,' and
quite a number were marked as 'subject to curl,'
or 'very subject to curl.' The 'weight of starch
in one pound of tubers' was found to vary im-
mensely in the different varieties, the range of vari-
ation being from 408 to 903 'grains troy.' Two
varieties — namely, the Sawyer's Red and the
Late Jersey — were found to show 903 grains troy
of starch for one pound of tubers, but both these
varieties were branded as ' rather waxy and indif-
ferent in flavor. '

"It is worthy of note also that in those early
days the intelligent growers of potatoes were pos-
sessed of a good deal of knowledge which is fre-
quently supposed to be the product of modern
experiment and experience. Thus we find in the
first edition of Johnson's 'Dictionary of Modern
Gardening ' that the plan of sprouting seed tubers
in trays or boxes for the growing of early potatoes
was well known and widely practised, particularly
in Cheshire, 'where they are celebrated for the
early production of potatoes. ' The same author-
ity was also very emphatic in regard to the impor-
tance of using fairly full-sized uncut tubers for
seed, and of conserving the first sprout of the seed
by way of preventing the loss of stamina inevitably
caused by the breaking of the first sprouts; and he
was equally emphatic in regard of using potatoes
that had been brought from a district that was
higher and cooler than that in which it was to be
planted. It was also known in those early days
that tubers which had been harvested before being

THE POTATO 55

fully matured were better adapted for seeding pur-
poses than those which had been fully matured
before being harvested. When it is added that in
those early days the average yield of the crop was
eight tons per acre, or quite two tons more than the
official estimate of the crop nowadays, it will be
seen that these potato growers of seventy years
ago were not so very far behind.

"The year 1845 was a fateful one in the history
of potato-growing. In that year the dreaded
disease Phytophthora infestans (late blight)
wrought sad havoc among the potato crops
throughout the country.

'"The disease,' as it is called by potato growers
— other diseases in potatoes are always indicated
by a specific name, but this one is 'the disease' — was
by no means a new pest, for, according to numer-
ous old records, it had year by year done more or
less damage to the potato crops of the United
Kingdom and the Continent. But the disease had
rarely, if ever before, been so virulent as it was in
1845. But worse was yet to come, and in the fol-
lowing season, which was wet and ungenial, the
disease fell like a pestilence on the crops and prac-
tically ruined them. The ruin of the potato crop
of that year had one most important permanent
effect on the agriculture of the kingdom, for it led
to'^the abolition of the protective duties which had
up till then been levied on all foodstuffs imported
from abroad.

"The potato growers of Great Britain suffered
heavy financial loss through the failure of the crop
in 1846, and for a time they lost confidence in their
own ability to fight the battle against the dreaded
disease, so that the area under this crop was for
some years greatly reduced. But just as a crisis

56 THE POTATO

of any sort in public affairs usually brings to the
front some strong man capable of dealing with it,
so this crisis in the history of the potato-growing
industry in the United Kingdom brought to the
front a man who rendered incalculable service to
his country and his fellow-men. This was Wil-
liam Paterson of Dundee.

"As a market gardener and potato-seed grower
on a large scale Mr. Paterson had been experi-
menting for twenty years previously in the raising
of new varieties of potatoes; but all the new vari-
eties which he had brought out prior to 1846 had
gone down before the disease, like all the others in
that disastrous year. But the failure of his exer-
tions in that way only caused him to redouble his
energies, with the fixed determination to discover
the means of either preventing the scourge alto-
gether or at least of checking its ravages to a
material degree. With the zeal of a devotee he
set himself to investigate the nature and cause of
the disease, while carrying on at the same time his
experiments in the way of raising new varieties
wdiich should show sufficient constitutional vigor
to hold the disease at bay.

"For several years Mr. Paterson worked on with
little success and less encouragement, but at
length, in the second half of the '50's, he brought
out the Paterson's Victoria, which proved to be
not only a splendid cropper of excellent quality,
but practically immune against the disease. The
success of the Victoria was immediate and out-
standing, and very soon it was largely grown all
over the country. The late Queen Victoria wrote
with her own hand a letter to Mr. Paterson order-
ing a quantity of Paterson's Victorias for planting
on the royal farms at Windsor, and that letter is

THE POTATO 57

one of the most treasured possessions of his family
to this day. By way of doing honor to the man
whom the Queen had thus dehghted to honor, the
landowners and farmers of Forfarshire presented
him with a soHd silver epergne and a claret jug,
which are also carefully treasured in the family.

"In his 'Report on Experiments in Propagating
New and Superior Varieties of the Potato Plant, '
for which he was awarded the gold medal of the
Highland and Agricultural Society in 1869, ]\Ir.
Paterson tells the story of his hmg-continued and
costly struggle to produce a variety which should
be distinguished by its heavy-cropping, good-
cooking, and disease-resisting qualities. From
this report, which is published in the society's
'Transactions' of 1870, we quote the following
extract :

" 'My own conviction regarding the potato blight
is that there is no direct cure for it, but that it is
entirely owing to atmospheric action in tlie plant,
and that it will be always more or less subject to it.
From this time (viz., 1853) I determined on carry-
ing out my original idea of raising and improving
seedling varieties from the plum or apple of vigor-
ous and healthy tubers. The initial difficulty was
very great. Potatoes in this country had almost
ceased to flower, and at considerable expense I
imported them from England, the Cape of Good
Hope, Australia, America, and Calcutta, from
which, as w^ell as from our own standard kinds, I
selected the healthiest tubers and planted them in
a field of newly taken in land, with reed manure,
by the side of a stream where the atmosphere was
damp. All produced flowers, and most of them
"apples." The experiment was successful, and
from the seed or "apple" I produced those ne^v

58 THE POTATO

and improved varieties which I have given to the
pubHc, and Vvhich are acknowledged to be at home
and abroad of so much benefit to the community. '
As already noted, the success of Paterson's Vic-
toria, and several other new varieties raised by
him in the way described above, was remarkable
and immediate. But the scientific methods of
booming new varieties of potatoes were not known
in his days, and Mr. Paterson himself was more
concerned about doing an incalculable and per-
manent service to his fellow-men than he was
about using even legitimate means of snatching a
chance of making a fortune for himself; and not-
withstanding all the tokens of public appreciation
bestowed on him by the Queen and his fellow-
agriculturists, he actually was a heavy loser
financially through his efforts to bring out a potato
which should realize his ideal.

"It is claimed that jNIr. Paterson, the raiser of the
Victoria, was the first to hybridize or cross-fertilize
different varieties of potatoes. It is impossible to
say whether that claim be well founded or not,
for some of the older wa-iters refer in a vague way
to crossing different varieties of potatoes, and Mr.
Paterson, in his report to the Highland and Agri-
cultural Society, makes no specific mention of hy-
bridizing. But as the science of botany was well
understood in his day, and as he devoted so much
attention and skill to the propagation of different
varieties, it is quite likely that he followed the
principle of cross-fertilization. It may be well,
therefore, at this stage to give a brief account of the
system which is now so largely followed in the
cross-fertilization of potatoes.

"It will be noted that Mr. Paterson in his report
to the Highland and Agricultural Society says

THE POTATO 59

that, before he got on to the line of experiment
which 1( d up to the production of the Victoria,
'potatoes in this country had ahnost ceased to
flower,' let alone bearing 'apples' or 'plums.'
Whether that was due to the loss of constitutional
vigor, or to the fact that through the process of
selection, the varieties which expend all their
energies on the production of tubers and not on the
production of 'apples' had come to be the only
kind generally grown, cannot now^ be determined.
And here we may note a somewhat remarkable fact
in this connection. Many years ago Mr. John
Wilson, Chapelhill, grew a variety of potatoes
which regularl}^ produced a full crop of 'apples.'
Mr. Wilson came to the conclusion that the plants
could not possibly produce such a heavy crop as
they could otherwise do if a great part of their
energy was expended in the production of ' apples, '
and by way of experiment he set his 'hands' to
snip the blooms off the plants in a few acres situ-
ated in the centre of the field. The result was that
the part of the field so treated yielded a crop which
was quite two tons per acre heavier than that
yielded by the same variety in the other parts of
the field which were not so treated. But in the
evolution of heavy-cropping varieties ' apple '-
bearing varieties are now very few and far between.
"In the scientific process of hybridizing, the
anthers have first of all to be removed at an earlv
stage of the flowering process in order to prevent
the pollen produced on them from lighting on the
pistil. Care must also be taken to prevent the pol-
len of any neighboring plants from lighting on the
pistil of the plant to be impregnated. Then the
pollen collected from the anthers of the plant to be
used as the 'male' in the crossing process has to

60 THE POTATO

be dusted on the pistil which is to be impregnated.
Care must also be taken that no other pollen is
allowed to get near that pistil. Some hybridizers
put a glass vase over the cross-fertilized plant,
and others follow the plan of tying a muslin bag
over t'he pistil for the same purpose.

*'One difficulty that often confronts the hybrid-
izer is that the plant he wants to use as a 'male'
may not be in bloom at the time that the plant he
wants to use as a ' female ' is ready for the impreg-
nating process. Another difficulty is tlxat, owing
to the 'apple'-bearing capacity having been almost
entirely bred out of the heaviest cropping varieties,
the plant may not produce any 'apples' though the
pistil has been duly impregnated. The taking off
of all the blooms but the one to be impregTLated has
a marked effect in the way of making the plant
produce 'apples.' Some hybridizers pick away the
growling tubers from the roots for the purpose of
causing the plant to expend its energy in the pro-
duction of 'apples' in place of tubers. With all
these devices, however, the hybridizer may pol-
linate twenty different blooms, and consider him-
self very lucky if he gets 'apples' on one or two of
them. When the 'apples' are full-grown they are
gathered and the seed washed out from the sur-
rounding juice, each 'apple' containing from 100 to
300 seed.

"The seed are sown in fine rich mould in a green-
house in the early spring, and after they have
sprouted the young plants are planted out in the
garden or elsewhere. Each of these transplanted
plants will produce a few tubers, mostly all of small
size. The first year's seedHngs are not invariably
of small size, however. Thus at the first show of
the National Potato Society at London in 1904

THE POTATO CI

the Sir John Llewelljni Challenge Cup for the best
collection of potatoes was awarded to Messrs.
Sutton & Sons for a collection of fifty different
varieties, which included a selection of seedlings
grown direct from the 'apple' seed in the same
year, these seedlings being for the most part of
quite the size ordinarily obtained from the plant-
ing of full-sized 'sets.' Last year also Doctor
Wilson, the lecturer on agriculture at St. Andrews
University, who has devoted much attention to
the scientific hybridizing of farm plants, had an
'apple' seed planted in March which in October
showed a yield of six pounds one ounce of fairly
full-sized tubers.

"The tubers of the seedlings in the first year
from 'apple' seed generally show a great variety of
type, and even of color, 'blues' and 'reds' being
quite common in first year's seedlings, even from
seed produced by the cross-fertilizing of two white-
skinned and white-fleshed varieties. Then the
process of selection begins, and has to be continued
for several years until the types selected are prop-
erly fixed. A vast amount of patience is required
for this work, as very frequently a seedling which
gives great promise in its second, third, or even
fourth year has eventually to be discarded on
account of its failing to come up to the promise of
its earlier years.

"The Victoria and other new varieties brought
out by Mr. William Paterson 'held the field' for
a good many years, but in process of time they
l)ogan to lose their pristine vigor. There were
others, however, who took up the work that Mr.
Paterson had expended so nuich zeal upon, and
one of the most notable of these workers was ]\lr.
John Nicol, then of the Ochterlony Gardens,

62 THE POTATO

Forfarshire, who in the early '70's brought out
the Champion, which was a heavy cropper of
fair quahty and had great disease-resisting power.
In the course of a few years this variety was very
largely grown in Scotland as well as in Ireland.

"Early in the '70's also a number of new
varieties were imported from America, and from
one of these — the Early Rose — crossed with
Paterson's Victoria, there was produced the Mag-
num Bonum, which was brought out by the Messrs.
Sutton in 1876. The Magnum Bonum was a cap-
ital cropper, of excellent quality and great capacity
for resisting disease. In a short time it took the
leading place among all the varieties grown in
England.

"A series of wet seasons, culminating in the dis-
astrous season of 1879, wrought great havoc
among the crops of the country, particularly in
England. A departmental committee w^as ap-
pointed to investigate the whole question of pro-
ducing new varieties, and they recommended that
parliament should initiate and subsidize experi-
ments designed to produce new and disease-proof
varieties; but this recommendation was never
acted on. Lord Cathcart, in commenting on this
report, states: 'All potatoes have degenerated in
their disease-resisting powers. A variety from
seed takes four to six years for its establishment,
and under the most favorable circumstances a good
variety may be expected to degenerate in twenty
years. The production of new varieties is of na-
tional importance. '

"Through the influence of Lord Cathcart, Mr. J.
G . Baker, the eminent botanist, was led to make an
exhaustive study of the genus Solanum, in order to
advise as to the relation of the cultivated varieties

THE POTATO 63

to the various wild species found in the American
continent, preparatory to hybridizing experi-
ments in which these wild species might be used.
As a result of his investigations, detailed in his
' Review of the Tuber-Bearing Species of Solanum, '
he recommended the crossing of the cultivated
varieties with the Darwin potato, Solanum Maglia,
from the Chonos Archipelago, and the Uruguay
potato, Solanum Commersoni. Lord Cathcart fur-
nished specimens of the S. Maglia to the Messrs.
Sutton for crossing purposes, but the produce
obtained from crossing the best cultivated varieties
with the S. Maglia were far behind in appearance,
crop, and quality. The cross with the Commer-
soni was attempted year after year, but without
success.

" During these years of investigation and experi-
ment, however, the hybridizer, like the school-
master, had been abroad. Many excellent new
varieties were brought out by the Messrs. Sutton,
whose name is synonymous with excellence and
quality in every department of farm and garden
seeds. Numerous other enthusiasts in the same
line added their quota to the national stock, but
all through the '80's the Champion and the Mag-
num continued to hold the leading places. But in
England in particular the crops were often very
disappointing. The English growers had not then
learned the lesson so well known by the early
Scotch growers of getting a change of seed from
the colder and later climate of Scotland.

"In the end of the '80's public attention began
to be attracted to the new varieties raised by ^Ir.
Findlay, then of Markinch, Fifeshire. His first
success was the Bruce, which gave excellent
results for a time. Later on he followed with the

64 THE POTATO

Up-to-Date and the British Queen, both of which
were excellent varieties. At one time it seemed
as if both these varieties would have to be dis-
carded on account of disease, but they seemed to
recover their vigor and reputation. In fact, the
Up-to-Date, though it has now been before the
public for some fourteen years, is still probably the
variety most largely grown throughout the coun-
try. Shortly after it was brought out it was grown
on a large scale on Lord Rosebery's home farms
at Dalmeny, and the enormous crops of Dates
then produced — which certainly were grown on
exceptionally excellent and lavishly manured soil
— helped greatly to bring the Date into public
favor. The Langworthy, brought out by Mr.
Niven of Madderty, Crieff, about the same time
as the Up-to-Date, is a variety of exceptional cook-
ing quality, but is not so heavy a cropper, though
it generally commands a higher price per ton.
Other varieties, such as the Scottish Triumph
(raised by Mr. Gemmell, Flakefield, Hamilton),
the Crofter, and the Factor (raised by Mr. Chap-
man, Bathgate), the Dalmeny Hero (raised by Mr.
John Hunter, F. I. C), and many others, have
their backers as the main crop varieties most ap-
proved by them.

"So matters stood at the end of the nineteenth
and the beginning of the twentieth century. Then
there was brought about the great Potato Boom,
which may well take its place in history along with
the South Sea Bubble. The circumstances at the
time were all in favor of those who worked up the
boom, for in 1902, and still more so in the following
year, the season was very unfavorable for the po-
tato crop in the United Kingdom as well as on the
Continent, so that prices for sound tubers ruled

THE POTATO 65

high; and those who were fortunate enough to
have large and sound crops — as many of the
farmers in Scothxnd were — reaped a golden har-
vest in each of these years. The methods and
agencies by which it (the boom) was worked were
those so well known and so frequently resorted to
by the Bulls and the Bears of the Stock Exchange.
In the centre of the boom were two new varieties,
which were declared to be immense croppers and
practically immune against the disease. During
the winter of 1902-1903 prices for one of these va-
rieties were forced up to an unprecedented level.
But at the end of the following season, when the dis-
ease was again very prevalent and prices for sound
tubers were abnormally high, a perfect frenzy for
new varieties seemed to seize upon growers. Day
by day and week by week the reading public were
informed that some prominent grower or other had
bought a tuber of one of these new varieties at
$100, $250, or $500, and as these reports increased
the delirium of buyers increased. Some of these
reported purchases of tubers at more than their
weight in gold were undoubtedly genuine; and in a
lawsuit regarding the non-delivery of a stone (14
pounds) of one of these new varieties in the spring of
1904 evidence was led to show that three pounds of
that precious stone had been sold before hand at
$800 per pound ! The public appetite for new vari-
eties seemed to be insatiable at the time, and scores
of new varieties — most of which were old friends
with new names — were rushed upon the mar-
ket and eagerly snapped up at fabulous prices by
growers.

"Even at the termination of the ])lanting season
of 1904 the delirium had not subsided. The boom-
ers had still another arrow in their quiver, and

66 THE POTATO

they shot that shaft with far-reaching aim. Miles
of greenhouses were rushed up for the purpose of
'forcing' tubers of the $800 per pound variety,
and the pubhc was conjured to buy shoots or
sprouts of that and other varieties at $20 each.
Thousands of farmers and gardeners who could
not afford to buy a pound of tubers at $800 per
pound rushed to buy these precious shoots at
from $10 to $20 each. One developer boasted
that he had taken 1,000 shoots from a single tuber,
so that if he had sold all these at an average of
$15 each he would have made $15,000 off a single
tuber, and had that precious tuber left to grow a
further crop with.

"But the potato harvest of 1904 found the
growers of new and high-priced varieties in a ver^''
different frame of mind. The precious shoots
which they had bought at from $10 to $20 apiece
had each and all of them yielded a caricature
of a crop, as the merest tyro in botanical science
and farm practice could have told them would be
the case. Most of the new, or so-called new,
varieties had also proved to be quite as susceptible
to the disease as the older varieties. And above
all, the general crop of the country was. a very full
one, so that prices ruled very low. Then there was
a rush to sell for seed the stocks which had been
bought at fabulous prices, but the demand had
gone off and the slump came. The following year
— 1905, that is — was also a favorable one for the
potato crop, and on account of the heavy yield
prices were low. The new varieties rushed upon
the market two years before had, as a rule, proved
no better than any of the well-tried standard
^^arieties, and some which were undoubtedly new
varieties developed a fatal facility for going wrong

THE POTATO 67

in the pits, though they looked quite sound when
Hfted. The result is that at the present time po-
tato growers are greatly at a loss as to what variety
they should plant, and they are cautious, even to
the verge of suspicion, as to the purchase of any
new variety whose merits as a cropper and disease-
resister have not been fully proved on a large scale,
and for at least a couple of years.

"But while the potato boom was being shot up
by scientific and other devices on its rocket-like
course, there were scientists in Ireland engaged in
experimental work which was destined to be of
great and permanent interest to potato growers.
The Department of Agriculture and Technical
Instruction for Ireland — a Board backed with
ample funds and staffed with able and energetic
men — had been most successfully carrying on a
great work for the advancement of the agricultural
and other industries of Ireland. That experimen-
tal and demonstration work carried on by the Irish
department was destined to be of paramount im-
portance to potato growers in Great Britain as well
as in Ireland. The potato crop covers such a vast
area in Ireland, and is so staple a food of the Irish
peasantry, that the department wisely devoted a
great part of its resources toward the development
of the potato-growing industry. The chief scien-
tific adviser of the Irish department is Professor
J. R. Campbell, a young and very able Scotsman,
who was formerly assistant lecturer on agriculture
at the Glasgow Agricultural College before being
appointed Professor of Agriculture, first at the
Lancashire Agricultural College, and afterward at
the Yorkshire College. Professor Campbell, while
engaged as lecturer on agriculture for the Glasgow
Agricultural College, was well acquainted with the

68 THE POTATO

principles and practice so profitably followed by
the skilful and enterprising farmers on the Ayr
and Girvan coasts, and other parts of the southwest
of Scotland, in the growing of early potatoes for
the early market, and on his being translated to
Ireland he soon decided to make a vigorous effort
in the way of stimulating the Irish growers to take
up that same very profitable business, as Ireland,
owing to its earlier and milder climate, was even
better suited than the seaboard of Ayrshire for the
production of early potatoes in the month of June,
when prices for new potatoes are always at their
highest.

"Knowing full well the outstanding abilities of
Mr. Wallace, Terreglestown, Dumfries, as a highly
successful grower of both early and main-crop
potatoes, Professor Campbell secured in 1900 the
services of Mr. Wallace to deliver an annual course
of lectures in Ireland, and supervise numerous
experimental and demonstration areas for the
department in Ireland. This experimental and
demonstration work proved a great success.

*'The system of sprouting seed tubers of the
earliest varieties in boxes during the winter and
planting them out early in spring, which was fol-
lowed in Cheshire in the early part of the nineteenth
century and has long been followed in Ayrshire
and the west coast of Scotland, produced for the
Irish growers a good crop which was ready for
harvesting in the early part of June before even
the Ayrshire crops were ready, and were all mar-
keted at highly satisfactory prices before the time
at which the disease makes its appearance, while a
fairly full crop of roots, cabbages, or other produce
could be afterward grown on the same ground the
same season. This was a new and very profitable

THE POTATO 69

venture for the Irish growers, and the system is
spreading so rapidly in Irchmd that the Uirge quan-
tities of early potatoes now annually shipped from
Ireland to the British markets are very sensibly
affecting the prices and profits realized by the
growers on the Ayrshire and west coast generally.
The official report of the Irish department showed
that the crops of early potatoes in Ireland last year
had been all marketed at prices averaging over £30
per statute acre.

"It was probably intended at first that the
efforts of the department in this direction should
be concentrated on the development of the early
potato-growing business. But the experimental
and demonstration work of the department broad-
ened out into new^ fields of far-reaching importance.
The crops of the earliest varieties of potatoes,
when the seed tubers are sprouted in boxes and
planted early in early districts, are usually mar-
keted before the disease begins to make its ap-
pearance in the fields. For some years the Irish
department had made an exhaustive series of
experiments in spraying the late or main crops
with Bouille Bordelaise or sulphate of copper solu-
tion, and had proved up to the hilt that this sys-
tem was of incalculable value in either altogether
preventing or at least very materially checking
the ravages of the disease. Professor Campbell
and Mr. Wallace came to the sound conclusion that
no variety of potato which was then on the market,
or was ever likely to be on the market, was i)roof
against the disease, and that while it was very
desirable to give a preference to those varieties
which showed the greatest power in resisting the
disease provided their flavor and yield were satis-
factory, yet the best plan of preventing or check-

70 THE POTATO

ing the ravages of the disease was to systemati-
cally follow the plan of spraying. Mr. Wallace also
well knew the old fact which had been stated in the
'Dictionary of Modem Gardening' sixty years
before, but had been practically forgotten by
growers in the second half of the nineteenth
century — namely, that it was not only most
desirable to plant good-sized seed, preferably un-
cut, but it was also of the first importance to pre-
serve the first bud of the seed tuber in order to
provide against loss of stamina in the plant through
breaking off the shoots. He therefore proceeded
to prove by demonstration on the field what he had
previously proved in his own practice at Terregles-
town, that it was a most profitable plan to have
the seed of even the late or main-crop potatoes
sprouted in boxes during the winter, as was done in
the case of the early varieties for the early market.
"The first Irish experiments in this direction in
1902 were very conclusive, as the crops of good-
sized seed tubers which had been sprouted in boxes,
and had their sprouts toughened by exposure to
light and air before being planted, were not only
much larger in yield but were much freer from
disease than those which had not been so treated,
but had got their first shoots broken off by handling
at the time of planting. The department's experi-
ments showed that over all the numerous fields
on which these tests as between boxed and un-
boxed seed had been conducted, the average in-
crease in yield obtained from the boxed seed was
over 100 bushels per acre. A similar experiment
conducted in the following year at the Yorkshire
College farm showed precisely similar results, and
attracted much attention in England. Year after
year similar experiments were conducted in Ireland

THE POTATO 71

by the department, and in every year the results
have been practically the same.

''Further experiments conducted by the depart-
ment proved that not only was there a great
increase in yield obtained from boxed as against
unboxed seed, but that the system of spraying
with the sulphate of copper solution, if efHciently
and timeously carried out, had not only a most
marked effect in preventing or checking disease,
but that it had also a most marked further effect
in prolonging the growing period of the crop, and
in that way increasing the yield. Mr. Wallace
unhesitatingly and emphatically declared his set-
tled conviction that, when once the Irish growers
had learned to box and spray, the Green Isle, with
its potato area of 600,000 acres and its relatively
small population of 4,250,000 souls, would be able
not only to supply the wants of its own people,
but would also be able to regularly export enor-
mous quantities to the British markets instead of
requiring to import large quantities, as had often
been the case in former years. The Irish depart-
ment has therefore concentrated its efforts on
stimulating and encouraging the Irish culti-
vators to box and spray, and the Irish growers have
been quick to learn a lesson which promises to be
so very profitable to them.

"Last year the Irish growers who had learned
to box and spray had very heavy and sound crops
and the total output of potatoes in the Green Isle
was so heavy and plentiful that it is having a most
decided effect, and keeping prices at a very low
level in this country. There seems no reason to
doubt that as more and more Irish growers are led
to box and spray, the crops grown on the vast area
under potatoes in Ireland will be heavier year by

72 THE POTATO

year, and the effect of that on the prices in the
home market will be keenly felt by British growers.
"Within the last few years also another great
change, which promises to increase the total aver-
age yield of the potato crops of Great Britain, has
been taking place. The change in question was
due to what may be called the rediscovery of a fact
which was well known to the gardeners and other
growers of potatoes more than half a century ago
— namely, that in getting seed potatoes it was
always desirable to get them from a colder and
later district and climate than that to which they
were taken. In comparatively recent years many
English growers frequently obtained potato seed
from Scotland, and found that in almost every
case the seed tubers grow^n in Scotland yielded
much better crops than those obtained from the
use of seed grown in England. The great yield
of crop obtained through the use of Scotch-grown
seed was, however, generally ascribed to superior-
ity of variety, as the tubers taken south to England
for seed were generally of a different variety from
those previously grown. That, however, was
not the correct explanation. Certain it is that, as
a general rule, seed tubers grown in the colder and
later climate of Scotland give much better results
than tubers grown in the warmer and earlier cli-
mate of England. Several reasons may be adduced
in partial explanation of this fact. For one thing,
owing to the climate of Scotland being colder and
later than that of England, the potato crop in
Scotland is not usually so fully ripened when it is
harvested as the potato crop in England is when
harvested, and it is an old but recently redis-
covered fact that potatoes harvested before being
fully matured are much better for seeding purposes

THE POTATO 73

than potatoes which have, in a way, exhausted
their vitaHty in ripening. For another thing,
again owing to the cHmate of Scotland being colder
and later than that of England, seed tubers taken
from Scotland to England for seeding purposes
are not usually so much sprouted as those in the
warmer south at the same time of vear, and conse-
quently do not lose so much of their stamina and
vitality through the breaking of sprouts in hand-
ling.

"But over and above these considerations there
is undoubtedly in the potatoes grown in the colder
and more bracing climate of Scotland some subtle
force which makes for greater constitutional vigor
and habit of growth than is characteristic of those
grown in the warmer and more relaxing climate of
England.

"In 1903 Professor Seton, at the Yorkshire Col-
lege farm, carried out an experiment on this point,
and found that seed grown in Scotland, when
planted in Yorkshire, showed an increase of crop
to the extent of two tons per acre, and was much
freer from disease than the adjoining crop of the
same variety grown from native seed. Much
attention was attracted to these findings at the
time; but since then they have been very fully con-
firmed, not only by the experience of hundreds of
English growers, but also hy scientific and careful
experiments at practically all the agricultural col-
leges in England. At the Cambridge University
farm Professor Middleton found that the crop
from Scotch-grown seed was so vastly heavier
than the crop from native seed of the same variety
that he was fairly staggered at the result, and half
inclined to doubt the accuracy of his own findings.
At the Northumberland County Council farm of

74 THE POTATO

Cockle Park, Professor Gilchrist found similar
results, but found that these were only in accord-
dance with the experience of growers seventy or
eighty years ago.

"At date of writing, the latest series of experi-
ments recorded in this connection is a most ex-
haustive one from the Lancashire County Council
farm, where four different tests, all in duplicate,
were carried out with wonderfully uniform results,
which led the experimenters to draw the following
conclusion — viz., seed potatoes brought from a
northern to a southern latitude give a larger crop
than those from a southern to a northern latitude,
the difference, according to this experiment, being
on the average about one hundred bushels per acre.

"If the English growers not only learn to box
and spray as the Irish farmers are learning to do,
but also learn that seed potatoes brought from a
northern to a southern latitude give a crop of three
tons per acre more than English-grown seed, that
will all make for a greatly increased average yield
per acre in England and a comparatively lower
range of prices per ton.

As already noted, there is no variety of potato
on the market which is not more or less susceptible
to the disease, though undoubtedly some varieties
show much greater capacity for resisting the
disease than others. It is also a notorious fact
that many of the new varieties of potatoes which
have been put on the market within the last few
years at fabulous prices, as being practically im-
mune against the disease, have proved to be quite
as liable to succumb to the attack of the dreaded
fungus as any of the well-proved standard vari-
eties which have been before the public for a dozen
years or more. Judging from the experience of the

THE POTATO 75

past century, it is not at all likely that a potato of
good quality that will be disease-proof for any con-
siderable number of years will ever be brought out.

"It was reported from France last year that,
after many unsuccessful efforts, a cross between
the cultivated potato and the wild potato —
Solanum Commersoni — had been brought out
and gave every promise of high disease-resisting
power, but that it was not well adapted for table
use, as its cooking quality left much to be desired.
It seems clear enough, therefore, that growers need
not rush wildly after any so-called disease-proof
new variety for protection against the Phytoph-
thora infestans, but that they should follow the
lead of common sense and science in the preven-
tion of the disease.

"Planting good-sized tubers, whose first sprouts
have been carefully preserved, is a most impor-
tant matter in the way of maintaining the con-
stitutional vigor of the plant. As a matter of
course also, preference should be given to those
varieties which show the greatest capacity for
resisting the disease — that is to say, if their crop-
ping powers and cooking qualities are up to the
mark. For those who farm in the warmer and
earlier climate south of the Borders, it is also a
most important fact, as was urged upon the at-
tention of growers seventy years ago, that seed
potatoes should be brought from a colder and later
climate than that in which they are to be planted.
Seed tubers that have been harvested before being
fully ripened are also to be preferred."

CHAPTER VII

SEED-BED PREPARATION AND PLANTING

SO MUCH depends on the conditions in the
different districts, that seed bed preparation
and planting methods differ somewhat.

The fundamentals, however, are the same every-
where. These are whatever cultural methods are
necessary to make a deep, mellow seed bed or root
nest. The success of the crop depends on the size
and vigor of the root system.

The seed should be planted sufficiently near the
surface to get the benefit of the heat of the sun, and
deep enough that the root system be in contact
with the moist earth.

The seed bed must be sufficiently firm that the
rootlets come immediately in contact with the soil
particles, yet open enough that they readily pene-
trate.

Humus — decayed vegetable matter — from
every source is an essential in a good potato soil.
Legumes and barnyard manure are valuable, and
decayed turf, from meadows or pasture, is ideal
for potato culture. It seems to "clean" the soil
from injurious diseases, and because it has grown
in it is thoroughly incorporated in the entire soil.
All vegetable matter should be plowed under the
fall previous to the cropping season.

The cover crop, or green manure — a mass of
vegetation turned under in a green state — has a
wonderfully beneficial effect on soils, both for the

THE POTATO 77

fertility it furnishes and the bettered meclianical
condition. Some of the best cover crops are the
clovers and alfalfa, peas, vetch, rye, and Italian
Rae grass.

If the manager of an agricultural proposition
knows the conditions necessary to accomplish a
required result, his problem is to bring about these
proper conditions. When Prof. F. H. King, one
of the Avorld's greatest soil authorities, was at the
head of the Soil Physics Department of the Agri-
cultural College of the University of Wisconsin,
his slogan was "Learn to know why — for this
teaches how and when. "

The philosophy of seed-bed preparation for
potatoes and the planting of the crop is simply
this :

First. The soil must be looSe and mellow to a
sufficient depth to make it possible for the root
system to spread freely, and for the tubers to form
readily and develop uniformly and normally.

Second. The soil must be sufficiently firm that
the rootlets may come in contact with the soil
particles from which the nutriment for the plant is
taken.

Third. There must be sufficient moisture, but
not too much.

Fourth. There must be sufficient fertility, and
it nuisi; be in such available form that the plant
can use it readily.

Fifth. The soil must be warm enough at plant-
ing time to start the plant vigorously and rapidly.

All of these conditions in the nearest possible
perfection are necessary for the i)roduction of the
most profitable crops. A deficiency in any one
will mean loss.

Thorough seed-bed preparation kills weeds and

78 THE POTATO

disease germs. The killing of ^Yee(is before the
seed is planted makes the cultivation of the grow-
ing crop easier, and the constant stirring and work-
ing of the soil that kills the weeds aerates and
makes possible sun action that kills spores and
germs of disease. On Mt. Sopris Farm the soil is
often worked six, seven, and eight ti'mes before
planting. When the good results that are accom-
plished in the preparation are continued by deep
cultivation closely following planting, a splendid
crop is, in most instances, assured.

Where soils are badh' infected with disease
germs it is best to rotate the potato crop with
grains and grasses. George Sinclair, farm man-
ager of the Earl of Rosebery's Dalmeny Farms,
a prominent British agriculturist, says that one
year in grain and three in sod will free soils of most
potato diseases, and that this practice will make
possible the continual growing of big crops.

When crops are to be grown in succession it is
found advantageous to open up the furrows in
which the potatoes are to be planted and let the
sun and air disinfect them for a day or longer
before planting.

In the Twin Falls country in southern Idaho,
or elsewhere throughout the mountain valleys of
the Northwest, potatoes make the greatest yields
on alfalfa or clover sod. It is always best to grow
them in a crop rotation so that not more than two
crops are raised in succession on the same land.
Growing potatoes puts ground in excellent tilth for
grain, because the thorough cultivation makes
large quantities of plant food available for the
rootlets of the gi*ain plants. One of the most suc-
cessful crop rotations practised by the best growers
is three jnears of alfalfa or clover, the last cutting

THE POTATO 79

of the hay the third year being plowed under ten
inches deep in tlie fall; two years in potatoes, and
one year in grain, reseeding to grass with the
grain.

Good crops are raised on both spring and fall
plowing, but the latter has several advantages.
The ground can be plowed to a greater depth, mak-
ing a deeper seed bed and a larger storage capacity
for moisture. The weathering through the winter
makes fertility available, so that the same soil, if
turned up, unweathered, in the spring would con-
tain less food in shape to be used by the plant.
Fall plowing for potatoes should be deep, at least
eight inches, but ten is better.

Fall plowing in north latitudes or high altitudes
makes possible the storage of heat from the sun's
rays. Land that has been fall plowed is often
eight to ten degrees warmer at planting time than
land plowed deep in the spring (thereby turning up
a cold subsoil). Fall plowing, in this way, length-
ens the growing season, where seasons are short,
and often eliminates fungous development that
might be damaging to tender potato sprouts.
Fall plowing should generally be followed by
another plowing in the spring.

In the Channel Islands the potato land is plowed
eighteen inches deep every four years.

When alfalfa or clover sod is turned under, the
plow should be sharp enough to cut the roots;
otherwise it is not all killed and the grass may come
up later and bother in cultivation.

If manuring is done, it should be in the fall.
Probably the best time to apply manure is to the
crop that precedes the potatoes — on the clover or
alfalfa sod. In this way there is no possibility of
the fermenting or rotting manure making a breed-

80 THE POTATO

ing place for disease that might affect the potato.
If manure is not apphed, similar results in restor-
ing vegetable matter and fertility to the soil are
obtained by the turning under of the last crop of
alfalfa or clover, should either of these crops pre-
cede the potatoes. The freezing and thawing of
the average winter help to incorporate the vege-
table matter in the soil.

In the spring the ground should be thoroughly
disked and harrowed, making a fine, firm seed bed.

Small acreages (five acres or less) of potatoes
may be planted by hand if a horse planter is not
available. Good potatoes have been raised by
dropping them in every third furrow when plowing
the field, letting the next furrow cover the seed to
the depth of four to six inches.

Any larger acreage of potatoes, either on one
farm or in a neighborhood, is best planted with a
modern planter. With any of the standard two-
horse planters five or six acres a day can be planted.
In many places in the West potatoes are planted
one piece in a place in rows thirty-six inches apart,
and the pieces dropped eight to fourteen inches
apart in the row. Planted twelve inches apart in
the row makes 14,500 hills to the acre. If con-
ditions were perfect, and each hill produced ten
marketable potatoes weighing ten ounces each, a
yield of nearly 1,500 bushes per acre would be
secured. This is entirely possible. Fifteen years
ago R. A. Chisholm of Del Norte, Col., grew 847
bushes to the acre, winning a gold purse offered by
the Orange Judd Farmer for the best measured acre
of potatoes in the United States.

Potatoes that are infected with any disease should
never be used for seed. They frequently are, how-
ever— often when the grower is not aware of their

THE POTATO 81

presence. When disease is present, it can be carried
from a diseased potato tea healthy one by contact
in the bin, in the sack or in a planter. The knife
used in cutting seed pieces is capable of spreading
a disease throughout an entire lot of seed, and the
"picker" on a picker planter may do the same
thing. Disinfecting potatoes, as indicated in the
chapter on diseases, is a good practice for skin
diseases, but does not kill internal germ disease.

In southern Idaho potatoes are planted from
May 1st to July 1st. Some early potatoes are
planted as soon as April 1st. If these escape the
late frosts they make big money, generally selling
locally at from three to five cents a pound. If the
frost catches them the ground may be planted to a
later crop, so that some gamble on a few earlj''
potatoes to the extent of the price of seed and labor.
There is always a possibility of a killing frost dur-
ing the first two weeks of April.

From May 10th to June 10th is generally con-
sidered the best time to plant the main crop of late
potatoes in the inter-mountain West.

With the horse planters a furrow two to four
inches deep is opened by a pair of disks, and a ridge
about two inches higher than the level of the field
is turned up, putting the seed piece under about
four to six inches of earth.

The amount of seed used by different potato
growers varies from 600 to 3,000 pounds per acre.
The growers who get the biggest yields plant the
most seed. The largest crop ever grown in the
country was with whole seed, using nearly 3,000
pounds per acre. Good yields are secured by using
seed cut in two to four ounce pieces and having
one to two eyes. Commercial seed potatoes weigh
from two to ten ounces. The small seed is not cut

82 THE POTATO

the larger generally cut about four times. These
work well in the planter and contain suflScient re-
serve nourishment to give the plant a good start.
It is important that any plant to give the best
returns in yield should start strong and vigorous.
When potatoes are planted twelve inches apart in
the row with rows three feet apart, if a perfect
stand is secured and four ounce seed used, 3,630
pounds of seed per acre is required. With smaller
seed and an ordinary stand, which is far from per-
fect, about 1,200 to 1,500 pounds of seed is used.
The big seed starts a plant capable of making a
big root system. The size of the root system bears
a close relation to yield. With a large number of
roots in the feeding area the greatest possible
amount of food can be secured by the plant.
Extremely large yields are secured by close plant-
ing.

Lawrence G. Dodge, in "Bulletin 365" on
*'Farm Management in Northern Potato Growing
Sections," says:

"The general methods of potato culture in use
have developed during the past fifteen years, or a
little more, and are followed with considerable uni-
formity throughout the section. The rotation is
a simple one, but is undoubtedly the foundation
of the success of the growers. Potatoes are grown
on any piece of land only one year as a rule and are
followed by one crop of oats or spring wheat, with
which are sown clover and timothy for hay. This
crop is cut for hay one year by many of the best
farmers and plowed in the fall for a new potato
crop. The furrow is usually turned to a depth of
seven or eight inches, and on most of the farms
this work is done with a reversible sulky plow, an

THE POTATO 83

implement admirably adapted to working on side
hills. Some growers like their hayfields to stand
a second year before plowing, but rarely longer
than that, for the land is in too nmch demand for
potatoes to continue it in grass more than two
years.

"The sod, usually containing a large amount of
clover which was plowed the previous fall, is har-
rowed in the spring as soon as the season permits,
usually being worked over thoroughly four times
in all with a disk harrow followed by a spring-
tooth harrow.

"Planting is done from the 15th or 20th of May
to the 1st of June, using about five barrels of seed
to the acre — that is, thirteen or fourteen bushels.
The seed is cut by hand into pieces containing
about two eyes and of such a size as to feed readily
through a planter, and is dropped by the planter in
rows about thirty-three inches apart and from
twelve to fifteen inches apart in the row, so that
the ground is entirelj^ occupied with the crop, and
the vines in midseason meet in the rows.

"There are two prevailing types of planter, in
one of which the seed pieces are distributed by
steel forks or pickers, and in the other by pockets
in a revolving disk. Both types are two-horse
machines, the former being operated by one ma'b
and the latter requiring a second man to attend to
the seed distribution. Either type will plant
about five acres per day. The planter at the same
time distributes the fertilizer, from 1,200 to 1,500
pounds i)er acre usually being apj)lied. This
amount of fertilizer can be safely used directly in
the drills. The fertilizer commonly used contains
about 3 per cent, of nitrogen, 7 or 8 per cent, of
phosphoric acid, and 9 or 10 per cent, of potash. "

84 THE POTATO

Chas. D. Woods, Director Maine Agricultural
Experiment Station, in an address before the New
Jersey State Board of Agriculture, said:

*' While potato growing is somewhat a matter of
soil and climate, it is even more dependent upon
the ability, knowledge, and energy of the man who
is trying to grow them. This fact w^as very clearly
demonstrated in Aroostook County, Maine, in the
season of 1907. Aroostook County is perhaps the
richest agricultural county in the United States,
and the potato is the money crop. Upward of
eleven million bushels of potatoes were shipped
from the crop in 190G, besides all that went into
starch. The shipments from the crop of 1907 were
less than half that of the preceding year. And yet
the good farmers had as large, and in some in-
stances larger, crops than in 1906. The season of
1906 was favorable for a large crop, and everybody
that planted potatoes succeeded in growing and
harvesting a good crop. The season of 1907 was
unfavorable, and only the good farmers had good
crops. The men that thoroughly prepared the
seed bed on well selected soil, planted only wdiat
they could properly care for, who used fertilizer
liberally, cultivated all the season, and who
sprayed early and often against insect and fungous
enemies, and harvested as soon as the crop w^as
ready, not only had a large yield per acre, but
because of the high price of potatoes after the
poorly grown early ones were marketed, brought it
about that with many Aroostook farmers the sea-
son of 1907 was the best for years. On the other
hand, the farmer that planted illy adapted and
slovenly prepared land, of larger acreage than he
could well care for, who neglected to spray because

THE POTATO 85

the weather was not good for spray to adhere, who
had so many acres he could not get them harvested
before the unusually early freezing of the ground
(over 11,000 acres of potatoes were frozen in
Aroostook County in 1907), found the year a
disastrous one. In many instances the crop har-
vested was not sufficient to pay the fertilizer bills.

"By practising the methods of the good farmers
of Aroostook County, many men in other parts of
Maine are successful with potatoes as a money
crop. There is no reason why men in other states
may not grow the potato at fully as good a margin
of profit as the farmer in Maine.

"At the annual meeting of the Massachusetts
State Board of Agriculture in 1901 the writer
(Doctor Woods), in answer to a question, said in
substance: 'If a Massachusetts farmer plants a
few potatoes, there is not one man in twenty but
will allow something else to crowd in and cause
him to neglect his potatoes. The one great reason
they grow better potatoes in Aroostook County
than elsewhere in Maine is that it is the farmer's
business to grow potatoes. He does not allow his
stock or other farm duties to lead to the neglect of
his potato crop. He makes it his first duty to take
care of his field of potatoes, and the field will have
from twenty to fifty or more acres in it. One man
and a pair of horses work on twenty acres from
spring until the fall, and the one man and pair of
horses will care for the twenty acres, and he will
not be taken off to do anything else. This is one of
the reasons they grow potatoes better — because
they are growing them for business. They are not
thinking of the dairy cow or the breed of sheep; I
wish they were, but they are not. They are think-
ing about growing potatoes. When I used to live

86 THE POTATO

in Connecticut, up and down the Connecticut
valley were men that ate, drank, and slept tobacco.
And so there are men that eat, drink, and sleep
potatoes down in Aroostook County, Maine. '

"The potato is so generally and extensively
grown, we are so familiar with its qualties and the
various methods of culture, that most farmers are
very positive as to the best methods of growing
this crop. During the past twenty -five years
hundreds of experiments have been made at experi-
ment stations and by practical growers, and the
results from experiments in propagation and cul-
ture are so conflicting that the careful student will
be very slow in drawing conclusions. While he
will be convinced that there are ideal ways of treat-
ment under certain conditions, he will be equally
convinced that under different conditions very
different practice will be necessary to insure the
best crop. In potato growing, as with most farm
operations, the soil and atmosphere are such deter-
mining factors that there is no best way. Each
farmer who would grow potatoes to the best advan-
tage must be suflSciently intelligent to under-
stand the conditions of the soil on his own farm.
The methods of preparation of soil, of planting,
cultivating and fertilizing the crop depend largely
on the character and condition of the soil and the
season.

"The successful growing of the potato crop
demands careful and conscientious work from start
to finish. There are many details which, if
neglected, mean partial failure, and which must be
complied with in order to insure the fullest success.
It is not practicable in a short paper to hint at
more than a very few factors which enter into
successful potato growing. Among the most im-

THE POTATO 87

portant are the selection, the preparation of the
soil, including application of fertilizer; the seed and
the care of the crop during the growing season.

"A soil to grow potatoes well must be in an
excellent state of tilth, sufficiently mellow to make
a good seed bed and place for the tubers to develop.
Abundant plant food must be supplied, and the
land must be so situated that it will not suffer from
excessive rain and will be well adapted to stand
drought. If not naturally well drained, it must be
under-drained. If it is not of good water-holding
capacity, this must be secured by increasing the
humus by green manuring or the use of liberal
quantities of stable manure.

"There is no farm crop that is more easily,
speedily and greatly affected by the supply of
moisture than is the potato. It has been found by
experiment that it takes about 425 tons of water to
grow a ton of drj^ matter of potatoes. A crop of
200 bushes per acre would therefore require approx-
imately 650 tons of water, equivalent to a rainfall
of nearly six inches. Because of its need for large
water supply, and its remarkable susceptibility to
climatic conditions, it follows that the average
potato yield is affected more by water supply than
by lack of plant food. The selection of soil and
methods of culture must be with this fact in view,
if success is to be had. The liberal applications of
fertilizers or the presence of large amounts of
readily available plant food will prove of but little
value if the moisture supply is deficient. It is also
true that too much water will check the growth as
quickly and effectually as too little.

"Too much attention to the fitting of the soil
for the crop can hardly be given, for no amount of
after tillage can overcome neglect in preparation.

88 THE POTATO

Deep and thorough plowing and harrowing, so as
to make a perfect seed bed, not only establishes an
earth mulch so as to prevent the loss of moisture of
the spring rains, but it so fines the soil that the
plant food contained in it becomes accessible to the
growing plant. The conservation of moisture by
frequent tillage is not understood or practised as
it should be. The old notion that potatoes should
be hilled and that tillage should cease as soon as the
potato is in bloom, is wrong for most situations.
Hilling is frequently practised so as to keep the
tubers from becoming exposed to the sun; that is
not necessary if the soil is properly prepared.
On hard, compact soil the potato will, because of
less resistance of the soil, push out of the ground.
This will not happen in deeply worked land.

" The proper preparation of a soil for the potato
crop is a matter of years and not a single season.
A soil, in order to do the best must be in excellent
state of tilth and a high state of fertility. Such
conditions can only be obtained by careful fore-
thought and planning. Frequently soil is not
plowed deeply enough. It is very common for
people to speak of plowing seven, eight, or even
nine inches, but most men would be surprised if
they were to apply a rule to see how much short of
this depth the plow actually goes below the actual
level of the field. Many men who think they are
plowing seven or eight inches deep are only plow-
ing five inches. If this shallow plowing has been
practised it is bad management to suddenly deepen
the plowing, as this brings too much of the sub-
soil to the surface in a single plowing.

" Good potato land may be handled in a three or
four year rotation — potatoes, grain, grass one or
two years, and then potatoes again, in some such

THE POTATO 89

way as the following: Land which is used for
potatoes should, immediately after harvesting of
the crop, be treated to a liberal application of farm
manure, if it can be obtained, and plowed with lap
furrow. The plow can well run an inch deeper
tlian it did the preceding year when the land was
prepared for potatoes. In the spring the soil will
have crumbled by the frosts, and should then be
thoroughly worked by frequent harrowings with
some such tool as a disk or spading harrow. It
should then be smoothed with an Acme harrow, or
some other tool, and seeded to grain. If it is
designed to grow only a single crop of grass, it is
best at the time of seeding to sow clover with the
grain. If, however, it is designed to remove two
crops of grass, it can be seeded with a mixture of
clover and timothy. The grain crop will be har-
vested the first year; the second season the crop
will be chiefly timothy; the third it will be timothy
and clover, and at the end of the two or three years,
whichever plan is followed, there will be in the field
in the fall a good stand of second growth clover.
This should not be cut or fed, ])ut should be plowed
under, and this is all the more important if the
piece has not been treated with farm manure.
This fall plowing should be with lap furrow and
the following spring it should be thoroughly worked
with the disk and smoothing harrows in order to
get ready for planting.

"It may in many situations be desirable to fol-
low the grass crop with corn, and then follow with
potatoes. The same thorough preparation will be
of advantage to the corn crop. The land for the
corn should be liberally fertilized. Farm manure
will be again used in this part in the rotation to
advantage. The corn must be overfed in every

90 THE POTATO

way so that the land will be in a higher state of
fertility at the end than at the beginning of the
season. If com enters into the rotation, fall
plowing should be again practised, and the follow-
ing spring the land should be thoroughly worked.
The best possible seed bed should be prepared, so
that the soil will be light and thoroughly pulver-
ized to a depth of jBve or even six inches. In a soil
thus prepared the planter will run easily. "

In the senior author's trip to Europe in 1910 he
found all of the best growers in Great Britain and
Germany using nothing but whole seed. He did
not visit a grower abroad who used cut seed. He
secured a shipment of a ton of very select seed
the from Earl of Rosebery's Dalmeny Farms, and
George Sinclair, the farm manager, advised plant-
ing them whole, even though they cost $200 a ton
laid down at Carbondale, Col.

In cutting seed, especially where soils are apt to
be infected with fungous disease, the *' armor" of
the potato is broken in cutting and the tender tis-
sue is exposed.

"Farmers' Bulletin No. 92" of the United States
Department of Agriculture contains the following:

"As a recent bulletin of the New York Cornell
Experiment Station shows, the average yield of
potatoes in the United States is far below what it
should be. This bulletin states that 'the average
yield of potatoes throughout New York is not
more than one half what is should be and what it
would be were better methods practised.' This
low yield is not due, as a rule, to poverty of tlie soil,
because 'all soils of ordinary fertility contain
sufficient potential plant food to produce abundant

THE POTATO 91

crops, * and a part of this potential plant food can
))e made available for the use of plants by tillage,
and drainage, if necessary. The experiments of
the Cornell station, which have now covered four
seasons, were planned with a view to learning
what superior tillage and care would do in the
way of unlocking the hoarded fertility of the soil
and increasing the yield of the crops.

"The soil on which the potatoes were grown has
been continuously under crop without fertilizers
since the winter of 1893—94, except that cover crops
of rye, crimson clover, or wheat, to be turned under
in the spring, have as a rule been grown. But the
growth of these has necessarily been so small and
the cropping so intensive that the soil is beginning
to show a deficiency of humus, indicated by its
tendency to become hard and compact under beat-
ing rains; for 'in order to keep a soil permanently
in good physical condition, it is absolutely neces-
sary that organic matter be returned in some wa^',
either by green manuring or the use of barn ma-
nures.'

"Notwithstanding this fact, the yields in the
Cornell experiments have been much above the
average each year. This was as true of 1898 as of
previous years, in spite of the additional fact that
the latter season was one of severe drought and the
soil used in the experiments ' is gravelly and porous
and especially subject to injurious effects from
drought. '

"It is probable that frequent and deep plowing
has done much to bring and keep the land pro-
ductive. So far as tlie plowing is concerned all
plats have received the same treatment . The land
has been turned from two to three times each
year, and the pulverizing which has resulted there-

92 THE POTATO

from lias liberated sufficient plant food to mature
large crops. In addition to the plowing the land
has been frequently harrowed and cultivated and
the intensive culture which has been given has
liberated all the plant food that could be used by
the growing crops with the amount of moisture
that was present.

"A fact clearly brought out by these experi-
ments is that 'success with potatoes depends
largely upon the preparation given the soil before
the potatoes are planted. Plowing should be deep,
and at the time of planting the soil should be
mellow and loose. '

"Only first-class marketable potatoes should be
used for seed. These should be cut into pieces
averaging two strong eyes. 'Seed should not be
cut for any considerable period before planting.
If it becomes necessary to delay planting for some
considerable time after potatoes are cut, the cut
pieces should be dusted with plaster and spread
out in a moderately moist, cool place. '

"Early planting has usuallj^ given best results,
but this necessitates careful spraying with Bor-
deaux mixture and P'aris green to protect the
plants from diseases and insects. Early and deep
planting and frequent and level tillage are espe-
cially important in soils like that used in these
experiments, which are likely to be seriously
affected by drought.

"The methods of planting and cultivation used
at the Cornell station in 1898 were as follows:
'The pieces were dropped in the furrows directly
after the furrows had been opened, one piece being
put in a place and at distances fourteen inches apart
in the row. A furrow was opened (with a shovel
plow) in the middle of the space left when the first

THE POTATO 93

furrows were opened. Tliis served to cover the
potatoes, the earth being ridged up directly over
the potato row. Tlie planting was done on May
10th. The soil was then left undisturbed until
May 28th. The ridges which w^ere left over the
seed potatoes covered them to a depth of about
eight inches. By May 2Sth the weed seeds whicli
were in the surface soil had germinated and tlie
whole surface was covered with tiny w^eeds. A
spike-tooth harrow was fitted Avith a piece of 2 x
4 scantling placed diagonally across underneath
the frame and held in place by the harrow teeth.
The harrow^ thus rigged was used upon the potato
plats, being first run lengthwise of the rows and
tlien crosswise. The weight of the driver ii])on
the harrow was necessary in order to make it do
the leveling as required. The benefit derived
from this treatment was very marked. All weeds
were destroyed, the surface crust was broken, all
clods and stones were removed from above the row
and deposited in the centre of the space between
rows, the surface was leveled, and in every way
the conditions were made favorable for the rai)id
growth of the potatoes, and they appeared above
ground in three or four days.

"In genend it may be said that 'on soils which
are not well drained, either naturally or artificially,
and on clay or clay loam soils, potatoes may be
planted somewhat shallow and slight hilling may
be practised with benefit. '

"If planting is done veiy early in the spring the
ridges may be permitted to remain for ten days to
two weeks before harrowing down. If planting is
d(me somewhat late the ridg(^s should be harrowed
within one week after planting. In the case of the
early planting there is usually enough moisture

94 THE POTATO

present so that the ridging may temporarily prove
a benefit by enabling the soil to become warm. In
the case of late planting all the moisture should be
conserved, and this is best done by leveling the
ridges.

*' Harrowing the soil before the plants appear
above ground, followed by from six to seven culti-
vations during the season, is recommended."

Thoroughness and care are qualities that must
be given attention in seed-bed preparation and
seeding, for with these operations well done the
crop is well on its way toward success.

CHAPTER VIII

CULTIVATION

THE objects sought in cultivating the potato
are: First, keeping tlie soil in the seed bed
loose and retaining moisture for the crop,
and, second, keeping down the growth of weeds,
which, if allowed to grow, not only rob the potato
plant of moisture but also of available fertility.

Moisture is taken from the ground into the air
by capillary action. By cultivation the surface
of the soil is broken and the evaporation checked.

Disease germs find it difficult to live and de-
velop in soil that is exposed to the sun and air,
providing there is thorough aeration and conse-
quently plenty of oxygen.

It is not possible to farm by definite rules.
Conditions change daily, sometimes hourly, so
that a farmer must know what result he desires
to obtain and use judgment in the time and fre-
quency of such operations as cultivation and ir-
rigation, and be governed by circumstances.

In an irrigation district, if ground is dry before
planting, it should be irrigated well, so as to make
the soil and subsoil a reservoir of moisture to be
drawn on by the starting and growing plant. Some
growers maintain that potatoes should not be
watered after this "before planting" irrigation until
the tubers are well set; that the moisture must be
conserved by cultivation. Conditions may arise,
however, such as a long dry spell with winds that

96 THE POTATO

draw the moisture from the soil, that would make
irrigation advisable sooner.

In the irrigated West the crop should be culti-
vated deeply, soon after planting making a loose,
deep seed bed. Cultivator shovels fourteen working
inches long and about four inches wide, two on
each side of the row, are valuable for this work.
If this deep cultivation just after planting turns
up the soil rough, a harrow may follow to fine the
surface in order to hold moisture. The second
cultivation can come when the plants begin to
show. The number of cultivations depends on the
condition of the soil, weeds, and number of irri-
gations or rains. Cultivation after the tubers
are set should not be so deep nor so near the hills,
because a potato torn off while in the forming
stage is lost. Tearing off feeder roots or rootlets
at this stage also reduces yields.

Ditches between the rows for irrigation are made
with a double shovel plow attachment fastened to
one beam and a two-horse cultivator. The best
potatoes and the heaviest yields have been pro-
duced where deep ditching and heavj^ ridging have
been practised. Ridges must contain plenty of
dirt to protect the tubers from the sun and to pre-
vent greening, but growing in fairly loose, well-
aired soil into which the moisture comes up from
the bottom has proved best. The bulk of the
roots of the plant go deeper, but the tubers have
the benefit of forming and developing in a favor-
able environment.

Flat cultivation, stirring the surface only, so
as not to destroy the surface roots, is advocated
in potato growing in some sections of the rain belt.
There, all moisture is applied evenly over the sur-
face in the form of rain, and it is necessary that

IVo views of Iron A^c ( "iilli\ ;iloi- ;il work

-T3

o
■=c

THE POTATO 97

moisture be carefully conserved for fear of drought
at some time during the growing season. The
available plant food is also more largely in the
first few inches of surface soil than in the more
loose desert soils that have had the action of the
elements for ages without the packing and leaching
heavy rainfall.

It is important to run the irrigation water low
in the furrow to keej) from solidifying the soil and
soaking the tubers. The root system seems to go
deeper and adapt itself to the conditions as long as
the irrigation water is supplied evenly and the soil
is rich. Each of these conditions is under control
where the water is abundant and the soil fertile.

Irrigation is followed by cultivation, and by
irrigation again as soon as necessary. This is
determined by examination of the soil and the
color of the leaves of the plants. If the soil about
the roots is so dry it will not remain moulded with
the imprint of the hand when a small handful is
compressed, it is too dry and needs water. This
cannot be taken too literally, but some judgment
must be used even in making as simple a test as
this. One novice, making this test, found that the
mould he formed stood all right, but on being
touched crumbled away. Literally, as he under-
stood the rule, the test showed sufficient moisture.
Actually, the ground was getting dry and, needed
irrigation.

When potatoes require water they indicaie it
by the dark green, almost black, color of the leaves.
When watered too heavily they get too light
green, almost yellow. The characteristic healthy
medium green of a potato plant in good condition
and doing well must be seen to be appreciated,
but these things are easily learned.

98 THE POTATO

Good potatoes are grown with one to five ir-
rigations, the last one not much later than August
20th, to give forty to sixty days for finishing growth
and ripening. Some of the best growers irrigate
alternate rows at each irrigation, taking two
waterings to go over the entire field.

There is good reason why irrigation conditions
are ideal for the production of potatoes. The
value of this crop, as of many others, depends on a
right amount of moisture at the right time, the
demand for moisture being heavy while the tubers
are forming and developing. In Wisconsin it is
assumed that the eighteen inches of water generally
counted on during the growing season is sufficient
to mature a maximum crop. In ten of the past
twenty-one years the amount of rainfall during
the growing season has been fourteen iiiches or
less. Prof. F. H. King, the soil expert, found at
the Wisconsin Experiment Station that the ad-
dition of two acre inches of water by irrigation
increased the yield of marketable potatoes 100
bushels per acre. In the Twin Falls country
in Idaho and some other places in the Rocky
Mountain country the moisture supply is under
absolute control, making, with an ideal soil, a
sufficient and legitimate reason for the production
of the most perfect potatoes.

It requires from 270 to 500 pounds of water to
make one pound of dry matter in the vine and
tuber of the potato plant.

The best growers favor several rather fight irri-
gations to fewer heavier applications.

In "Bulletin 132" of the Maryland Agricultural
College is given the result of an experiment to ascer-
tain whether deep or shallow cultivation would pro-
duce the best potato crop. The summary follows :

THE POTATO 99

Surface Medium Deep Deep

Bu. Bu. Bu. Bu. Bu. Bu.

Primes Culls Primes Culls Primes Culls

127.3 30.0 137.9 30.3 141.6 28.2

And also the average of yields as affected by
frequency of cultivation, disregarding depth:

Five Days Ten Days Fifteen Days

Bu. Bu. Bu. Bu. Bu. Bu.

Primes Culls Primes Culls Primes Culls

126.5 27.4 132.4 27.6 147.5 33.2

In discussing it the Maryland people say : " The
above jSgures seem to clearly indicate that the
deep and infrequent cultivation was most profit-
able, there being a difference of more than fourteen
bushels per acre in favor of the deep over the shal-
low cultivation, and of twenty-one bushels in
favor of infrequent working. It would seem,
therefore, that the practice of farmers who usually
cultivate with such tools and at such times as will
keep the crop free from weeds is about all that is
necessary to produce a good crop under the con-
ditions prevailing here. The result may have
been different if the same experiment had been
conducted in the arid West. It is only at rare
intervals that the rainfall in Maryland is so slight
that it is practicable or necessary to work for a
'dust mulch.' What is really important is to
destroy the weeds and stir the soil fairly deep to
aerate, and at the same time dry it and make it
loose and friable."

In an essav bv Dr. Chas. D. Woods of Orono,
Maine, in the fifty sixth annual report of the IVIas-
sachusetts State Board of Agriculture is the follow-

100 THE POTATO

ing: "All through the gi'owing season the field
should be kept free from weeds. The exaggerated
ridge culture which is so common in Aroostook
County could be better replaced in Massachusetts
by a less pronounced ridge, or as level culture as is
practicable. Suitable potato land is naturally or
artificially so well drained that it does not suffer
from excessive moisture, and with the high-ridge
culture there is danger even in a moderately dry
season of the crop suffering from lack of water.
The frequent running of the cultivator not merely
keeps down the weeds, but it lets the air into the
soil and prevents excessive loss of moisture from
evaporation, and in every way seems to be bene-
ficial to the crop. This should be kept up until the
vines pretty well cover the ground. If weeds are
appearing in the drill, these should be removed
by hand."

By the foregoing it will be seen that much de-
pends on the individual, who must study his
conditions and adapt practice accordingly.

CHAPTER IX

IRRIGATION

FUNDAMENTALLY and theoretically, irri-
gation is the simplest operation connected
with the growing of a crop on an irri-
gated farm.

At first thought it was intended to preface this
chapter with a note to the effect that the ideas
which follow will pertain only to those parts of
the earth where crops can be grown only with ir-
rigation.

The practice of irrigation, however, is simply
that of supplying a plant the quantity of moisture
required to bring about its most perfect, normal
development. There are times wiien an appli-
cation of water to the soil of what is called the
"rain belt" would be of great benefit and result in
profit to the grower.

The practice of irrigation is sure to increase as
the productiveness of the acre must continually
be made greater.

It cannot be made too plain that irrigation is
easy as long as the operator keeps in mind the
moisture needs of the plant.

The following interesting article on irrigation is
from the "Irrigator's Hand Book," which is a
compilation of suggestions on various agricul-
tural subjects written in 1909, primarily for the
settlers on the J. S. & W. S. Kuhn irrigation proj-
ects in southern Idaho by the authors of this work

101

102 THE POTATO

in collaboration with other members of the Agri-
cultural Department of the Twin Falls North
Side Land & Water Company, and published by
H. L. Hollister of Chicago. C. J. Griffith, one of
the foremost agriculturists in America, and at
present Director of Agriculture for the company
mentioned above, prepared the following:

"Irrigation is the artificial application of water
to land. It is necessary in arid regions in order
that profitable crops may be grown; and it is use-
ful in semi-arid regions to increase their produc-
tion. Although most useful in arid regions, it is
often practised in localities of heavy rainfall, for
instance in the rice-growing districts of the South,
where the annual rainfall is from forty to sixty
inches.

"The practice of irrigation is older than the
Pyramids of Egypt. The valleys of the rivers Nile
and Euphrates have an unbroken historical rec-
ord of more than 4,000 years.

"In a great many places in this hemisphere
there are ruins of irrigation works that antedate
any written history, and the civilization of the
race that built them is only surmised.

"The irrigated area of all the nations of the
world does not exceed 100,000,000 acres, or a land
area of less than twice the acreage of the state of
Idaho. Of this area India has 53,000,000 acres,
and in that country may be seen some of the most
expensive irrigation works in existence.

"There are only 13,000,000 acres of irrigated
land in the United States, and the greatest systems
yet developed are in the Twin Falls country.

"The preparation of land for irrigation consists
in: First, putting the land in condition for farm-

THE POTATO lOP,

ing; and, second, a proper surface grading for the
even distribution of water.

"There is nothing that pertains to irrigated
farming that pays better than proper levehng or
grading of the land. It is the key to the whole
situation, and when once done it is done for all
time.

"It is not always necessary to change the gen-
eral grade or lay of a piece of land, but it is ab-
solutely essential to take off high places and build
up low ones.

"There are several implements with which to
do leveling and grading; among these are Fresno
scrapers, buck scrapers and land graders of dif-
ferent makes. Each one has a special use, some
being for heavy cuts and long hauls, and some best
for short hauls. The character of the work to be
done will be the determining factor in the imple-
ment chosen. After the grading is done, in order
to get surface smoothness, a home-made leveler
or jointer made of plank should be run over the
land to take out all small unevennesses. This
leveler or jointer should be used every time a
field is plowed. It firms and fines the soil. On
some land this leveler is the only implement
needed for leveling.

"No hard and fast rules can be given for the
laying out of the ditch system for a new tract of
land, but there are a great many essential points
to be considered in order to have satisfactory re-
sults. It is desirable to bring the water to the
liighest point on the farm, so that every part can
be reached. The 'farm supi)ly dilcli' sliould be
as short as it is possi})le to make it in order to les-
sen seepage, evajioration and mainlonance. It
should ordinarily be made on a grade of 1 foot (1.2

104 THE POTATO

inches) to 0.2 feet (2.4 inches) fall per hundred
feet, according to the firmness of the soil through
which it is made. Ditches that carry over three or
four second feet of water should have less grade.
Whenever the current of the water picks up and
carries sediment, the ditch will give trouble, be-
cause the sediment will be dropped in places where
the current is slower and eventually this will
choke up the ditch and cause a break. Especially
in sandy soil should care be used to get an even
and light grade, which should not exceed 1.5
inches per hundred feet. Where it is necessary to
take a farm supply ditch down a hea\y grade, drop
boxes should be put in to take care of the excess
grade. Farm supply ditches should be so
located, if possible, to avoid dikes and flumes.
A dike where absolutely necessary should be made
of stiff soil, the banks should be made wide and
high, and the dirt for it should not be taken closer
than four feet from the toe of the bank on each
side. When water is put through it for the first
few times, it should never be allowed to run all
night, because the soil thus thrown up is loose and
readily fills with water. After a few hours' run,
the water begins to seep through the banks, and
until the dirt in the fills has repeatedly soaked up
and settled there is always danger of it breaking.
As soon as the dikes are firm and solid, the banks
should be seeded to some grass that makes a good
sod. Kentucky blue grass and Brome grass
(Bromus Inermus) make good sod for holding
ditch banks. Sandy soil makes a very unsatis-
factory dike, as it never hardens like a stiffer soil.
Flumes are unsatisfactory unless well made. Gal-
vanized iron flumes give good service. Farm
supply ditches should have ample capacity. New

THE POTATO 105

ditches lose a great deal by seepage, and until they
become silted up they do not carry as much water
as their size would indicate. New land in an arid
district takes more water the first year than it
ever requires thereafter. For an 80-acre tract of
new land the supply ditch should be made with
a slip scraper and it should generally be at least
one foot deep in the solid ground, to say nothing of
the height of the banks made by the dirt scraped
out.

"Care should be used to run the distributing
laterals on a light grade, because water must be
taken out of them for the corrugations or checks,
and if they have a heayj^ grade it is a difficult
thing to do, because it requires so many checks in
the laterals. These laterals can be made wuth a
plow and a go-devil, or a regular ditch plow. The
corrugations should be run in the direction of the
greatest fall.

"The best method of irrigation to be followed
is dependent upon the character of soil and the
slope of the land. The corrugation system is
suitable for land that takes up water readily and
that has ten feet of uniform slope per mile (a
trifle more than one inch per fifty feet) or more.
Corrugations may be placed as close together as
is necessary. Usually twenty inches apart is the
minimum width and three feet apart the maximum.
The furrows are made about four inches deep and
should be made immediately after seeding or be-
fore the seed germinates. In old alfalfa fields
the corrugations can be renewed when it becomes
desirable with an iron corrugator that has sharp,
plow-like points.

"Sub-laterals are made parallel with the laterals.
For corrugation or furrow irrigation in Idaho

100 THE POTATO

a sufficient head of water is taken from tlie lateral
to supply about twenty corrugations. This is run
into the sub-laterals, and from these distributed
to the corrugations. This breaks up the head of
water into small streams that can be more easily
handled. A controlling device to regulate these
small heads of water may be made from 1x4 inch
stuff nailed together, making a box four inches
square outside measurements and about three feet
long. This box is placed between the lateral and
sub-lateral low enough to intercept the flow of
water. The sub-lateral is generally a plow furrow
with the dirt thrown down hill. Dirt dams are
placed in it at proper intervals (about every
twenty corrugations) to force the water out to the
corrugations.

*'It is sometimes necessary to place checks im-
mediately below the diversion points in the lat-
eral in order to raise the water level high enough to
force the water into the corrugations. These
checks are boxes or gates put in ditches or lat-
erals through which the water is made to pass.
The height of water maintained above the check
is regulated by building up the opening (with
narrow strips beginning at the bottom) through
which the water passes. Canvas dams can also
be used as checks when they are properly made.
Sacks filled w4th dirt can also be used for diver-
sions.

"The corrugation or furrow system is the
method best adapted for the watering of all root
crops. Potatoes show the bad effects of even a
break between the furrows and consequent flood-
ing. For potatoes the furrows are made quite
large, the rows being ridged and furrows made be-
tween the rows. Sometimes the best method for

THE POTATO 107

the crop and the most economical in the use of
water is to irrigate only alternate furrows at each
irrigation. Water should be on the ground until
it is sufficiently wet, sometimes from twelve to
twenty-four hours. If the soil is very mellow and
readily permeable, then four to eight hours is
generally sufficient. The irrigation should con-
tinue until the moisture 'subs' between the fur-
rows until it meets. Orchards are commonly
irrigated by the furrow method. Care should be
taken to keep the water away from the trees, as it
is found that they thrive better when the water
does not touch them but percolates into the soil
and reaches the roots. When all the ground be-
tween the trees is moistened the roots spread uni-
formly. Grain and alfalfa may be irrigated with
corrugations and in this section it is the most com-
mon method. By its use water is evenly distrib-
uted over the fields, is absolutely under control
all the time, and where the land is in proper shape
the work is quite rapid and probably less expen-
sive than any other method except by the border
system.

"The flooding system of irrigation can be used
for watering grain and alfalfa. The laterals are
most commonly run parallel to the slope, water
being taken out from only one side of the lateral
and extending to the next one. Sometimes on
nearly level land they are run down the steepest
slope, the irrigation water being taken out from
each side and extending midway to the next lat-
eral. Under this method the distance between
laterals should not be over 200 feet and it is better
to have them closer together, not over 100 feet.
These laterals may be either permanent or made
over each year, as in the case of grain crops-

108 THE POTATO

This method is in general suitable for medium
slopes, soils which do not bake, grain pasture and
hay crops, and where lands are not of great value,
such as meadow lands at high altitudes. One
man can irrigate from two to five acres a day. As
a rule the irrigation by this method is more un-
even than with the other system.

"Some system to care for waste water is a nec-
essary part of an irrigated farm. Especially
where the ranch is bordered by other irrigated
tracts or by public roads it is essential to have an
adequate system of waste ditches that will re-
ceive and care for whatever water is not used by
the irrigation. It often happens that draws or
coulees are so located that they will carry away
the waste water and in such cases no further at-
tention is necessary. The amount of waste water
is so variable that it is seldom satisfactory for
any one else to try to use it for irrigation, and be-
cause of the fluctuations in its flow is not best to
waste the water into another farm ditch.

**The term 'duty of water' as used in irrigation
is accepted to mean the acreage of land that a
certain amount of water should sufliciently ir-
rigate. The standard measurement for running
water is in cubic feet per second — that is, a run-
ning stream is measured by the number of cubic
feet which pass a given point per second. In
Idaho a miner's inch of water is one fiftieth of a
cubic foot per second. The amounts used in ir-
rigation are commonly spoken of in acre feet or
acre inches. This is the amount covering an
acre of land one foot deep or one inch deep as the
case may be.

"The amount of water needed to grow and ma-
ture a crop is dependent on a great variety of

THE POTATO 109

conditions, some of which fluctuate even on a
given farm from year to year. The composition
of the soils, the subsoil, the annual rainfall, the
humidity of the air, temperature, the time of
seeding and many other things have appreciable
effects upon the amount of water necessary for a
given crop for maximum results. It is a question
of knowing how little instead of how much to use.
The soil can retain only a certain amount, and
whatever is applied more than this is lost by perco-
lation into the subsoil and beyond the food gather-
ing area of the roots of plants. An appreciably
large per cent, of irrigation water is lost in this way.
New land will take more w^ater the first year than
thereafter, and for the third year less is required
than for the second. The time to apply water is
when the crop needs it and not before. This is
determined in alfalfa by a darkening in the green
of the leaves. The moisture content of the soil
should be closely watched, and by the exercise of a
little good judgment no serious mistake in applj--
ing water need be made. Too little as w^ell as too
much moisture in soils injures plants. The
amount of water to be put on at one application is
dependent on the crop and the soil, but generally
about five acre inches is sufficient for an irrigation.
On sandy loam, and making allowances for some
loss as waste and evaporation, this amount will
wet the soil about as deep as plant roots go.

"In localities where water for irrigation is scarce,
fall or winter irrigation is often practised. It
has a number of things to commend it besides the
principal fact that if the water is not stored in the
land it is lost. By using the water in this way,
where there is a scarcity, additional land can be
farmed and made to yield remunerative crops.

110 THE POTATO

Enough moisture can often be stored in the soil
during the fall or winter to grow a crop of grain or
potatoes. Cultivation usually plays quite a prom-
inent part in raising such crops. It too often
happens that where water is plentiful irrigation is
substituted for cultivation. Where water is
scarce it is an advantage to get the seed in the
ground just as early in the spring as is possible so
that the crop may be shading the ground before
warm weather comes on. This prevents evapora-
tion."

CHAPTER X

HARVESTING

THE bulk of the potato crop of the world is
grown m what may be called "short season"
territory, and by that is meant that there
is danger to the crop from frost at both ends of
the growing period.

Because of this the main harvesting care is
"weather." The potatoes must be out of the
ground and cared for before the heavy freezes.

Potatoes that are not fuUv matured at the time
in the fall of the year when frost threatens must
be dug green.

Practically all large acreages of potatoes are now
dug or "lifted" by machinery. There are several
excellent horsepower potato diggers. These
have a projecting "snout" or flat shovel which
runs under the row, lifting the entire mass of dirt
which contains the tubers to an apron made of
iron rods. The dirt falls through these iron rods
and the potatoes are passed along — to be finally
dropped on the top of the ground.

The process of harvesting potatoes has passed
through the same evolution as other farm opera-
tions. At first the tubers were dug by hand with
a hoe or shovel, or "plowed out" with an ordinary
moldboard walking plow. Then a pronged fork
took the place of the hoe and shovel, and a flat
nosed plow with wide double moldboard made
of iron rods was used. Wilh this sort of digger

111

112 THE POTATO

the dirt fell through and the potatoes were car-
ried over.

To make a field trial of a machine in the par-
ticular character of soil it is to be used in is a safe
way to select a digger.

Green, heavy tops clog a digger. Some pull the
tops and haul them off the field in order to make
digging easier. A simpler way to remedy this dif-
ficulty is to run a harrow over the field — in the
same direction that the digger will run. This
straightens out the tops and they make less
trouble. A long spike tooth harrow, with teeth
slanted back, should be used.

An essential in digging potatoes is to let the
tubers lie on the top of the ground for two or six
hours to dry out any dirt clinging to them and
toughen the skin. In this way the potato is less
liable to bruise in the after handling and much
less dirt is carried from the field.

Some potato digging machinery manufacturers
have been trying to perfect a device for sacking as
well as digging potatoes. It would seem that the
"drying out" in the sun, previously mentioned, is
of such importance as to make this attachment
impractical.

In the districts in the western part of the
United States potatoes are picked by hand into
pails or baskets and deposited in *'half sacks.'*
Regular potato sacks are half filled and pickers are
paid a stated price for filling into each one bushel.
Half sacks are used to make handling easier.
(Filled and sewed, the sack holds about two bushels,
or 120 pounds.) The usual price is three cents
per bushel for picking.

These small sacks are hauled from the fields to
the cellar and there the potatoes are spread out

THE POTATO 113

in thin layers. These layers gradually become
thicker as the cellar is filled, but it is best not
to fill any one part of the cellar too deep at one
time.

Sometimes potatoes are run over a sorter in the
field and the marketable ones either taken direct
to the shipping point or stored separately in the
cellar. Potatoes marketed from the field weigh 10
per cent, more than those taken to the cellar and
rehandled. If weather conditions are urgent, and
help scarce, this can often be done to better ad-
vantage in the cellar.

A machine digger will handle four to six acres
a day.

Irrigated districts, where there is no rain during
the growing and digging season, have a consider-
able advantage in the ability to turn out a product
free from mud. This is emphasized by a study of
the potato bulletins of the Eastern States and
Europe, where the grower is admonished to "lift
early," and in dry weather if possible.

Potatoes should always be dug when the vines
die — frost conditions must indicate how long be-
fore that time. As long as the vine is green, the
tubers are growing. One experiment shows that
one third of the merchantable part of a crop was
made (developed) in the last thirty of the 120-day
period from planting to digging.

Careful handling pays at every stage of the
harvesting process. A cut or badly bruised po-
tato decays readily and every tuber lost reduces
the profits.

While the toughening described is beneficial — •
especially as regards bruising in handling — the
potato must not be left too long in the sun or it
will turn green and be unfit for food.

114 THE POTATO

In gardens, "grabbling" is sometimes practised,
especially in Germany. This is to dig carefully
into the sides of a hill of potatoes and remove the
largest tubers for early use or market. If care-
fully done this will cause no injury to the smaller
tubers.

An excellent description of handling potatoes in
the field in the East is given by Alva Agee, in
"Bulletin No. 105"of the Pennsylvania Department
of Agriculture. It follows:

"In great potato-growing sections years ago it
w^as a common practice to pour bulk potatoes into
wagon-beds, and to shovel them out into baskets
when unloading. This primitive method was
laborious, and did injury by bruising the tubers.
Potato boxes have now come into common use in
many districts. They are made of light mate-
rial, preferably basswood or similar wood. The
boards for sides and bottom should be three
eighths inch in thickness, and the ends one half.
The size of box should be such that it will contain
2,688 cubic inches, level full. The legal bushel
measure for grain contains 2,150.4 cubic inches, and
in measuring roots or potatoes the rule is to heap
the half-bushel measure sufficiently to add one
level peck to the two level half -bushels. Five
level pecks, or 2,688 cubic inches, are the equiva-
lent of two rounding half-bushels and of a level
potato box rightly made. The following dimen-
sions are the ones used by a leading manufacturer
of these boxes: Twelve and one half inches deep,
thirteen and one half inches wide, and sixteen
inches long. This gives exactly 2,700 cubic
inches. This size probably' is more convenient
than any other that could be devised. The length

THE POTATO 115

of two boxes is near the width of the ordinary
wagon-bed, leaving only room for the hands when
putting them into position, and, when empty, one
box can be placed inside of two others, economizing
space. With high sideboards on the wagon-bed,
it is convenient to tier up sixty bushels when draw-
ing from the field to the cellar or to market, but
the extensive grower may prefer a long platform
that will hold twenty or more boxes in a single
tier.

"The home-made box is usually less satis-
factory. It is rarely made of the best light mate-
rial, and when one takes into account the number
of times the boxes must be handled, he may see the
advantage of having the very best. Manufac-
turers furnish solid boxes that weigh only seven
pounds, are exact in size, trim in appearance, and
will last for fifteen or twenty years, if cared for
properly. Other boxes, slatted on ends and sides,
are furnished at a less price, and are less sub-
stantial. The boxes, bought in crates of a dozen,
cost about 18 cents apiece for the soUd ones and
14 cents for the slatted.

"The potatoes are picked up after the digger
and placed in the boxes, the unmerchantable
tubers being left on the ground. A\lien a load is
ready, the boxes are handed up to the driver of the
wagon, and while he takes the load to the car, cel-
lar or other place of storage another load is made
ready by the pickers. Returning, the driver puts
his empty boxes out, takes on his load of full ones,
and the work proceeds with a minimum amount
of handling. If the potatoes are drawn directly
to consumers, neat boxes for handling them are a
good advertisement as well as a means of saving
labor, time, and injury to the stock.

116 THE POTATO

"When good seed, cut to two eyes, has been
planted in good ground, and the tillage has
been right, the number of unmarketable potatoes
usually is small, and many years we do not pick
them up. It is the practice of some growers to
pick up all sizes together and then to sort out
those that are not merchantable, using the best
of these for planting and the remainder for stock
feed. The small tubers are not the most desir-
able for use as seed. If there is a considerable
proportion of the crop that is too small for market
it should be gathered from the ground after the
merchantable potatoes have been taken up."

The practice of washing potatoes is not com-
mon, and there is a general idea that it is detri-
mental, but the Wisconsin Farmer says editorially :

"A good deal may be said in favor of the prac-
tice of washing potatoes, provided they are thor-
oughly ripened before being dug. We know of
one instance where a shipper of early potatoes re-
fused to fulfil his part of the contract on account
of a customer having washed his early potatoes.
He said that washing greatly impaired the keeping
quality of early varieties. However, in the case of
mature potatoes, if for any reason they are dug at
a time when the dirt adheres to them, it will un-
doubtedly pay to give them a good washing.
Nevertheless, it is highly important that they be
thoroughly sun-dried before they are stored in
the cellar or cave or before they are placed in
sacks. It is reasonable to suppose that dried
mud adhering to potatoes will carry a certain
amount of germ life, and it is not strange if some
of this form of life tends to induce decay. One

THE POTATO 117

grower informs us that he makes a practice of
thoroughly washing his potatoes every year, after
which they are stored in bushel boxes. The
claim is made that by this method the highest
market price is obtained on account of the fine,
clean appearance of the tubers, and also on ac-
count of the splendid condition in which they keep
stored in this fashion."

An Iowa grower believes in the practice of wash-
ing potatoes, and says in the Wisconsin Farmer:

"According to my experience, too much cannot
be said in favor of throughly cleaning potatoes as
soon as they are dug. The finest crop I ever saw
was rotting in the ground on account of the w eather
being hot and moist. As soon as they were dug
the spray-pump was started and the potatoes
thoroughly washed. They were then allowed to
dry before being housed, and after being sorted
not a solitary tuber decayed. I had another ex-
perience that tends to corroborate this practice.
Over a year ago I bought some potatoes, but when
they were delivered they were covered with dry
mud. These potatoes when cooked had a nau-
seating taste, and in several instances had a sick-
ening effect. I came to the conclusion that when
potatoes were left in this dirty condition germs
of disease were present, and it is my opinion that
the law should prohibit the marketing of potatoes
in this condition. Not only are they unwhole-
some, but they are much more apt to decay than
if they are thoroughly cleaned l)y washing.'*

Another grower condemns the washing of the
tubers and says:

118 THE POTATO

"All any one need do to know whether it spoils
them or not is just to try it. Cook some that
have been washed a week or two; then cook some
that have been dug when the ground was in con-
dition — the more fresh dirt among them the
better — and see how much better and more
mealy and palatable they are than the washed ones.
Potatoes that are to be kept over winter should
be left in the ground as long as possible, until there
is danger of freezing them. Then dig when the
ground is in condition, not when the mud will
stick to them, and the more fresh dirt the more
brittle and fresh they will come out in the spring."

The natural, normal way to take potatoes from
the ground and store them is when the soil is dry.
When this is the case no washing is necessary.

Whether harm comes with washing depends on
the drying and after care, and the need of washing
depends on the amount of mud adhering to the
tubers when they are dug.

Good, hard headed, common sense is required
in all harvesting operations, and no rules can cover
all conditions.

CHAPTER XI

POTATO MACHINERY

DURING the past decade great improvements
have been made in agricultural machinery.
The up-to-date farmer of to-day is not con-
tent with old methods or tools, if there is no better
reason for their use than that his father or grand-
father used them. Every machine that will do
work more cheaply or better finds a welcome on
the strictly modern business-farmer's place.

The senior author has been intensely interested
in the betterment of machines that will render
farm operations more effective. Over forty years
ago he made plows and agricultural machinery in
a plow factory in Illinois, and appreciates the situ-
ation more than one less conversant with the
details of the machinery business both from manu-
facturer's and user's standpoints.

It is true of makers of potato machinery that it
is their desire to make an implement that will do
the greatest possible service for the user, and they
welcome suggestions from practical growers for
improvements.

During the past twenty-five years the senior
author has been responsible for a great many im-
provements to machinery now in use.

The increasing interest in farm machinery, or
farm mechanics, is indicated by the fact that
practically all of the leading agricultural colleges
now have departments devoted to this subject.

119

120 THE POTATO

It is the intention of the authors to present in
this book descriptions and illustrations of a large
number of implements used satisfactorily in the
potato industry. This will enable the reader to
form an opinion as to those best suited to his
conditions.

THE IRON AGE MACHINERY

The following machines are made by the Bate-
man Manufacturing Company, Greenloch, N. J. :

Iron Age {Improved Robbins) Planter

This planter feeds the seed automatically. It
shakes the seed out into the pockets of an elevator
wheel, which m turn drops it through a short spout
to a horizontal feed wheel, also provided with
pockets. This wheel makes one complete revo-
lution in front of the boy or man on the rear seat;
when he finds a pocket that has no seed in it, he
supphes a piece from a pile within reach; if a
pocket gets two seed pieces, he takes one out. The
result is that you get one seed piece in every space
and one only. You can understand what this
means if you will consider a few figures. If a
normal average for a perfect stand were 150
bushels (and this is very reasonable) 5 per cent,
skips would mean a loss of seven and one half
bushels, or $3.75 per acre at an average price of
50 cents. It costs no more to cultivate, spray, and
fertilize a perfect stand than it does one with skips
here and there.

Iron Age Riding Cultivators

Cultivators should have all of the necessary
adjustments for narrow or wide rows, deep or

Iron Auc Potato Hoc or Ri(l<i;er

[

Iron Ago Riding Cultivator

Iron Ag(^ Potato Digger

Iron Age Trad ion S|)rayer

on Age (Improved Robljinsj Potalo Planter

Seed pieces in place in the
furrow opened by the Iron

Age Planter

Dowden Potato Digger

THE POTATO 121

shallow cultivation, and the teeth changed quickly
to any position in the row while the team is in
motion. All of these necessary adjustments are
found on Iron Age cultivators. They are of many
styles and combinations to fit the varied conditions
of ground and cultivation desired. Pivot wheels
are used on three styles — they make guiding
easy. High or low wheels — six or eight hoes —
for one or two rows, break-pin hoes, spring hoes,
or spring teeth can be furnished. The hoes are
kept in the ground by spring pressure; thorough
cultivation is the result. Disk, plow, ridging, and
other attachments are furnished.

Iron Age Traction Sprayers

The Iron Age sprayer drives from the centre, has
a perfect working relief valve and a big air chamber,
is thoroughly protected against corrosion, and is
easily shut off from the seat. It is furnished in
four, six, or seven row sizes, with 55 or 100 gallon
wood or 55 gallon steel tanks, and revolving mixer,
single or double action pumps. It is made for one
or two horses.

Iron Age Potato Hoe or Ridger

These tools are adjustable at any position on
the frame by simple eccentric levers. They are
also adjustable for angle of the blades, position of
the handles, etc. Made with plain steel blades,
or with detachable shoes for stony ground, or with
twenty-inch disks.

Iron Age Potato Diggers

The Iron Age line comprises four machines:
No. 125 is a rotary disk, low down machine for
light, sandy soils; No. 127, same digger with

122 THE POTATO

elevator and shaker attached; No. 150, medium size
elevator and twenty-eight-inch wheels; No. 155,
large elevator, thirty -two-inch wheels, and kickers
for heavy conditions, as to ground, grass, vines,
etc. They have steel spurs on the wheels, and are
designed so that wearing parts can be easily and
cheaply replaced. They can be thrown in and
out of gear from the seat. The plow is adjustable
so as to get all of the potatoes with as little cutting
as possible and as little soil, and so that draft will
not be too great.

THE JOHN DEERE MACHINERY

The machinery described in the following para-
graphs is made by Deere & Company, Moline, 111. :

John Deere Two-Way Sulky Plow

A fine plow for potato growers and truck farmers.
It turns all the soil one way, leaving no dead fur-
rows or back-furrow ridges. In irregular fields it
leaves no crooked dead furrows — and all furrows
are straight. When used in arid climates, harrow-
ing and planting can be kept up with the plowing.
In this way evaporation is checked and seed is
planted in moist soil.

John Deere Model "5" Flexible Disk Harrow

No tools equal a good disk for finely pulveriz-
ing the soil. One or two diskings make a nice,
deep, mellow seed bed for potatoes.

Spring pressure enables this harrow to penetrate
and cultivate an even depth the full width of cut.
Third lever controls spring, hence operator can
set the disks for thorough work in all conditions.
Either solid or cutaway disk blades may be had.

MOLlNT. ILL

Deere Disk Harrow

Deere Potato Digger

molintTiu.

Deere Shaker Tolalo Digger

Deere ( "ultivator

HOUNl. ll-L

Deere Two-Wav Flow

MtillM.'iM.

Deere Double-Aetion Disk Harrow

Picker" in Aspinwall Planter

Aspinwall Two-Row Planter

Aspinwall Planter with Fertilizer
Attachment

Aspinwall Potato Sorter

THE POTATO 123

John Deere Double-Action Disk Harrow

Double disking saves one half in time and labor,
and secures better results than two single diskings,
because the soil, freshly broken by the first selec-
tion, is pulverized by the second section without
giving any opportunity for drying out and harden-
ing. Front section is out-throw, rear, in-throw,
leaving the land surface level. Furnished with
both solid and cutaway disks.

John Deere KA-Pivot Axle Cultivator

This machine is especially good for cultivating
potatoes, because it will work in wide or narrow
rows and rigs can be spaced to suit lean or bushy
rows. AYheels are shifted by foot pedals which
make it easy to guide cultivator and dodge plants
out of line with row. Spring tooth rigs, disk or
moldboard hillers can be used on a John Deere
KA cultivator. It is equipped with spring trip
or pin break rigs. Longer, narrow shovels are also
used on this cultivator in some districts in the West
where extra deep cultivation is required.

Deere Potato Digger

The Deere potato digger has been in successful
use for many years, and is equal to any require-
ment that may be made on it. It works with very
light draft and throws the potatoes out of the
ground without cutting, leaving the ground in
good shape. The gauge wlieel regulates the depth
and helps to steady the digger.

JoJin Dccrc Shaker Potato Digger

An ideal implement for the man who grows a
limited area of potatoes. Sprocket, which runs on

124 THE POTATO

ground, gives hinged grating and up-and-down
motion. This shakes out the dirt and leaves the
tubers in a clean, compact row. Weed fender clears
away weeds and vines ahead of blade. This dig-
ger is inexpensive and can be owned by any one.
A wing shovel and extra bars to widen grate are
furnished for sandy soils.

THE ASPINWALL MACHINERY

The Aspinwall Manufacturing Company, Jack-
son, Mich., makes the machinery which is de-
scribed in the following:

Aspinwall Potato Planter No. 3.

This planter is entirely automatic. The picker
represents the automatic action of the hand in
planting, and is mechanical, but six of these hands
are employed for all distances of planting. The
distance is regulated by gears instead of change in
number of pickers.

With the Aspinwall potato planter the fertilizer
attachment is used largely in the East.

• Aspinwall Tioo-Roiv Planter

By using this machine there is a saving of time
and labor, one man and team doing double the
work of the single row. The two rows are abso-
lutely equal in distance apart, w^hich is of great
advantage when using a two-row cultivator, as it
permits of very close cultivation. The draft of the
machine is but slightly more than the single row.
The large wheels and narrow furrow openers reduce
the draft and compensate for the increased size of
the machine. Centre draft. The hopper capac-
ity enables planting one half mile without refilling.

Aspiiiwall Potato Planter

Aspiiiwall Sprayer

Thompson's Greeley Potato Sorter

THE POTATO 125

Distance of planting between the rows is adjustable
to suit requirements. The furrow openers are very
narrow, which insures planting in straight lines.
The disk coverers are set inside of the furrowers
and close the earth into the individual furrows
with a single disk.

Aspinwall Potato Sprayers

These machines are made with attachments for
all purposes, including orchard attachment and
attachments for the various crops grown by truck
gardeners. They are equipped with nozzles in
front, adjustable by pedals which the driver can
guide so as to deflect the spray and overcome any
tendency of the wind to drive it from the rows of
potatoes. The spraying capacity is four rows in
one operation, or twenty acres per day. Pressure
is from 60 to 120 pounds and adapted to spray
Paris green, Bordeaux mixture, or sulphate of iron
used with the broadcast attachment for grain fields.

Aspinwall Potato Diggers

The Rotary potato digger is intended to dig
potatoes under various conditions. In operating
the machine it is best to work around a number of
rows or drills of potatoes the same as in plowing
or mowing, discharging the potatoes constantly to
the right side of the machine. This machine is
not illustrated.

Aspimvall Potato Sorter

The manufacturers state that this machine will
sort from 500 to 1,000 bushels per day, and work is
superior to hand work. The low-down hopper
makes easy work when shoveling and feeding the
machine. It may be run by hand or power, as re-

126 THE POTATO

quired. The entire work is under the control of
the operator and any potatoes which are decayed or
ill-shaped may be removed while the work is pro-
gressing. The sorting or separation divides the
potatoes into three sizes.

THOMPSON MACHINERY

The Thompson potato sorter is made by James
Thompson, Greeley, Col., and is largely used
in the West. Mr. Thompson also makes bag
holders and potato baskets. The sorter is oper-
ated by rocking back and forth the part into
which the potatoes are emptied, the small potatoes
dropping through the screen and being conveyed
into one sack, the larger ones going over the screen
and into the other sack. It is used both in the
cellar and field.

By laying a burlap sack over the upper end of
the screen there is less bruising of the potatoes as
they are shoveled or emptied on the sorter. The
sack may cover one quarter to one third of the
top surface of the sorter.

THE DOWDEN MACHINERY

The Dowden potato digger, made by the Dow-
den Manufacturing Company, Prairie City, Iowa,
weighs 1,140 pounds and is drawn by two or
four horses, although made strong enough that six
may be used, if required.

The point, or "snout," of the digger goes under
the rows, elevating the potatoes over an apron
made of rods spaced far enough apart to let the
dirt fall through, but close enough together to
carry the potatoes over and deposit them on the
top of the ground.

Dowden Potato Digger at work on Mt. So])ris Farm

*m:<cxi^.

Iron Age Digger at work

Hauling potatoes to storehouse in " liall'-sarks" — Mt. Sopris Farm

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f.-^'if^ '

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be
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CHAPTER XII

SELLING AND STORAGE

DOES it pay to store potatoes or sell direct
from the field to the dealer, and if storage
pays what sort of structure is best?

The answer to the first must be made by the
individual grower. The element of chance en-
ters very largely into this problem, to a greater
degree, perhaps, than with any other farm crop.

Statistics show that this statement is true —
viz., that the farmer who has favorable conditions
for potato growing and can practise a good rota-
tion, who will grow the same acreage of potatoes
each year for ten years, selling half at digging
time and storing the balance, will show a nice an-
nual profit on his ten years' operations.

To say that prices will be good this year or next,
or that it will pay to sell or store this fall or any
later single fall, is simply making a guess.

The Government reports showing acreage and
condition of crop during the season and a compari-
son with other seasons give some idea of what to
expect. In addition to this the grower should know ^
what other districts besides his own are in position
to compete with him in his natural markets, and
the condition of their crop is another fact on which
to base his guess. Figuring the average pro-
duction in the United States at about ninetj'
bushels per acre, the per capita consumption
four bushels, and the population of the country,

127

130

THE POTATO

Wholesale prices of ■potatoes per bushel, 1896-1909.

Chicago.

Milwaukee.

St. Louis.

Cincinnati.

Date.

Burbank,
per bushel.

Per bushel.

Burbank,
per bushel.

Per bushel.o

Low.

High.

Low.

High.

Low.

High.

Low.

High.

1896

Cenls.
10
18
29
26
25
30
30
38
31
18

Cents.

125

100

122

C<nU.
10
15
25
15
20
25

Cents.
35

100
90
90
80

185

Cenli.
20
21
30
25
27
18
41
40
36
27

CerU>.

140

105

125

175

JO. 60

.90

1.25

1.10

.32

.30

.90

1.20

.25

$1 35

J897

4.75

1898

3 75

1899

6 00

1900 ^

1901

.57
1 20

1902

3 00

1903 ^

35
20
10

120

3 00

1904

4 80

J905 ,

190C.
January

55
47
43
67
48
60

65
57
68
63
73
87

45
35
35
60
45
60
40
35
35
25
25
25

58
60
62
62
75
80
87
60
65
40
40
40

58
63
51
65
60
65
35
37
43
48
45
40

82
61
70
68
8S
125
75
60
62
56
65
46

.55
.45
.45

.60
.55
.90
.75
.58
.55
.50
.45
.45

February

March

April ;

May

June

1.05
.90

July....,

August

Seoternber

ti40

.60
60

October

November

.58

Decern ber /

.47

Year

125

.45

1 05

1907.
January

34
37
33
33
65
32
30

45
48
47
01
75
70
50

25
25
25
25
40
30
35
30
45
40
40
40

45
45
45
CO
70
70
90
80
75
75
65
65

43
51
43
63
74
60
50
60
45
65
S3
65

56
65
68
75
78
125
95
72
70
65
64

.45

.48
.50
.40
.70
.60
.25
.70
.60
.60
.60
.50

.50

February

.53

March

.53

.80

May

.80

.70

.85

.80

60
45
45

60
65
63
68

.85

October...,

N ovem ber

.65

Year

125

.25

1908.
January

52
58
62
00
50
63
70
68
58
60
57
60

65
73
75

77
80
150
110
90
78
81
71
77

53.
65
63

65
58
68
65
60
CO
54
6S
64

75
70
70
8Q
80
150
110
85
80
80
70
70

62
67
71
73
65
100

69
77
78
78
74
105

.60
.65
.70
.70
.00
.60
1.10
.85
.76
.65
.65
.65

.68

February

.80

.85

May

.85

June

1 35

July

1 35

1. 15

September

72
67

69
69

— 72
70
72
75

.85

October

November..^

. 75

December

.80

150

105

.60

1 35

1909.
January

60
65
80
,85
'70
20
15
38
42
35
15
20

110

150

145

125

60
60
70
70
SO
39
20
40
45
40
30
30

115

135

105

100

73
80
89
92
85
40
40
35
45
42
40
40

lOS

102

140

110

.72
.75
.85
.95
.95
.90
.50
.70
.55
.55
.30
.30

.80

March ,

.90
.95

April.. J

1.15

M^y

1.00

Tune. . . , . . ,

1.20

July. ..:.

.95

August

.75

September. ,.

.70

October

.60

November

.60

December, i

.48

Year

150

135

140

.30

1.20

a Pel barrel iot 1396-1899 md 1902-1901.

t Cotomon to fancy.

New potato cellar of CoiiiinissiontM- of Ai,M-icullurc A. \\ . Ciiliuan;

Foxcrofl, Maine

/=^o Tv< 7^0 -s- Tofp.^ a^s:

.Si/re /*-- e a -*"<■ ' - -S ^ • «f^

^/icf

£'/G Ku tyo/t

_S/Ve-

^/e-i^eT/o/r

Potato storage cellar plans

THE POTATO

131

Average farm price of potatoes per bushel, monthly, 7908-9.

Month.

Unlt«d
States.

North
Atlantic
States.

South
Atlantic
StaUs.

N. Cen.
States Ea'st
of Miss. R.

N. Cen.
St-.tcs West
or Miss. R.

South
Ontral
StatfS.

Far WcsN
crn States.

1909.

1908.

1909.

1906.

1909.

1908.

1909.

19a<!.

1909.

1906.

1909.

1903.

1909.

1908.

January

February

March

as.

72.0
73.3
80.0
86.3
97.3
97.7
91.0
85.1
71.5
64.3
57.8
54.9

at.

63.4

69.6
70.4
73.3
71.3
77.8
83.6
78.0
74.8
69.2
70.6

Oj.
74.5
75.4
77.2
82.8
93.6
91.4
91.2
89.1
77.6
65.3
58.5
56.2

as.

04.9

'73.0
73.0
79.2
72.3
70.4
93.2
87.8
80.3
71.9
73.7

as.

83.2
77.6
90.3
96.5
101.3
99.9
94.5
79.6
76.7
78.0
70.7
75.1

Os.
70.0

84.2
85.8
SO- 4
86.1
80.6
74.9
75.3
74.7
76.5
81.6

On.

09.4
70.6
77.1
83.2
97.6
94.1
79.5
77.9
60.9
54.0
47.2
44.4

as.

55.5

'59.7'

64.8

60. 8
07.7
80.6
8.';. 9
77.0
74.9
67.3
07.0

as.

04.1
60.9
72.3
81.9
91.2
99.0
91.8
70.8
05.3
61.9
50.2
53. S

as.

02.5

00.0'
07.2
07.3
08.3
7.i. 9
73.4
04.3
04.0
01.1
02.6

as.

92.1
87.9
118.2
117.0
119.5
113.4
9.). 0
77.9
81.2
91.8
80.0
80.3

as.

92.7

ioo.'s'

104.9

in-i. 8

91.4
SO. 0
80.8
82.6

87.1
88.2
88.9

Os.
00.9
73.6
83.5
91.1
100.5
115.0
115.1
110.9
81.1
69.1
58.0
57.6

as.

62.7
59 8

April

May

61. «
61.6
68.7
69.6

75.2
70.9
67.8

66.4

Juno

July

August

September

October

November

December

crop is dug, or a few days thereafter, must be
stored in frost-proof buildings or pits.

Potatoes grown in southern chmates may be
stored in dark warehouses or in straw-covered piles
in the field.

The normal losses in storage from October to May
amount to 5 to 12 per cent, of the total bulk. This
does not include losses due to disease or sorting.

It has been estimated that of the total storage
loss 75 per cent, is due to loss of moisture and 25
per cent, to respiration. The potato tuber does
not die when taken from the ground and placed
in a cellar, but it lives by using some of the food
material stored up in its cells. The material used
is in the form of sugar, which a ferment forms
from starch. Respiration is practically stopped
when the tuber is frozen and the sweet taste of
frozen potatoes is due to accumulation of sugar.

The important points to be considered in potato
storage are:

Conditions to keep a temperature as low as possible with-
out freezing;

Conditions to keep the air as dry as possible, and a place
where potatoes may be kept dark.

132 THE POTATO

While mining at an altitude of 1,000 feet in
Colorado, a good many years ago, the senior
author of this work met a prospector who was going
to leave the country. He said that in an old
tunnel would be found some supplies, including
twelve sacks of potatoes which had been put there
two years before. These the prospector gave to
him. The condition of these potatoes was ap-
parently the same as when they were dug; they
were not shriveled, no shrinkage was apparent,
they had not started to sprout, and when cooked
they were just as edible as when dug out of the
ground. There had been an airshaft constructed
at the end of the tunnel and through the tunnel
was a good current of dry air. The temperature
was uniformly about 40 degrees F., being in a
rock tunnel 200 feet below the surface of the ground.
In building a potato cellar he tried to get as near
those conditions as possible.

The cellar illustrated is about 50 by 200 feet. At
each end there is a dead-air space ten feet square
in the form of a vestibule between the outer and
inner doors. This affords protection from freez-
ing. There is a driveway clear through, with
bins on either side, skylights and ventilators being
placed every ten feet. The temperature of the
cellar may be lowered by opening the doors and
letting a current of air pass through. When it is
too cold for this, the ventilators at the top may
be opened. The best ventilation is always se-
cured bj^ building the cellar in line with the direc-
tion of the prevailing air currents. During the
winter the temperature should be kept as near 32
degrees F. as possible; it is best when it does not
go below 30 degrees nor above 36 degrees. A tem-
perature of 28 degrees F. for one or two hours will

TIIE POTATO 133

not freeze potatoes when in large qnantitles. In
a cold country some means for providing artificial
heat shoidd be provided. In the spring of the
year, when the weather becomes warm, the cellar
doors are kept open at night and closed in the
daytime.

The plans submitted give a general idea of a
satisfactory cellar, and can be modified to suit
conditions. In planning the size of the structure
it is safe to estimate one bushel at one and one
fourth cubic feet.

In a small cellar built with a driveway this
space need not be wasted but filled with potatoes
or other vegetables after the bins at the side have
been filled.

One important point in the storage of potatoes
is to reduce the temperature to as low a point as
possible directlj^ after the product is stored. Put
about one foot of potatoes on the cellar floor, and
by the time the entire floor is covered to that
depth the heat from those potatoes is pretty well
carried off by the air currents. Then add another
layer, thus properly regulating the temperature as
the storage progresses. Ordinarily, when the cel-
lar is filled, the potatoes are piled about five feet
deep.

There are many types of potato cellars, each
suited to individual conditions and factors which
control size, material used, and construction. In
Maine, steam-heated, double-wall stone masonry
warehouses are used. In some sections of the
West poles and timbers are used largely in con-
struction and the storage space is largely under
ground. Cellars built entirely imder ground are
used in some other localities.

Pits, covered with straw and earth, are used

134 THE POTATO

to store thousands of bushels of the world's crop.
The principal objection to these is the absence of
control over conditions during the coldest weather.
In zero weather they cannot safely be opened to
haul the crop to market, or for sorting if the tubers
are rotting. Heavy rains may cause damage to
pitted potatoes. A grower with one acre can af-
ford to have a ventilated storehouse, even if this
is only a well-covered underground cellar.

Sorting potatoes that have started to rot from
freezing or disease requires a cellar that can be
lighted when desired. Careful growing to pre-
vent disease, and careful handling for the same
purpose, may cost a httle more than slipshod
methods, but the probability of marketing a crop
without the expense and loss of rehandling rotten
potatoes warrants the expense.

Ventilation devices, such as open partitions, may
be used to advantage when large quantities of
potatoes are stored in bulk.

Sacked potatoes corded in piles keep well in a
good cellar, and when sprouts start in the spring
the growth of these may be checked by moving
the sacks. A bruised sprout dies.

When the floor is of dirt, it is well to use some
sort of material, preferably strips of wood, be-
tween the dirt and the potatoes, to prevent rot.

It is important that potatoes be free from dirt
when taken from the field to the cellar. Dirty
potatoes do not keep well, because of the dirt that
adheres to the individual tubers, and that which
falls off and fills up the air spaces between the
potatoes, preventing free ventilation.

A very satisfactory place to build a cellar is on
a knoll, thus insuring perfect water drainage and
a good circulation of air.

THE POTATO 135

There is no limit to the ingenuity of the builder
in providing conveniences in the way of sorting
rooms and divisions in a potato cellar.

It is hard to conceive a well-planned, diversified
farm anywhere in the temperate zone that is com-
plete without a storage cellar for potatoes and
other vegetables. A "hoed" crop, requiring deep,
thorough cultivation, is an important factor in a
rotation of crops, and a business farmer is not
living up to his possibilities when he grows a crop
that for lack of storage facilities he must sell in a
short time after its maturity, thereby placing him-
self at the mercy of the middleman and retailer.

In the well-regulated farm we have in mind a
fairly definite proportion of the farm would be in
potatoes and roots each year, one part of the
potatoes to be sold at digging time, the balance
held for later marketing; and a quantity of roots
always stored for livestock feeding. This system
makes a storage cellar as important a factor as the
stock barns.

Following are specifications for the potato cellar
illustrated:

To be built with eight-inch concrete walls with
six-inch footing, one foot below floor line. Inside
width thirty-six feet, making twenty-seven feet
storage space and a nine-foot driveway. Length
to accommodate the amount of potatoes to be
stored. Height of side walls seven feet from floor
line, three and one half feet underground level,
centre ten feet from floor line. Heavy posts to
be set every ten feet along each side of driveway.
Round posts would answer for this purpose as
well as the more expensive sawed lumber.

On top of these posts is run a ten-inch by ten-

136 THE POTATO

inch stringer or girder the length of the building.
It rests on the concrete of each end. This is the
support for the rafters ; all rafters two inches by ten
inches.

Two-inch by six-inch plate is bolted to the top of
the concrete wall for the rafters to be nailed to.

A portion of the cellar can be fitted with shelves,
or drawers for tray storage of different kinds of
seed potatoes.

The yield of potatoes in this country can be
very greatly increased by more careful selection
and storage of seed. Growers in Europe find it
profitable to store selected potatoes, to be used
whole for seed, in trays. This is especially desir-
able for early potatoes. With this system, stubby
strong sprouts are grown on the seed tubers before
they are planted.

On top of rafters wire netting is placed. On this
is placed fifteen inches to twentj^-four inches of
straw; then well covered with earth. Straw is a
good insulator and absorbs moisture. Any kind
of tight, rainproof outer covering may be used
above the earth if conditions make this necessary.

Ventilators are placed every twenty feet, with
tight fitting cover on top and hinged sash on bot-
tom.

Doors to be made of three-fourths-inch flooring,
to be of a double thickness, with heavy building
paper between the boards.

In places where cement is much more expen-
sive than lumber, this building could be built by
setting posts and making a frame wall.

The Colorado Agricultural College built a cellar
sixty by eighty feet at a cost of about $1 ,150. Piled
fiv^e feet deep and with the driveway filled this

THE POTATO 137

would hold about 19,500 bushels. It is estimated
that a farmer could build a cellar of like capacity
for a cash outlay of $900. They estimate the
cost of a cellar at from 7 to 30 cents per hundred-
weight of potatoes stored — depending on the per-
manence of the structure.

Wliere large quantities of potatoes are to be
handled, it is well to have a switch run to the cellar
and load direct from the cellar to the car by use
of a small engine and belt to carry the filled sacks.

Potatoes for seed in Europe are stored in crates,
insuring more uniform conditions for each tuber.

Keeping potatoes in the South is a problem. It
is very desirable to keep those grown in the spring
for fall planting. In a Bulletin of the Florida Ex-
periment Station, J. F. Mitchell says:

*'The method that has proved uniformly suc-
cessful at the station has been to take a slat crate,
place a layer of pine straw needles in the bottom,
then a layer of potatoes, covering them with a
layer of pine straw, and continue the process until
the crate is filled. Finally, the crate is covered
with a layer of pine straw and stored in the barn
without further attention. On taking the po-
tatoes out in the fall they have been found to be
sound and fresh in appearance and there has been
no difficulty as to their sprouting when planted.
Fall planting at the station has just been com-
pleted. The potatoes cared for as above described
were in prime condition; in fact, they were as good
as, if not better than, seed potatoes shipped from
the North.

Storing potatoes in oat straw proved a failure
on account of the tendency of the potatoes to
decay. Spreading the potatoes on a board floor

138 THE POTATO

was unsuccessful, as the potatoes turned green and
shriveled, being then unfit for either shipping or
planting. On trying a mixture of lime and dry
sand, in the proportion of one pint of lime to a
bushel of sand, it was found that, while the po-
tatoes did not decay, they were no longer viable,
the lime apparently killing the eyes and thereby
preventing them from sprouting successfully. Dry
sand alone produced better results."

In *' Bulletin No. 2, Volume 8," of the Com-
missioner of Agriculture of the State of Maine, is
given the following description of a potato cellar
built by Hon. A. W. Gilman, Foxcroft, Maine,
the Commissioner:

"This house and plan are recommended to
any who intend to grow potatoes for a series of
years. This building is located on a side hill, and
is fifty feet long by thirty feet wide, and serves
both as a storehouse for potatoes and for the hous-
ing of farm implements.

"The bottom is concrete, the walls are of grout
coated on the outside and inside with cement to
prevent the moisture soaking through. They are
eight feet high, eighteen inches wide at the bottom,
ten inches at the top. The plates which are used
for sills and set on these walls are chambered an
inch and a half both on the outside and inside.
These pieces are filled with cement to keep the
cold air out. The sleepers on which the floor is
laid are six inches square. These are boarded on
top with a double floor with tar paper between,
and single boarded underneath, thus giving a
dead-air space of six inches. The rafters are nine
feet long, coming up nearly perpendicular, giving

THE POTATO 139

more storage space. The second rafters are fifteen
feet long, forming the roof.

"The part that forms the cellar proper is thirty-
eight feet long, the remaining twelve feet making
a room for sorting and packing potatoes. The
cellar is divided by two partitions, making three
bins each ten feet wide. Each bin has trap doors
in the centre of the floor covering that bin. Each
trap is about five feet long by eighteen inches wide,
with three feet between each trap.

"The potato bins, each thirty -eight feet long,
are partitioned off from the sorting room. Both
sides of the partition are boarded up with matched
boards. A double door leads from the sorting
room into each bin. These doors are closed in the
coldest weather. The sorting room has two win-
dows for fight and air.

"If the potatoes begin to sweat in storage or
need ventilation, the trap doors can be raised, and
the doors from the bins into the sorting room can
be opened, giving a perfect system of ventilation,
which soon dries the potatoes off.

"The potatoes are removed fom the storage
house through the sorting room, the floor of which
is on a level with the road outside, thus saving
much labor.

"Bill of material for this storage house. (Esti-
mates furnished by W. L. Brown, Foxcroft, Maine) :

No. of

pieces

Size

Lengths

4x6 Posts for cellar partition

8 ft.

6x6 End and cross sills

30 ft.

6x6 Side sills

20 ft.

2x6 Floor timbers

20 ft.

2x6 Floor timbers

12 ft.

2x5 Rafters

9 ft.

6 in.

140 THE POTATO

Bill of Material — continued
No. of
pieces Size Lengths

60 2x5 Rafters 13 ft.

Plates 250 lin. ft.

20 2x6 Beams 22 ft.

50 2x4 Studding for gables 12-16 ft.

8 M Boards P.I.S. includes double

floors matched and beaded
pine for doors 250 ft.

15 squares Neponset waterproof paper for floors.

5 M Sheathing for cellar, ceiling and cross partition.
22 M XI Shingles with four rolls sheathing paper, or
22 Squares 1-ply Paroid roofing for roof.

500 feet 5-inch clear spruce clapboards with one roll

paper for gables.
600 feet Pine finish.

6 9 " X 3" 12-lighted windows and frames.
1 M Brick for chimney.

All timber is spruce. If of fir add one inch to depth of all
sUls and floor timbers.

Grout wall (150 lin. ft. 8 ft. high) and cement floor would
cost about $250."

CHAPTER Xin

COST OF GROWING POTATOES YIELD — -

PRICES PROFITS

THE yield of a crop of potatoes, the cost of
growing and the consequent profits, vary
not only with conditions, but with indi-
vidual operators under similar conditions. In
common with every other phase of agriculture,
and everything else in the world, the individuality
of the man in charge is the most potent factor.

The price is a proposition that the individual
grower has no control of and varies with the
world's supply and demand.

Average yields do not represent the possibilities
of the business, and are not fair to the industry.
The best growers always produce crops far in ex-
cess of the average for a district or a community.
The average producer of potatoes is not a potato
grower in the strict sense of the term — he is
simply a farmer growing potatoes and giving little,
if any, thought or study to the "reasons why" for
various operations.

The estimates and figures which follow regard-
ing prices of the various operations and the profits
in potato growing show the possibilities and prob-
abilities in various sections. The best grower may
make larger profits than some of these — poor
growers nmch less.

In the Twin Falls countrv in southern Idaho
the yield of potatoes is from 100 to 700 bushels

141

142 THE POTATO

per acre. The cost of producing a 150-bushel
crop is estimated as follows:

Plowing $ 3.00

Harrowing .75

Floating 1.00

Seed, average planting 700 lbs. at 2c 14.00

Planting 2.50

Irrigating first year 5 . 00

Cultivating three times at 50c 1 . 50

Digging 1.50

Picking — 150 bu. at 4c 6.00

Sacks — 75 at 7c 5.25

Hauling to pit 2 . 00

Total $44.00

If potatoes are worth 50 cents a bushel, this crop
would sell for $75, leaving a profit of $30.50 per
acre, not deducting rent or interest or taxes.

If, however, the grower produces a 600-bushel
crop, the cost of producing (figuring twice as much
seed and increased cost of the operations) would
be about $95.75. The crop would sell (at 50
cents a bushel) for $300, leaving a profit of $204.25.

In their work on "Potato Culture" (published
by A, I. Root Co. Medina, Ohio), T. B. Terry of
Hudson, Ohio, and A. I. Root of Medina, Ohio,
estimate the cost as follows:

Plowing $ 2.00

Harrowing with Thomas and three horses ... 33

Rolling 25

Eight bushels seed at 50 cents average . . . . 4.00

Cutting to one eye 1 . 50

Planting with planter 1 . 00

Harrowing three times 45

Harrowing four times with weeder 80

Cultivating eight times, once in a row . . . . 3 . 36

Bugs 2.00

Hand puhing or cutting weeds 75

THE POTATO 143

Digging with four horses 2.50

Picking up and storing 3,00

Marketing three-mile haul 6 . 00

Manure 5.00

Interest on value of land $100, at 6 per cent. . . 6.00

$38.94

If the crop makes 250 bushels and sells for 40
cents a bushel, the profit will be as follows:

250 bushels at 40 cents $100.00

Cost of production 38.94

$ 61.06

Lawrence G. Dodge, scientific Assistant in the
Bureau of Plant Industry, gives, in "Farmers'
Bulletin 465" of the U. S. Department of Agri-
culture, the following:

"The accompanying table represents the usual
expense of growing an acre of potatoes in Aroo-
stook County, Maine, and in many parts of Mich-
igan and Wisconsin. In fact, the second column of
figures will represent the expense put into growing
the crop in most localities where potato growing
is carried on, on a less expensive and through-
going basis:

Cost of supplies and

labor with rent

of land

Maine

Wisconsin

Cost of supplies and

labor with rent

of land

Maine

Wisconsin

Plowing .
Harrowing . .
Fertilizer. . .
Seed . . .
Cutting . . .
Planting .

ai.5o

24.00

5.00

§1.25
25

2.50
60
60

Cultivating .
Spraying. .
Digging . .
Rent of land .

Total

^^3.50
3.00
6.00

15.00

§1.90

*80

2.10

5.00

00.00

15.00

Tor beetles only

144 THE POTATO

"The more expensive method of growing potatoes
usually gives a yield of 275 bushels or more to the
acre. Unless an application of barnyard manure
is made in addition to the expense estimated, at
an added cost of from $5 to $10 per acre, the less
expensive method rarely produces more than 125
bushels per acre and in a great many instances
decidely less than 100 bushels per acre. The in-
crease in yield as a result of the more costly method
is suflBcient to more than pay the difference in
cost, supposing potatoes to sell as low as 33J cents
a bushel. One hundred and twenty-five bushels
per acre grown at a cost of $15 per acre and sold
at 33J cents a bushel yield a net profit of $26.66
per acre. Two hundred and seventy-five bushels
per acre grown at a cost of $60 per acre and sold
at 33 J cents per bushel yield a net profit of $31.66
per acre. The second profit is $5 more per acre
than the first.

"A farmer in Van Buren County, Mich., states
that his potato crop, mostly marketed in the fall,
sold at an average price of 44 cents a bushel for a
period of ten years. At the latter price the more
expensive method of culture would yield a profit
of $61 per acre, against $40 from the cheaper
method. Furthermore, some of the leading potato
dealers of the North have stated emphatically
that a better quality of potatoes is normally ob-
tained with large yields than with small."

The dean of the College of Agriculture of the
University of Maine, Dr. William D. Hurd, says:

**Many questions are asked as to the cost of
growing an acre of potatoes. So many things,
different circumstances, facilities for carrying on

THE POTATO 145

labor, kind of season, etc., enter into the problem of
cost in such varying proportions that it is almost
impossible to give statistics which will prove of
much value to others. From records for several
years on the college farm at Orono, the cost of
growing a ten-acre field of potatoes is about as
follows: Man and team labor are reckoned at
$3. .50 per day, extra men at $1.50 per day.

Ten-acre field

Plowing at $2 per acre $20.00

Harrowing five limes, $3.50 per acre .... 17.50

Fertilizer (Iiomo mixture) $30 a ton .... 225.00

Seed — 130 bushels, 75 cents a bu.shel . . . 97.50

Disinfecting seed (labor and material) . . . 3.00

Cutting seed (by liand) at 6 cents per bushel . 7.80

Planting, team and two men three days, $5 . 15.00

Harrowing or weeding before crop is up, four times 10.50

Cultivating crop eight times at $3.50 . . . . 28.00

Spraying six times ($1 per acre each application) . 60.00

Hand hoeing and pulling weeds once (if necessary) . 15 . 00
Digging and hauling to storehouse or station at

$15 per acre 150.00

Rent of land (5% on $50 per acre value) 10 acres . 25 . 00
Depreciation of implements, (plows, harrows,
planter, sprayer, digger, etc.) value $250 esti-
mated at 10 % 25.00

$699 . 30
Value of crop, 225 bushels to acre (2,250 bushels at

50 cents) $125.00

Value per acre 112.50

Cost of growing per acre 69.93

Net profit per acre $ 42 . 57

The E. L. Cleveland Company of Houlton,
Maine, one of the largest growers and dealers of
seed potatoes in America, makes the following es-
timate of the cost of growing an acre of potatoes:

146 THE POTATO

Commercial fertilizer 1,500 lbs. to 2,000 $28.50 to $35.00

Preparing ground for seed . . . . 3 . 00

Seed 600 pounds 7 . 00

Planting 2.50

Cultivation 3.50

Gathering or harvesting 7.50

Preparing for market 50

Wear and tear on implements ... 50

Rent of land (tenant farmer pays) . . $10.00 to $20.00

Bordeaux mixture 4 . 00

Paris green 50

Hauling to market 3.50

Average yield of product per acre . . 220 bu.

Average value of product per acre . . $88 . 00

Average size of fields 15 acres

Average value per acre of land growing

such crops 75.00 to 100.00

Profit per acre 17.00

*'Much depends on the weather conditions as
to the cost of applying Bordeaux mixture, Paris
green, cost of cultivation, labor and general net
results.

"The above estimates may be regarded the aver-
age for a series of years."

Mr. L. F. Shanklin of Lompoc, Cal., estimates
the cost of producing an acre of potatoes as fol-
lows :

Use of land (will rent for) $30.00

Seed 400 pounds at 1 1 cents 6.00

Plowing and preparation 5 . 00

Cultivation twice — hoeing once 1 . 00

Digging and picking 3 . 00

Sacks 5 cents, sacking 5 cents (100 sacks per at) . 10 . 00

Hauling . 1.00

$56.00
His average crop is:

THE POTATO 147

70 sacks firsts 115 lbs. to sack at $1.30 per 100. $80.50
30 " seconds 120 lbs. to sack at $1 . 00 per 100 . 3G . 00
30 " cow feed or waste at 10 cents per 100. . 3.00

$119.50
Profit $63.50

The cost of producing one acre of potatoes on
the farm of W. Dennis & Sons, Kirton, Lincoln-
shire, England, is:

Seed per acre 2,600 pounds $16.00

Rent 15.00

Rate Tax (special Government income tax) 2 . 50

Eight tons barnyard manure 13.75

Commercial fertilizer (phosphate nitrate, potash) . 15 . 00

Planting 1.25

Cultivation 1 . 25

Harvesting and marketing 15 . 00

Plowing and preparation after planting . . 1 . 20

Ridging and covering in 2 . 50

Spraying 5.00

Hauling 5.00

Average cost $ 93 . 45

Total average revenue $125.00

Profit $ 31.55

W. Dennis & Sons grow 3,000 acres annually
and these figures are an average for that acreage.

Prof. L. A. Merrill of the Utah Agricultural Col-
lege reports that the cost of growing according to
Mr. W. F. Hai-per of Smithficld, Utah, is as follows:

Plowing, harrowing and leveling the land . . $5 . 00

Fifteen loads of manure at 25 cents per load . . 3 . 75

Hauling manure at 75 cents per load . 11.25

Seed 10.00

Cutting and planting seed 9 . 00

Cultivating, weeding and irrigating 5 . 00

Picking and sacking 10.00

Loading on car 4.50

$ 59.00

148

THE POTATO

To this should be added interest on the money
invested in the land which would vary with the
price of land, and also taxes on the land; these two
items will probably average $10.

The profits will range from $20 in the poorer
potato sections to $125 per acre in good potato
districts. Mr. Harper reports a net profit of the
latter sum from his potatoes in 1910.

The cost of producing the acre of potatoes that
won the first prize in 1910 Burley Contest (prize
of $500 cash given by D. E. Burley, General
Passenger Agent, Oregon Short Line Railroad, for
best measured acre in territory tributary to that
railroad) is estimated by L. A. and W. L. Snyder,
Twin Falls, Idaho, the growers, as follows:

No. of
horses used

No. of
men

Plowing alfalfa to kill the plants
(crowning or plowing three

inches deep with sharp plow). . . 3

Disking in spring 3

Harrowing 2

Corrugating 2

Irrigating before plowing 0

Plowing 4

Planking 2

Cultivating first time 2

Cultivating second time 2

Hilling first time 1

Hilling second time 1

Irrigating 0

Digging 3

Planting 2

7
2

No. of
days

4
1

1
2

1
3

2
3
1
2

This makes a total of 18 horse days — or about
18 horses working 1 day; and about 12 man days.
Estimating the horse time at $1 a day and the
man time at $2 a day, the labor bill is:

THE POTATO 149

Horse work, 15 (lays at $1 $15.00

Labor. 1^2 days at i^-^ 24.00

Additional charges are as follows:

Twiue 75

Sacks 350 sacks at G| cents each 22.75

Hauling 13.80

1,750 ])oim(ls of seed at 2 cents per pound . . 35.00

Twelve loads of manure at $1 i)cr load . 12.00
Rent of land (0 i)er cent, on valuation of $200 per

acre) 12.00

$125.30

The yield was as follows :

Gross weight .... 38,685 pounds 644 . 75 bushels
Less Culls .... 4,150 pounds

Marketable . . . 34,535 pounds 575.5 bushels

Estinialiiig the returns from tlie crop at $1
per hundred, or 60 cents a bushel, the market-
able potatoes are worth $345.35, a profit of
$220.05 without figuring the waste potatoes.
With waste potatoes at $5 a ton, the total revenue
is $10.40 more, or $230.45.

Ashel Smith, a successful grower and exhibitor
of potatoes of Ladner, British Cohimbia, says
that he pays $25 an acre per year rent for land in
sod, and that some sod land would be worth a
rental of $50 for growing potatoes.

When land that has been in sod from three to
ten years can be secured, no commercial fertilizer
is used. The sod is thoroughly disked to a depth
of six inches (even if six diskings are required) be-
fore plowing.

Where sprouted whole seed is used the earliness
of the crop is increased three \veeks as compared

150 THE POTATO

with cut seed. They are planted thirteen inches
apart in rows thirty-six inches wide.

Seed stock is graded by numbers according to
the diameter. For instance, No. 2 seed weighs
about ten ounces, and No. 7 is about one inch in
diameter.

The per acre cost of production is about as
follows:

Rent of land " .... $25.00

1,400 pounds of seed 21.00

Seed bed preparation 8 . 00

No spraying is required

Cultivation five times 3 . 50

Digging 14.40

Sacks 14.40

Storage 6.00

$92.30

The yields run from 200 to 400 bushels, with an
average of about 245 bushels per acre.

Potatoes usually bring about $1 per hundred or
60 cents a bushel.

A yield of 9 tons (18,000 pounds or 300 bushels)
at $20 a ton ($1 per hundred) would bring $180.

This would make:

Returns from crop $180.00

( ost of producing 92 . 30

Net profit $ 87.70

In the Hastings district in Florida, F. E. Bugbee
gives the following cost and revenue for an acre
of potatoes:

"Where the common methods described above
are used, the figures are about as follows:

THE POTATO 151

Fertilizer $30.00

Seed 14.00

Barrels 12.00

Rent 15 . 00

Digging and delivering 10.00

Cultivation 7.50

$88.50

Revenue 40 barrels at $3.25 $130.00

Cost 88.50

Profit $ 31.50

"Where land is tiled with three-inch tiles eigh-
teen inches deep, with lines of tile forty feet apart,
with a device for closing tiles at outlet so as to
control moisture content of land greater revenue
is made. The cost of tiling is $30 an acre.

*'0n tiled land there is no waste from open
ditches and more seed and fertilizer are required.
More seed is required because hills are planted
closer together.

"Following are figures on tiled land:

Fertilizer $40.00

Seed 25.00

Barrels 30.00

Rent 30.00

Cultivation 7.50

Digging 20.00

$147.50

Revenue 120 barrels at $3.25 $390.00

Cost 147.50

Profit $242.50

The cost of growing an acre of potatoes in
Kansas is given by Secretary F. I). Coburii, of the

152 THE POTATO

Kansas State Board of Agriculture, in a consensus
of the detailed statements of forty representative
growers, reporting from thirty-two different Kan-
sas counties the crop averaging 122 bushels:

Average cost of plowing $ 1 . 20

Harrowing , 54

Seed 7.25

Planting 1.35

Cultivating 1 . 66

Digging and marketing 8 . 85

Wear and tear of tools and rental of land or interest

on its value 4 . 42

Total cost per acre, or 122 biLsheLs $25.27

Averages of other items, gathered from those
furnishing the forty foregoing reports, are as fol-
lows:

Average number of years each of the forty reporters

has raised potatoes in Kansas 18

Average number of acres raised by each annually . 26

Average quantity of seed planted per acre (biLshels) 9

Average yield per acre (bushels) 122

Average value of potato land per acre .... $60 . 00

Statements of ten of the growers reporting who are most
extensively producing potatoes for commercial purposes, in
the Kaw Valley, average as here shown :

Average cost of plowing $ 1 . 45

Harrowing 51

Seed 8.05

Planting , . 65

Cultivating 1.46

Digging and marketing 11.00

Wear and tear of tools and rental of land or inter-
est on its value 6.85

Total cost per acre, or 154 bushels .... $29 . 97

THE POTATO 153

Range of price per husliel $0.11 lo $1.15 ])vr hiishel.
Average price per bushel Ivaw Valley on board cars

is about 37

Average number of years each of these ten reporters

has raisc'd potatoes in Kansas 18

Average number of acres raised by each annually . 80

Average quantity of seed planted per acre (bushels) 10 . 4

Average yield per acre (bushels) 153.7

Average value of potato land per acre .... $105 . 00

Incidentally, by these forty reports it is noted
that the number of times the ground is harrowed
ranges from one to four and in one it is given as
eight; in some cases the ground is disked also;
and in the Kaw Valley it is not uncommon for
some of the more extensive growers to plow their
potato ground twice.

Likewise, in the more western counties, in
cases where the crop is mulched with a covering
of straw or hay where irrigated, the cost of cul-
tivating, which includes these items, is propor-
tionately higher, owing to extra labor in the first
instance and more frequent cultivating in the
second.

In the item of planting, the cost to Kaw Valley
growers is lessened by the quite general use of nui-
chine planters.

CHAPTER XIV

MARKETS AND MARKETING

FTTIHE marketing of high-class farm products

I in attractive packages, to special trade —
-^ is a department of agriculture that has a
most promising future.

Farm marketing has been too much like other
farm operations — slipshod and easy going — with
little or no system. There has been too little
care as to the quality of the product.

The demands of the market to be supplied
should be the first consideration. If a white po-
tato is the popular one — the best possible white
potato of the size and shape desired should be
grown — selecting to that type consistently each
year — making a product that so much excels the
bulk of the offerings that it always demands a
premium. An instance of this is the Salinas
Burbank on the Pacific coast and the Mt. Sopris
Farm or Carbondale Peachblow on the Denver
market and for the dining car trade. Both of these
are products of exceptional quality, smooth, even,
and good cookers, but the former is a long white
potato, the latter round and red.

In the fruit trade, where selection and package
have been given careful consideration by up-to-
date growers in the western part of the United
States, the marketing of all grades and sizes in
the same package is no longer considered good
business. The best and most select are packed in

154

THE POTATO 155

separate packages and often under separate brands.
During the 70's, potatoes were shipped on boats
;uid cars in bulk, now the crop is handled in bags,
boxes and barrels.

It pays to sort the crop carefully — offering
only sound, clean tubers for human consumption,
feeding all refuse to stock. Then the sound, clean
potatoes should be sorted as to size; large, medium
and small for different requirements. Potatoes
of uniform size cook most evenly. Each size
should be put up in clean, new packages. Bar-
rels and sacks are acceptable for the large users —
hotels, restaurants and dining cars, but crates or
cartons make attractive packages for the retail
trade. It may not be good business on the part
of the average purchaser of supplies for the house-
hold, but it is nevertheless doubtless true, that 75
per cent, of the potatoes consumed by city and
toA\Ti people, pass over the counter of the retail
grocer in small lots. For such trade, five, ten,
and fifteen pound cartons would be very attrac-
tive.

The potato for this high-class trade should be
packed on the farm a short time only before being
retailed, and go in an original sealed package to
the consumer. There would be no bruising and
the potato could go to the table free from dis-
figurement. This should bring the grower a con-
siderable premium for his work.

Quality and flavor in the potato receives more
attention in Europe than in the United States.
The early crop can be lower in quality than any
other because it is not kept so long. A low quality
crop, however, causes a falling off in consumption,
as in 1907. On the other hand, an increase in
(quality greatly increases consumption — the aver-

156 THE POTATO

age per capita demands could be greatly increased
by attention to this detail.

W. C. Brown Presiident of the New York Cen-
tral Lines, says that since eating scientifically ir-
rigation grown potatoes from Mt. Sopris Farm,
where the moisture content supply is controlled,
his family eat four times as many as when they got
the ordinary run of the market. The same report
has come from many other epicures.

Ninety per cent, of the potatoes used in hotels,
dining cars and restaurants are pared. Economy
in the cost of producing food of high quality for
the table is a question that the modern chef and
manager give the utmost consideration. For this
reason his ideal potato would weigh fourteen to
sixteen ounces, be smooth and even and was the
smallest possible percentage in paring. Of course
all cannot be this size, but the smaller ones are
used for baking. The ideal potato would be a
little smaller than the hotel man likes to pare, and
would weigh twelve ounces, have smooth, clean
skin, shallow eyes, smooth eyebrows that do not
protrude, and as nearly as possible the shape and
size of a turkey egg. Potatoes that weigh eight to
sixteen ounces are those most highly valued for
the best trade.

Several years ago, at the beginning of his dining
car trade, the senior author of this book went to
Mr. John F. Smart, superintendent of dining cars
of the New York Central Railroad, with a sample
of the smooth, even potatoes Mt. Sopris Farm
produces. By actual demonstration he was able
to show that these potatoes at double the prevail-
ing market price, would make a saving because of
their evenness and smaller percentage of waste in
paring and preparing for the table. At least 20

THE POTATO 157

per cent, of the total wcigfit of ordinary potatoes
was beini? thrown out the dining car windows as
waste. This consisted of small, cut, diseased and
rough potatoes.

The business of growing and marketing potatoes
should not be unlike any other manufacturing
enterprise, both the producing and the market-
ing are very important. A modern manufacturer
would not think of sending a shipment of goods to
a customer, a part of which shipment was culls
and of no use — and expect to hold his trade.
Yet the potato grower will sack for the consumer
10 to 25 per cent, of absolutely useless potatoes —
cut, diseased, rotten and frozen — for the buyer
to pay for and pay freight on and then discard.

At one time the farmer or grower of produce of
all kinds held it to be good })usiness to deceive the
buyer. The best berries and apples were put on
top — the culls beneath; rocks were weighed in
loads of grain and bad eggs sold for fresh ones.
The modern apple grower of the Northwest, mar-
kets train-loads of fruit of uniform quality, the
apple in the centre of the box in the centre of a
car being as good as any in the entire shipment.
This practice has made money. Western apples
often sell for more per one bushel box than East-
ern apples per three bushel barrel. One reason
for this is that the barrel is often faced at the top
and bottom with good fruit and has the bottom
filled with comparativeh^ poor.

The average potato grower has not yet risen to
the same plane as the best fruit men. Putting
good ones on top is an old trick. It was common
practice in Colorado a short time ago to put good
potatoes at the bottom of the sack, fill the centre
with the poorest, iind put good ones on top. This

158 THE POTATO

was to fool the buyer if he opened the bottom in-
stead of the top of the sack. The broker and
dealer got around this by slitting the side of sacks
for a sample. This led to the stovepipe method
of filling. A few good potatoes would be placed in
the bottom of a sack, a section of stove pipe in-
serted and the culls dropped in this, surrounding
the pipe by good potatoes, withdrawing the pipe
and fining the top with extras. Every kind of
deception in marketing is poor business — and
must sooner or later be stopped.

In some districts growers have formed associ-
ations and potatoes are marketed under a brand
insuring quality. This will in time cause potatoes
carrying this brand to command a premium.

Every employer of labor in potato work will
find it hard to get men to be careful in sorting,
no matter how strict the instructions. This was
found to be the case at Mt. Sopris Farm, where a
select trade has been built up by marketing po-
tatoes on the same basis and method as the
apple business at Hood River — upon honor.
The fact that there has never been a complaint
is an indication of how well the plan has succeeded.
"Do not put a potato into a sack for market that
you would not be proud to serve on your own
table " — this is the instruction to the employees
in the potato cellar that makes it most easy to
accomplish the result.

A great many growers make a practice of
planting their entire acreage to the same class of
potatoes and marketing all at one time. For
instance, it may be all Earlies, or second Earlies,
or Later, and all marketed from the field — or in
the case of the late crop, all held for the winter or
spring trade.

THE POTATO 159

A modification of this policy is suggested. This
is to lengthen the planting, harvesting and market-
ing season by planting some acreage to an early
variety or varieties; some to later sorts and the
balance to late varieties. This makes it possible
to do the work with less help at the "rush" time,
keeping the fewer extra help required for a longer
period. It makes it possible to market a portion
of the crop from the field, saving rehandling.
Some money is brought in early to pay the season's
expenses. By reason of getting a part of the crop
out of the way and off the farm early, the propor-
tionate loss from shrinkage and possible loss in
the storage cellar in the entire crop is lessened,
while enough of the crop is carried over to get the
benefit of possible high prices the coming spring.
This plan has been adopted at Mt. Sopris Farm
and is working out very satisfactorily.

The potato shrinks its greatest percentage dur-
ing the first ten days after digging — probably 10 to
12 per cent. Potatoes clipped by the digger are
usable at digging, while if put in the cellar they
decay, and cause decay in the tubers with which
they come in contact.

(xreater economy in grading is possible in Amer-
ica. The common market requirement is to dis-
card as culls, all potatoes that will not pass over
a two-inch screen or riddle. In some places those
passing through the screen are thrown away, not
even being used for stock food. Some of these
small potatoes are perfectly good for human food
and should be put up in packages — graded to
size and sold at a discount. They are quite as good
as any for making soups and are all right baked.
They can be easily and thoroughly cleaned with
brushes. They do not require paring and can

160 THE POTATO

be used down to a size as small as one inch in
diameter. Crops often run from 10 to 33 per
cent, of potatoes under two inches in diameter,
and the difference between profit and loss is con-
tained in this part. The economy of the world's
food supply seems to demand that they be utilized.

Potatoes that can be marketed at home, with-
out incurring transportation, middlemen and
retail expense, make the most net money for the
grower. Local market places where seller and
buyer could meet would be a benefit to both. The
net price at the farm — after deducting charges
above the cost of growing — often leaves the pro-
ducer only 25 to 75 per cent, of the retail price.
When a potato farm is a long distance from mar-
ket or railroad shipping point and the roads are
bad, the wagon haul is a large item of expense
because of the great per acre weight of the crop.

Following are some interesting marketing ideas
from ''Farmers' Bulletin 386": "Potato Culture
on Irrigated Farms of the West,'* by E. H. Grubb,
transmitted December 30, 1909: "In deciding
what kind of potatoes to plant, the grower should
study the conditions and demands of the market.
He should grow a medium-sized potato. On
rich land the potatoes planted eight inches apart
in the row will yield not only a great tonnage, but
tubers of more desirable size. There are few mar-
kets, except in the- South, that will pay a high
price for large potatoes. Our methods of packing
and marketing potatoes have been and are yet
for the most part, more crude than those used
with other products. By the time they get to the
consumer they are more or less bruised or crushed.
The writer has thought of crating potatoes and
developing that idea in Denver and New York.

THE POTATO 161

At the present time he favors a forty-pound crate.
This size may be increased or decreased to suit
the market. The grower should cater to the de-
mands of the most particular and exacting con-
sumers. He should try to educate the public to
appreciate the delicacy of a first-class potato.
The grower need not be afraid of freight bills if
he can furnish better potatoes than anybody else.
Hood River has a reputation for apples that makes
them cost more to the consumer on the eastern
market than the eastern apples by two or three
times. This reputation was gained by packing
apples that did not have an imperfect specimen
in a car. Do not put in a package a potato that
you would not serve to a guest at your own table."

J. G. Milward of the Horticultural Depart-
ment of the University of Wisconsin is doing a
great work for the potato growers of that state.
In a circular issued by him in May, 1911, he says:

" The growing of miscellaneous types not adapted
to competition on the leading markets, causes
difficulty in sorting and grading at the loading
stations. Growers in several sections have
responded to a plan to establish community
centres where uniform car lots of one variety can
be handled. An important step toward the de-
velopment of this plan will be to secure the best
seed raised in the state in car lots, and reserve it
for Wisconsin planting. The Agricultural Ex-
periment Station through its Agricultural Exten-
sion Service has secured hearty endorsement,
from growers, commission men, buyers, of a prac-
tical plan to disseminate the best seed raised in
Wisconsin on the basis of a community centre

162 THE POTATO

plan. If the majority of growers in these centres
select one standard variety adapted to their soil
conditions the following advantages will be gained:

1. Reputation on the market as a variety centre;

2. Possiblity of handling straight, uniform car
lots; 3. Easier disposal of stock during periods of
depressed prices; and 4. Better prices under close
competition.

"Many sections in northern Wisconsin have
become important commerical potato centres.
Northern fields under the direction of this Station
are being j^lanted largely to the standard varieties:
Rural New Yorker, Burbank, Peerless, Early
Rose, Early Ohio and Triumph. MarKet stock
of a high standard can be produced on the good
potato soils in this section. Coarse, undesir-
able types are being planted too often on land
which will produce standard stock of high grade.
This Station has been in touch with the leading
commission houses of the West, and all these
firms complain of the mixtures and substitutions
of type in Wisconsin shipments. In addition they
emphasize the need of closer attention to sorting
and grading.

"During the past ten years Wisconsin has ranged
from third to fifth in the rank of states in potato
production. Available records show that there
are thousands of acres of developed and undevel-
oped potato soils in this state adapted to produce
stock of as high quality as any of the other famous
potato centres of the country. Notwithstand-
ing these possibilities for development there has
been a falling off in many sections in the stand-
ard of both seed and commercial table stock. This
circular is designed to urge improvement in uni-
formity and quality of car shipments. In ac-

THE POTATO 1G3

cordance with this need this Station does not as-
sist in the dissemination of any but recognized
standard market types. In some of the northern
counties the Burbank, Rural New Yorker or
Triumph j)redominate. In relation to market
conditions these sections have recognized the ad-
vantage of a community industry. The potato
industry in this state will be benefited by the elim-
ination of coarse imitative types, novelties and
local varieties and a return to straight car lots of
the standard varieties, notably Burbank, Rural
New Yorker, Peerless, Early Rose, Early Ohio and
Triumph."

It is possible that many do not realize the scope
of the potato business in a single market. The
following interviews with the senior author in the
Chicago Tribune in December 1910, is very in-
teresting :

"Chicago as a market is next to New York in
the number of bushels of potatoes consumed and
distributed. A vast area, comprising among others,
the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota
North and South Dakota, Colorado, and Idaho,
ships its product to Chicago to be marketed.

"About 24,000 cars of potatoes are handled in
Chicago annually, making an average of a little
more than sixty cars daily. INIany of these pot atoes
are consumed within the city and the rest sup})lies
vast territories where the growing of the vegeta-
ble is practically unknown.

"As in all products of the farm, the crop and
cost of potatoes is dependent largely upon the
season. This year the price of potatoes has been
high, due to the drought, and the market is just

164 THE POTATO

beginning to assume a normal tone. The mar-
ket price determines to a great extent whether or
not potatoes grown in states near Chicago will be
shipped here for marketing. When the Chicago
price is not sufficient to allow a fair return for the
product and the New York price is higher, the
shipper does not hesitate to send his potatoes to
New York. And the same is true of potatoes
grown in the East.

"But the United States nowhere near equals
foreign countries in the growing of potatoes.
There are three or four times as many potatoes
grown per acre in Europe as in this country.
Regular shipments of European potatoes arrive in
New York and occasionally reach the Chicago mar-
ket. In 1908, when there was a shortage of po-
tatoes throughout the country and the prices were
high, a large proportion of potatoes sold in the
Chicago and Missouri River markets were grown
in Europe. Potatoes ordinarily are cheaper in
October than any other month. October is the
month for harvesting the great crops from the
Northern States, although it is true that new
potatoes begin to arrive as early as September 1st.
It is, however, possible to secure new potatoes in
Chicago the year round. Bermuda furnishes
potatoes in January and February. Florida
furnishes them a httle later. Potatoes in the
spring come from Texas, and following northward,
the market is supplied with a certain number of
new potatoes in all seasons, but those which come
from the Bermudas and Texas command fancy
prices and go only on the tables of the wealthy or
of the high-class restaurants.

"People of the laboring class eat more potatoes
than those in other walks of life, and potatoes are

THE POTATO 1C5

valued especially by thorn because of the nutri-
ment they supply, and their cheapness as com-
pared with other food.

"Fifty cents a bushel is a fair price for the large
commission men who handle large quantities of
potatoes to pay, but by the time they pass througli
the hands of the jobber and the retailer a bushel of
potatoes for which the commission man paid only
50 cents arrives on the table of the ultimate con-
sumer at a cost of 80 or 85 cents or more a bushel."

Potato dealers are not unlike all others on a city
market. There are many tricks in the seed trade.
It is so hard for the amateur or the old practical
dealer or grower to tell the difference in varieties,
and there are so many so similar that a buyer can
almost always be accommodated, no matter w4iat
stock is on hand. Instances are common where
a half dozen different varieties have been supplied
to as many different customers from a single ship-
ment of a single variety. In the early spring it is
common to see small old potatoes washed and
sold for new potatoes at fancy prices.

It is probably true that the American or Euro-
pean potato grower will find his greatest future mar-
ket in the increase in population at home, yet
there are sections both in the Arctic and Tropical
zones, where the Irish potato does not grow, that
can be exploited for special long keeping and
generally heavy skinned varieties at high prices.
Some of these are Alaska, Gulf States, Old ^Mexico,
Panama, Orient, and Philippines. There seems to
be a good future in the preparation of dried or
desiccated potatoes for this trade.

The potato market is very uncertain, the grower
reaping a handsome profit one year, a loss the next.

166 THE POTATO

No one seems to be able to forecast or guess the
future — even one season ahead. The " mtermit-
tent" potato grower may make big money or go
broke, but the one who grows a stated acreage
every year for ten years makes a nice average an-
nual profit.

As is true of all crops that make food for the
human race, the ultimate future of the potato
crop for the intelligent grower is certainly very
bright. No market is so panicky and so subject
to rise and fall in price. This is true in both
Europe and America. This is one of the phases
of the business that should make the grower alert
and watchful of crop and market conditions. It
requires more than ordinary judgment to know
when to hold or sell.

There are several ways of loading potato cars
for shipment in cold weather to prevent freezing.
At Carbondale a foot of straw is put on the bottom
of the refrigerator car and a foot around the sides
as the potatoes in bags are laid in tiers. After
the car is fully loaded, oil stoves are put in, the
temperature raised to 80 degrees, the stoves re-
moved and the cars tightly sealed. This generally
insures the car going through in good shape.

In Maine, a false bottom and false sides are made
in the refrigerator car, leaving a two-inch air
space all around. This frame is covered with
building paper. The air space serves the same
purpose as the straw. About 300 sacks of a little
over 100 pounds each — or about 30,000 pounds
is the weight usually loaded per car, although
double this tonnage is sometimes loaded.

CHAPTER XV

ENEMIES OF THE POTATO

THE potato is less subject to diseases and
pests in the higher mountain country
where it grows wild, than in any other part
of the world.

Thousands of tons of tubers — the bulk of the
crop of the world, in fact — are produced where
the grower must fight many kinds of fungous and
insect enemies.

The large amount of work being done along the
line of securing disease resistant varieties — either
by selection or hybridizing — has resulted in the
production of some varieties of market value for
the disease infested regions, and doubtless more
will be produced.

The enemies of the potato may be divided into
two classes; diseases and insects.

The diseases include:
Blights,
Scab,

Rot of various kinds,
Black leg,
Black scab or European wart disease.

Among the insect enemies are:
Flea beetles,
Colorado potato beetle,
Potato bug,

167

168 THE POTATO

Potato worm,
Potato stalk weevil,
Potato eelworm.

One of the diseases of the potato that is attract-
ing much attention abroad is the wart disease —
and steps have been taken to prevent its intro-
duction into America. Following a discussion of
this, the various blight, scab and rot diseases are
described.

WART DISEASE

In "Leaflet 105" of the Board of Agriculture and
Fisheries of the British Government, (information
and illustrations from this source are used by per-
mission of the Controller of His Britannic Majesty's
Stationery Office), this disease is described as fol-
lows :

"The disease known as Wart Disease (Syncny-
trium endobioticum Percival), formerly known as
Chrysophlyctis endobiotica, Cauliflower Disease,
Canker, 'Fungus ' or Black Scab, attacks the tubers
and haulms of potatoes, giving rise to large and
irregular outgrowths which suggest a resemblance
to pieces of cauliflower. In bad cases these ' warts '
may appear at the surface of the soil and can be
detected at the base of the haulm as yellowish
green masses.

"Warts or wrinkles appear at first in the eyes of
the young tuber, and later several warts by grow-
ing together form a brown spongy scab, which
finally rots and becomes black. This scab has no
connection with ordinary potato scab and does not
resemble it in appearance, but as both are fre-

THE POTATO 109

quently found on the same plant they are some-
times confused.

"The disease has caused most damage in gar-
dens or allotments where potatoes are grown every
year, but in a few cases there has also been serious
loss in potatoes grown on farms worked on a four-
course rotation.

"The occurrence of the wart disease in the
affected districts is similar to that of the Finger-
and-toe disease which, on certain soils and in some
seasons, causes serious damage to turnips. Al-
though in the first instance only a few plants may
show the wart disease, it is almost sure to spread,
and the disease nuist be treated as a dangerous
enemy, which, if neglected, may entirely prevent
the profitable culture of potatoes where it occurs.
Land may be inifit for potato growing for as long
as six years after infection, and possibly for a much
longer period.

"The diseased tubers or haulms contain number-
less 'spores' (the 'seeds' of the disease), which are
not only capable of infecting healthy potatoes the
following season, but appear to be able to lie dor-
mant in the soil for several years.

"The diseased tuber is the usual source of infec-
tion and tlie spread of the disease from one hold-
ing to another is mainly to be attributed to the
planting of infected sets.

"When disease appears it may, if neglected,
spread over a farm and render the soil useless for
potato growing in the course of a few years. It is
spread by manure, by the decay of affected haulms,
tubers and runners in the soil, and it may even be
carried from one field to another on implements and
boots.

"Diseased potatoes must always be well boiled

170 THE POTATO

before being given to cattle or pigs, for Infection
is very readily spread by manure if raw diseased
tubers are fed to stock. For the same reason
diseased haulms must be burned and never be
thrown on the manure heap; this should be done
as soon as possible after the crop is hfted, as the
'warts' rot very quickly and further contaminate
the soil. Dung which has been contaminated in
any way should not be used for potato growing.
If practicable, it should be applied to land under
permanent grass.

"*Seed' potatoes from a diseased crop or from a
field in which disease is kno^\^l to have occurred
within six years should be avoided. If 'seed'
potatoes are purchased in a district in which the
disease is common, they should be bought as soon
after harvest as possible, so that they may be kept
under observation; the sets should be freely
sprinkled with sulphur (four to five pounds will
dress a ton) and should then be stored in boxes or
pits until required.

"Tubers only slightly diseased may be easily
overlooked, and may cause widespread infection
when planted. Potatoes from an infected crop
may appear to be perfectly sound when lifted, but
after storing they may develop warts. It is im-
portant, therefore, that seed should be carefully
examined before planting. As minute warts are
difficult to see, a grower would be well advised to
reject any seed potatoes among which diseased
tubers have been found.

"In the case of a disease, like wart disease, which
infects the land gradually, it is necessary to detect
and stamp out the fungus as soon after infection
as possible. When discovered the entire plant
affected should be carefully removed, the useless

THE POTATO 171

portions burned, and the tubers boiled without
delay. If possible the surrounding soil should also
be removed and burned, or at least heavily dressed
with gas-lime. Further, when the field is next
planted with potatoes the piece of ground where
the disease appeared should be fallowed and
dressed with gas-lime at the rate of four to five tons
per acre.

"If the attack has occurred in a garden required
for frequent potato growing, the occupier should
dig out and burn, not only the affected plant, but
a considerable quantity of the surrounding soil so
as to ensure that every fragment of the diseased
plant is destroyed. Gas-lime should then be ap-
plied to the soil.

"If fields worked on the four-course rotation
have become generally infected, farmers should
replace the potato by some other crop, so as
to let eight years intervene before the next
potato crop is planted. The sets should be dusted
with sulphur before planting, as recommended
above.

"In gardens and allotments in which the disease
has appeared, potatoes should on no account be
planted on the same piece of land next season, and
one of the following methods of treatment may be
adopted:

"(a) The ground toward the end of April,
should be covered with gas-lime (two pounds to the
square yard), which may be forked into the surface
soil to a depth of three inches. After lying fallow
until the end of June it should be dug and prepared
for cabbages.

" (b) If the soil be deep, two pounds of gas-
lime per square yard may be applied at the end of
March, and a month later the soil should be in-

172 THE POTATO

verted by deep trenching. Any crop except pota-
toes may be grown.

"Whichever of these methods may be adopted
it is desirable, when potatoes are next planted in
the garden, that the sets should be dusted over
with sulphur, and as they lie in the drills should be
freely sprinkled with sulphur before they are cov-
ered in. Before the potatoes are earthed up, the
surface of the soil round the haulms should be
sprinkled with sulphur.

"Gardens in which even a single diseased potato
has been found, the course recommended in the
foregoing paragraphs should be adopted; but if no
other land for growing potatoes is procurable, and
occupiers of gardens and allotments are obliged to
grow potatoes on land on which disease has been
seen, they should apply gas-lime in autumn or
early winter at the rate of three pounds to the
square yard. After the sets have been placed
in the drills they should be freely sprinkled with
sulphur. Before the plants are * earthed up' the
ground should again be sprinkled with sulphur.

"Some varieties of potatoes are not affected by
wart disease, or are very slightly affected. The
varieties known as ' Snowdrop, ' ' Conquest, ' ' Abun-
dance,' ' Langworthy , ' * What's Wanted,' and
'Golden Wonder,' have escaped infection, when
such other sorts as 'Up-to-date,' 'Northern Star,'
'British Queen,' 'Royal Kidney,' 'King Edward
VII.,' 'Epicure,' 'Ex-press,' 'Ninety-fold,' and
'May Queen,' planted in the same soil have been
severely attacked. Early potatoes often escape
attack the first two or three years, i. e., until the
soil gets badly infected.

"If an early potato be required 'Snowdrop' or
* Conquest' should be planted; if a late variety,

f \: ' ^ , "

WATIT DISK ASE OF POTATOES
Upper leil-haiul fij;uro shows allVctod stem. Ippci riirlit-
haiid fijiure shows tuhcr sli-^lilly attacked. Lower liirurc
sliow's tuhor hadly allackcil. llhislralioii iroiii circular of
British Hoard of Atxricull iir<' and Fisheries

irly Blight. Characteristic appear-
ance of badly bUghted leaf

Potato Scab. From Farmers' Bulletin
91, U. S. Department of Agriculture

THE POTATO 173

preference should be given to 'Langworthy.*
This variety is commonly cultivated in the potato-
growing districts of the east of Scotland, and relia-
ble seed is easily procurable. It does not yield so
heavily as 'Up-to-date,' but is less liable to ordi-
nary potato disease, and the cooking quahty is
much better, so that even in districts where wart
disease has not appeared it is a variety to be
recommended. It requires rather a long period of
growth, well-tilled soil, and a free use of manure.
Those who wish to grow it successfully should give
attention to the following points:

"(1) Cultivate the land deeply: shallow soils
should be subsoiled, or in the case of gardens,
trenched to a depth of fifteen inches.

*' (2) Apply dung liberally. In the case of
fields, fifteen to twenty tons per acre, and supple-
ment this dressing with a mixed artificial manure.

"(3) Sprout the tubers before planting, and
plant early.

"Sulphur suitable for the purposes indicated
above should be procurable at from 9s. ($2.25), to
lis. ($2.75), per cwt., or Is. 3d (31 cents), to Is.
6d. (37 cents), per stone (fourteen pounds). Sul-
phur has been recommended because, of many
remedies tried for dressing soil during the growing
season, it seems to be the best. It occasionally
does good, especially in light soils, but it cannot be
relied upon to protect potatoes planted in badly
affected soils. Its good effect seems to be en-
hanced by using black sulphur and mixing it with
an equal quantity of quicklime.

"Wart Disease (Synchytrium endobioticum), is
scheduled as a notifiable disease under the Destruc-
tive Insects and Pests Acts, 1877 and 1907, and
occupiers of land on which the disease occurs must

174 THE POTATO

at once report it to the Secretary, Board of Agri-
culture and Fisheries, 4 Whitehall Place, London,
S. W. In reporting an outbreak, occupiers must
state their names in full and their postal address,
and it is desirable that specimens for identification
should be sent to the Board. Neglect to report
renders the owner liable to a penalty not exceeding
ten pounds ($50)."

EARLY BLIGHT

Potato Leaf Blight (Alternaria Solani). The
following description is from ' 'Bulletin No. 71 " of
the Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station:

"This disease has probably been long in exist-
ence. Our knowledge of it, however, is exceed-
ingly recent. So long as the real nature of potato
diseases were not understood, the different kinds
of such diseases were not discriminated. They
were all classed under one name, if named at all.
Our first definite knowledge of the early blight was
worked out in this country in the early '90's, though
references to it occur somewhat earlier in the
nineteenth century in European hteracure. It
had been overlooked or confounded with the late
blight, but it is now fully understood that the
parasitic organism causing it is wholly different
from the one causing the late bhght in structure,
in method and time of development, as well as the
conditions under which it occurs.

"The fungus, like most other plant parasites,
lives within the tissues of the host, spreading its
mycelium through the intercellular spaces of the
leaf. It consists of slender threads (hyphse), more
or less branched, which tend to become aggregated

THE POTATO 175

in certain areas, the tissues of which die, producing
the characteristic brown spots. While in full
growth and while the tissues of the host are supply-
ing an abundance of food, there are few, if any,
reproductive bodies (spores) produced. When the
leaves become partially exhausted and dry, spore
reproduction takes place freely and the character-
istic several-celled spores, formed in chains, occur
abundantly.

"Since the early blight has only recently
attracted attention in this state, it is not generally
known to our growers. It may, however, be
readily recognized and easily distinguished from
the late blight and the other potato diseases.
Early blight begins to show itself about the time
that the blossoms appear, which, with us, is usually
in July. More rarely it attacks plants scarcely six
inches high. The first indications are relatively
small grayish brown spots, which, as they become
larger, are marked with faint concentric circles,
giving a target-like appearance to them. The
spots may increase in size until several of them
run together and form large patches of dead tissue.
In the course of a few days these spots become
brown and withered, while the rest of the leaf
takes on a yellowish, sickly color, though the
stems may remain green. Sometimes the disease
progresses quite slowly and the vitality of the
plant is only gradually reduced. In any case,
however, the tubers either stop growing entirely
or remain so small as to make them of little
value. The death of the vines in this way is
often mistaken for early ripening and it then
occasions a surprise to find that no tubers of value
are present.

"Any injury to the foliage, such as insect bites

176 THE POTATO

or bruises from hail, seems to furnish the condi-
tion for the entrance of the fungus into the leaf.
Likewise any decline in the vigor of the plant
seems to invite attack. Drought, poor soil, de-
layed development due to cold weather, exces-
sive heat tending toward wilting or sun-scald, all
make the plants less able to withstand the at-
tacks of this blight. In other words, the more
nearly perfect the plant and the more vigorous its
growth the less likely it is to suffer from this para-
site.

"But little is known concerning the source of the
disease. The tubers seem to be wholly free from
attack, and there is therefore no reason for sus-
pecting that the seed potatoes carry the disease
over from one year to the next. Certain it is
that somewhere the several-celled black spores
winter over and start the disease again the fol-
lowing season. That this might happen where
the dead tops are not destroyed, but are scattered
about over the field and farm, is easily under-
stood.

"Satisfactory treatment for this disease has not
yet been found. Many experiments, however,
have shown that the effects of the disease may be
greatly reduced by two or three thorough sprayings
with Bordeaux mixture. The spraying must be
thoroughly done and the first application must be
made previous to the appearance of the blight.
After the leaves have become filled with the my-
celium and the spots are beginning to show, it
is too late. Prevention must be the aim, and
this is accomplished by putting the leaves in
such a condition by the apphcation of the Bor-
deaux that the spores cannot germinate upon the
leaf surface."

THE rOTATO 177

THE LATE BLIGHT

The Late Blight (Phytophthora infestans) is a
\'ery serious disease. The following is from "Bul-
letin 71" of the Wyoming Experiment Station:

"Though this disease had not been fully worked
out until in comparatively recent times, yet there
are references in literature to potato epidemics
which devastated the fields of Europe at intervals
during the nineteenth century, which were undoubt-
edly due to it. The first recognizable description
occurs first in 18-45. Its life history, however, has
now been known for some time, though as late as
the '80's and '90's this trouble was still confused
with the early blight. For a considerable time it
was not known that the rot which usually follows
an attack is also due to the same parasite. While
probably of rare occurrence in the Rocky Moun-
tain states, late blight is feared more than any
other disease in the potato districts of the Eastern
States. It is estimated that the loss in New York
alone sometimes amounts to $10,000,000 a year.

"Though this fungus resembles the early blight
in many respects, yet it is easily distinguished
from it by its mode of growth, the effect it pro-
duces on the leaf tissues, and especially by the
spores and the way in which they are produced.
It finds entrance into the potato leaf through the
stomata, and the mycelium once having found
entrance spreads by numerous branching liyi)hae
through the leaf among its cells, from which the
fungus draws its nourishment. After the leaf
has become filled, as it were, with the mycelium,
the fruiting period of the fungus is reached. Sonu-
of the hyphse then grow out through the stomal a,

178 THE POTATO

branch, and produce small pear-shaped bodies on
the tips of the branches. These latter structures,
known as sporangia, serve to spread the disease
to other parts of the field. They are very readily
detached from the filament upon which they are
grown and then fall upon the soil, or are carried
far by the wind. If they happen to fall upon a
potato leaf they will begin to grow just as soon as
a little moisture either from rain or dew is present.
This growth consists either in the formation and
discharge upon the surface of the leaf of several
free swimming spores, capable of infecting the
plant, or in the direct formation of a filament
which enters the leaf through a stoma and develops
again a mycelium. From this mycehum other
similar reproductive bodies are formed, in turn, to
further infect the field.

*' During the time that the fungus is spreading its
mycelium through the tissues of the leaf there is
little to indicate its presence. When the fruiting
stage is reached it soon becomes evident enough by
the formation of brown spots, which grow grad-
ually larger and larger, finally turning black and a
little later decomposing and emitting a disagreeable
but characteristic odor. If one of these infested
areas be examined closely it will be found to be
bordered by a grayish white mildew. This latter,
under examination with a lens, is seen to be the
branched fruiting hyphse bearing the sporangia
described in the preceding paragraph.

*' For the development of the mycelium — that is,
for the growth of the fungus within the potato
plant — moderately cool weather seems the most
favorable. For this reason this disease rarely
proves troublesome where high temperatures pre-
vail for considerable periods of time. Spore pro-

Laic IJligliL DisoMscd leal' and tuber of j)()tat(>. From Iho Journal
of the British Board of Agric-ullurc and Fislicrics

Late Blight. The last stages of the disease. When this
is reached the field looks as if fire had swept over it. (From
the New York Experiment Station, Geneva, Bulletin '•241).

THE POTATO 17;)

duction, however, seems to be Iiastened and
enormously increased when a few days of warm,
cloudy and muggy weather alternate witli llie
longer, cooler periods. Under such conditions a
field showing but slight infection may in a few
days look as if it had been swept by fire or frost.
It rarely attacks early potatoes, mostly appearing
upon the late varieties durmg the tuber-forming
period.

"Various experiment station workers have tried
different remedies for holding this disease in check.
At some stations these experiments have been
carried on for many years. While several have
given results Avliich were of value, no treatment
has been as uniformly successful as the application
of Bordeaux mixture. The universal experience
is that spraying with this fluid will so nearly con-
trol the late blight as to make it possible to secure
a crop even in those years when this disease is
most prevalent. It requires, however, that the
spraying should be begun in time and continued
at intervals throughout the growing season. As
already stated, it must be a precautionary measure.
If not begun until after the blight is evident in the
field only partial control can be expected. If the
spray is applied thoroughly from the begiiniing,
not only will the blight be controlled, but the rot
of the crop which usually follows a severe attack is
altogether prevented.

" It has been almost conclusively proved that the
rot of the tuber which follows an attack of late
blight is reallv due to the infection of the tul)er bv
the spores which have fallen upon the soil and
which, in the course of the season, are earried by
rains or irrigation waters into contact willi the
tuber itself. Here it may begin growth at once or

180 THE POTATO

it may develop after the potato has been dug and
stored. Sometimes a large portion of the crop
is thus lost even after it has been harvested.
Thorough spraying of the vines will, at the same
time, impregnate the surface of the soil with the
copper-sulphate solution. Thus not only is the
formation of any considerable number of spores
prevented, but the spores that do happen to reach
the soil are destroyed.

"It is believed that the spores of the fungus do
not live through the winter. If that be true the
mycelium of the fungus must either live over in
the dead tops that are left strewn about the field,
or else the tubers carry the disease over from one
season to the next. The latter is thought the more
probable, as it has been seen that the blighting of
the tops (if not checked by spraying) is very likely
to be followed by rot of the tubers, either before or
after digging. Of course, no one would think of
planting badly rotted potatoes, but those that are
but slightly affected may escape notice. These, if
planted, will be sufficient to start the infection the
next year, and once started it soon goes over the
field."

This disease is very serious in Europe. In "Leaf-
let 23" of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries of
Great Britain is the following:

'*This disease, well termed by agriculturists the
' potato disease, ' has in the past been the cause of
immense loss, and is even at the present day the
chief trouble with which potato growers have to
contend.

"The first sign of this disease is the presence of
yellowish spots on the leaves. These spots grad-

THE POTATO 181

ually increase in size and become brown, this con-
dition being followed by the curling of the leaves.
If the under surface of a diseased leaf is examined
with a magnifying glass, the fruiting branches of
the fungus will be seen forming a delicate white
mold.

"The spores of the fungus are exceedingly'
numerous and minute, and are scattered by wind,
or by ground game and other animals running
amongst the plants. When it is stated that every
spore brought into contact with a damp potato
leaf is capable of starting a new centre of infection,
the rapid spread of the disease under favorable
conditions will be readily understood. The disease
develops and spreads with the greatest rapidity
during damp, warm weather, such as often occurs
in July.

"Spores that fall to the ground are washed
through the soil by rain and may infect young
potatoes, especially those growing near the sur-
face. It is probable, too, that the mycelium of
the fungus passes down diseased stems into the
young potatoes. If the season be wet and warm
the mycelium present in the potato continues to
grow, soon causing brown spots to appear, and
ending in the rotting of the tuber. On the other
hand, if potatoes that are infected be kept dry,
the mycelium in their substance may remain
stationary until the following spring, when it may
commence growth and infect the new crop, after-
ward appearing in the fruiting condition on the
leaves.

"Preventive and remedial measures suggested
are:

" 1. Potato disease is propagated and cnriied on
from season to season in the sets. It is therefore

182 THE POTATO

of tlie utmost Importance tliat sound crops only
should be kept for seed, and that sets should be
stored under the most favorable conditions. In
an ordinary way seed potatoes should be carefully
selected, all those being rejected that show the
least sign of taint; they should be allowed to
get thoroughly dry before clamping and should be
stored separately.

*'2. Diseased haulm should be removed and
burned before the potatoes are hfted. If the
disease appears late in the season when the tubers
have attained a fair size much benefit may be
derived by pulling the haulm at once.

"3. Potatoes are found to become less resistant
to disease the longer they have been in cultivation,
and therefore a good, new strain is to be preferred
to an old stock; but most of the new varieties
offered for sale are more susceptible to disease
than old stocks of the best kinds, and grovv^ers are
warned against relying on the disease-resisting
power of a potato merely because it is a recent
introduction.

"A change of seed is desirable if sets from a
sound crop can be obtained, because of the increase
in the total crop of sound tubers which is likely to
follow, but it must not be supposed that changing
seed will enable the plant to withstand disease.
On the contrary, it is often found that the luxuriant
growth of haulm which may result from changing
seed renders the crop more susceptible, and that
the percentage, though not the actual weight, of
sound tubers is reduced.

"4. The rows of potatoes should be well
* earthed' or 'banked' up, as the thicker the layer
of soil the less chance is there of the spores of the
fungus reaching the young tubers.

THE rOTATO 183

"5. Neither the planting of vigorous varieties
nor cultivation can be trusted to ward off the
disease in a wet season, but spraying with Bor-
deaux mixture has been found effective and is now
a part of the regular routine of cultivation in humid
districts. Even in dry seasons when no disease is
apparent the treatment is found to be beneficial,
producing a longer period of growth and an in-
creased yield. This is so generally recognized that
spraying has become general in several potato-
growing districts, whatever the season promises
to be. As the disease does not as a rule make
much headway before the end of Julj', spraying is
seldom wanted for the first early sorts, the leaves
of which will be dying down before any great harm
is done.

"Bordeaux mixture may be prepared as follows :

Sulphate of copper or bluestone 12 lbs.

Freshly burnt quicklime 8 lbs.

Water 75 to 100 gals.

"In order to obtain good results from Bordeaux
mixture, careful attention must be given (1) to the
materials employed, and (2) to the preparation.

"1. Materials: Copper sulphate of 98 per
cent, purity should be obtained, 'Agricultural'
copper sulphate, which usually contains iron sul-
phate, must be avoided. Iron sulphate or cop-
peras is valueless for this purpose.

"An easy test for the presence of iron in the
copper sulphate is to dissolve a little in water and
add ammonia with constant stirring until a deep,
blue liquid forms; any quantity of brown fioeks
floating about in this blue liquid indicates the
presence of so much iron that the material should
be subjected to a proper analysis previous to use.

184 THE POTATO

"The lime used should be white *fat' lime from
the mountain limestone or chalk, the kind of lime
which is used by plasterers. 'It must be freshly
burnt/ If of good quality eight pounds will be
required to neutralize twelve pounds of copper
sulphate, but the weight of lime required depends
upon the quality, and while as little as six to seven
pounds might be suJSicient in one case, as much as
ten to twelve pounds might be required in another.

"2. Preparation: The copper sulphate and
lime must always be diluted with a large quantity
of water before being brought into contact, other-
wise a very inferior mixture will result. When
making a small quantity the best plan is to dissolve
the copper sulphate in about one half of the water,
mix the lime with the other half and then bring the
two together; but when a large quantity of spray
has to be prepared it is usually much more con-
venient to make a somewhat concentrated mixture
and to dilute immediately before application to the
crop. Under no circumstances, however, should
the first mixture be made too strong, and when
twelve pounds of copper sulphate and eight pounds
of lime are to be employed, the first mixture should
fill a forty-gallon cask. To make the mixture, pro-
ceed as follows: Run into cask about thirty gallons
of water. Crush twelve pounds of copper sul-
phate, tie up in a piece of sacking and suspend
just below the surface of the water; or, if preferred,
dissolve the bluestone in boiling water and pour
into the cask. Next moisten and slake eight
pounds of lime; the lime must be allowed to swell
and crumble slowly; when it has been well slaked,
work it down first into a thick cream and gradually
dilute to four or five gallons. The milk of lime
must next be strained through a fine sieve or piece

THE POTATO 185

of sacking to remove grit; it should then be further
dikited with water to about ten gallons and poured
slowly into the cask containing the solution of
copper sulphate. As the two fluids mix they nmst
be thoroughly stirred. If the lime has been slaked
slowly and the whole process has been carried out
as indicated, a gelatinous precipitate forms in the
cask — that is, the water becomes filled with
starch-like flecks; these remain in suspension for a
long time. On the other hand, if too little water
has been employed, or if the lime has not been
properly prepared, or if stirring has been neglected,
a comparatively coarse powder forms in the mix-
ture and soon settles, so that after standing for an
hour or two the fluid in the upper part of the cask
is quite clear. The starch-like precipitate, when
once it dries on foliage, adheres closely for months,
whereas the coarser powder, which results from
careless preparation, washes off readily, so that the
leaves lose much of their protection after the first
heavy rain, and spraying does little or nothing to
check disease.

"When Bordeaux mixture has been made it
should be diluted if necessary and used without
delay. One or two days' supply only should be
made at a time, for although well-made Bordeaux
mixture will keep fairly well for several days, it is
best used within forty-eight hours.

"For spraying potatoes under favorable con-
ditions the mixtiu'e, if made in a concentrated
form, should be diluted to 100 gallons, but when
spraying must be done in damp weather it should
be diluted to from seventy-five to ninety gallons.
Before pouring into the sprayer it should be stirred
thoroughly. If possible, a sprayer provided with
a dasher or other contrivance for keeping the mix-

186 THE POTATO

ture agitated should be used. If no mechanical
contrivance is available, stirring should take place
frequently while the work is in progress.

"The amount to be applied per acre varies with
the quantity of haulm in the crop to be treated, but
is usually from 100 to 150 gallons where the foH-
age is fully developed. The plants must be
sprayed from underneath as well as from above,
so as to reach the fungus on the under side of the
leaves. Machines can be obtained which spray
the plants from below.

"The cost of a single spraying need not exceed
$2 per acre, and, with certain horse machines,
thirty acres can easily be treated in a day. Bor-
deaux mixture does not begin to work until several
days after it has been applied, and it must, there-
fore, be used some time before any symptoms of
disease are to be expected, say, toward the end of
June, or earlj^ in July, according to the locality and
season. The crop should be sprayed twice at
least. The first spraying should take place as
soon as there is a good development of haulm, the
treatment being repeated about three weeks later
when the growth is complete. If only one spray
ing is given it should take place about the middle
of July."

POTATO SCAB

Oospora scabies is one of the most common
potato diseases.

In "Bulletin 71" of the Wyoming Experiment
Station it is described as follows:

" This fungous disease is too well known to need
any description. All who use as well as all who
grow potatoes know the familiar, irregular, sore-

THE POTATO 1R7

like blotches which sometimes are so numerous as
nearly to cover the whole potato. Only the sur-
face may be affected or the fungus may have pene-
trated and broken down the tissues almost to the
centre. AVhile probably not wholly preventable,
yet it is the potato disease that is most readily held
in check. With clean or properly disinfected seed,
if one puts it into clean ground (free from the
fungus) the crop should and will be essentially
clean. It is well known that once the fungus gets
into the soil it will live over winter and infect the
next crop more completely than the former. Just
how many years may be necessary to completely
rid the soil of the fungus is not definitely known, but
it is certain that another crop of potatoes should
not follow scabby potatoes for two or three years
and probably better not for four or five. Other
crops on this land are not attacked, which points
anew the safetv and dcsirabilitv of a scheme of
crop rotation extending over several years.

"Having decided upon the variety to be planted
— and this choice must rest upon many characteris-
tics, such as quality, shape, period of ripening,
resistance to disease, marketableness, etc., — then
select those that are the freest from scab of anv
that you can find. It is well to remember that the
absence of the characteristic surface markings is
not conclusive evidence that the potatoes are free
from the fungus. They may have been in contact
in the bin with scabby specimens, as a result of
which they are infected abundantly with the scab
spores. Unless you are sure of the condition of
the seed it will pay as a precautionary measure
to treat (disinfect) the seed.

"The old method is quite largely in use in I lie
state and nmst still be regarded with nnieh favor.

188 THE POTATO

The new method, however, has some very practical
advantages. Both are given below, so that if the
ingredients for one are not at hand, the other may
be used.

" Corrosive Sublimate Treatment. — Dissolve two
ounces of corrosive sublimate (bichloride of mer-
cury) in two gallons of hot water. When the
corrosive sublimate is dissolved, add cold water
until you have fourteen gallons in all. Having
put the potatoes in a gunny sack, place the sack in
the solution and leave it there for one and one half
hours. Then empty the potatoes out upon the
floor to dry before cutting and planting. If they
can be left thus exposed to the light and air for a
few days they will grow all the better.

^"Caution. — If taken internally corrosive sub-
limate is a violent poison, hence all animals must
be kept away from the solution and the treated
seed. On account of its action on metals the
solution must be prepared in wooden vessels, a
barrel, for instance. See that the potatoes are
clean. Put them into a coarse gunny sack and
place it in the solution. The vessels and all ob-
jects in contact with this poisonous solution must
be destroyed or thoroughly cleaned.

''Formalin Treatment. — Formalin (or formal-
dehyde) may now be secured at moderate cost at
any drug store, or can be secured from the larger
drug firms (by express) at 50 cents (or less) per
pound. Since this treatment is at least as effec-
tive as the other, most people will prefer to use it
for the following reasons: (1) It is easily prepared;
(2) any kind of vessel may be used; (3) it is not
poisonous to handle.

'* Method, — Soak the seed potatoes for two hours
in a solution of fifteen gallons of water and one

THE POTATO 189

half pint (half pound) of formalin. Smalh r or
larger quantities in the same proportion. Dry tlie
soaked seed, cut and plant as usual.

"It is well to remember that disinfected seed
will be reinfected if it is put back into the dirty
sacks or boxes from which it was taken. If
to be used again, disinfect the sacks and boxes
also."

It will be interesting to note how this subject is
handled by the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries
of Great Britain. Their "Leaflet 137" says:

"At the present day Oospora scabies is one of
the most widespread of diseases affecting the po-
tato. The fungus usually attacks the tubers while
young, forming scattered rough patches or scabs
on the surface; these patches gradually increase
in size and number, and not infrequently, when the
tuber is full-grown, its surface is more or less com-
pletely covered with scab.

"The injury is confined to the surface of the
tuber, the skin being broken up into fragments
over the diseased patches. Although the market
value is much depreciated when scab is present in
quantity, the quality of the potato is not in the
least impaired for eating.

^^ Prevention and Remedies. — (1) If scabbed po-
tatoes are used for 'seed' without having been ster-
ilized, the resulting crop will almost cc^rtaiuly be
diseased, and in addition the fungus will pass into
the soil, where it is capal^le of living for several
years. Scabbed potatoes may be used for 'seed'
without the slightest danger of spreading the
disease if they are immersed for two hours in a
solution consisting of one pint of conunercial for-

190 THE POTATO

malin (formaldehyde 40 per cent.) mixed with
thirty-six gallons of water. The potatoes should
then be spread out to dry, when they may be cut
and planted in the usual manner. Great care
must be taken after potatoes have been treated as
above that they are not placed in sacks or hampers
that have contained scabbed potatoes.

" (2) Land that has produced scabbed potatoes
is certain to be infected with fimgus, and should
not be planted with potatoes for several years after-
ward; beets, Swedes, carrots, and cabbages are
also attacked by the fungus. Cereals may be
sown with safety on infected land.

" (3) In the case of gardens and small allotments ,
where potatoes are of necessity grown every year,
the trenches in which the potatoes are planted
should be sprinkled with powdered sulphur.

*' (4) Lime favors the development of the fungus
in the soil; the same is true of stable manure, night-
soil, etc. Acid manures only should be apphed to
land that is infected.

"(5) Peelings from infested potatoes, vmless
they have been boiled, should not be given to pigs.
Burning is the safest, and in the end the most
economical method of dealing with them."

TIP BURN, LEAF BURN OR SCALD

''This disease of the leaves occurs in many parts
of the country and is often confused with early
blight," says B. T. Galloway in "Farmers' Bulletin
No. 91." "The tips and edges of the leaves turn
brown and these discolored areas soon become hard
and brittle.

"The burning or scalding may occur at any
time and as a rule is the result of unfavorable con-

THE POTATO 11)1

ditions surrounding the plant. Long-continued,
cloudy and damp weather followed by several hot
and bright days is very apt to result in the burn-
ing of the fohage. This is especially the case on
soils carrying a comparatively small percentage of
moisture. When the weather is cloudy and damp
the tissues of the potato become gorged with water
and this has a tendency to weaken them. If the
sun appears bright and hot when the leaves are in
this condition there is a rapid evaporation of the
moisture stored up in their cells. The evaporation
may be faster than the supply furnished by the
roots, and if this continues for any length of time
the weaker and more tender parts first collapse,
then die, and finally turn brown and dry up. Tij)
burn may also occur as a result of protracted dry
weather.

"Little of a specific nature can be said on the
treatment of this trouble. Numerous factors are
mvolved in the matter, so that only general state-
ments are possible. Every effort should be made
to keep the plants in good growing condition, for
if they become checked through lack of proper food
or cultivation, or both, thej' are more apt to burn.
It is a fact that where the Bordeaux mixture is
used for other diseases burn is less apt to occur,
and this furnishes another instance of the remark-
able properties of the fungicide. Brielly, therefore,
the plants should be kept as vigorous as possible
by good cultivation, plenty of available food,
and the application of Bordeaux mixture as recom-
mended for early blight.

"In many sections where Paris green in water is
applied to potatoes, injuries are produetMl which
cannot be distinguished from early bliglil b\- an
ordinary examination. U frequently happens.

192 THE POTATO

therefore, that farmers are led to believe that their
potatoes are affected with early blight and other
diseases when the trouble has been brought on by
themselves through the improper use of Paris green.
Injuries resulting from the use of this substance
are very apt to occur where flea beetles have eaten
the foliage. The arsenic attacks the tissues at such
points, and as a result more or less circular brown
spots are produced, having for their centres the
holes eaten out by the flea beetles. By combining
the Paris green with Bordeaux mixture, as already
described, these injuries may be wholly avoided.
"The cost of the work of spraying, as described
here will depend to a considerable extent upon
the kind of machinery used and the price paid for
labor. With suitable apparatus, and labor at
$1.50 per day, potatoes maybe sprayed six times
for about $6 per acre. This estimate is based
upon experiments extending over several years,
and includes the cost of chemicals as well as labor.
The cost of treating scab is mainly in the labor
involved in dipping and drying the seed, and sel-
dom exceeds 15 cents per acre. Much atten-
tion has been given to the effects of Bordeaux
mixture on the growth and yield of potatoes aside
from its value in keeping parasitic foes in check.
It has been shown conclusively that it pays to
apply this preparation if for no other purpose than
to induce a more vigorous growth. Three or four
applications of the mixture have in many cases
increased the yield of potatoes 50 per cent., so that
no matter where the crop is grown, or whether
diseases are present or not, the writer feels war-
ranted in recommending the application of the
mixture, on the ground that its use will yield a
handsome return."

THE POTATO v.)S

DRY ROT

Dry rot, due to Fusariumoxysponim, lias been
known in the potato world for a good many years,
but the real cause was not understood until re-
cently. A great deal of research work has been
done in Germany.

This dry rot is a fungous disease that attacks the
potato plant through the root system, which not
only destroys the root hairs and secondary roots,
but penetrates the main roots, the tubers, and
later, when the plant is practically destroj-ed, the
stem is wilted. It also causes dry rot in potatoes
in storage.

The disease is well distributed over the potato
districts of practically all potato producing coun-
tries.

A vast amount of experimenting has been done
with the idea of finding the best way of com-
bating the pest. In "Bulletin 229" of the Ohio
Agricultural Experiment Station Thos. F. Manns
summarizes the results of their work. The things
he says about Ohio apply to any similar conditions:

"1. The dry-rot fungus (Fusarium oxysporum,
Schlecht) of potato proves to be a field trouble
common in Ohio, which causes a blight and wilt of
the crop.

"2. It produces a sick soil condition in puLato
districts.

*'3. The field symptoms are characterized by a
cessation of growth, a yellowing of the foliage, with
an upward and inward rolling of the uj)1)ct leaves,
accompanied by wilt during the heat of the day.

"4. The sick soil conditions may reduce the
yield to 50 per cent, or more of an average crop.

194 THE POTATO

"5. The casual fungus is carried within the
tubers.

"6. The internal infection is characterized by
brown or blackened areas usually in the vascular
ring; occasionally it specks the flesh in other areas.

*'7. Internally infected tubers are the chief
means of distributing the disease.

"8. The presence of the disease in the tubers
may be made loiown by cutting knife sections from
the stem end.

"9. The infection may be removed from
slightly infected seed by clipping away the stem
end and following by external treatment with
formaldehyde.

" 10. No attempt should be made to use deeply
infected seed, as the infection cannot be cut away.

"11. Slightly infected seed will not materially
reduce the vield the first season. It is a means,
however, of infecting the soil, which may later
result in sick fields.

" 12. Spraying will not control the disease.

"13. Proper storage prevents the progress of
the disease as a dry rot.

"14. Careful inspection of the seed should be
made before placing it in storage. Cellar storage
under dwellings should be avoided when seed is
infected. Proper pit storage will give better re-
sults.

"15. A seed plot on non-infected soil planted
with carefully selected healthy seed will offer a
means of getting a sound seed supply.

"16. Sick fields should not be planted in po-
tatoes again for at least five or six years, and
even longer time may be required to work the
parasitic fungus from the soil. Grass and grain
crops will undoubtedly eliminate the fungus from

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Various stages in destruction of potato tubers bj^ Fusarium.
From Bulletin 55, Bureau of Plant Industry, United States
Department of Agriculture

THE POTATO 105

the soil quicker than will manuring and cultivated
crops.

"17. Longer than a three-year potato rotation
should be practised.

"18. Storage litter and sick seed should not be
allowed to reach the manure pile, as this will be a
sure method of distributing the disease and infect-
ing the fields.

"19. The disease demands further study. The
Department of Botany invites cooperation with
potato growlers. Examination of seed potatoes
and plants will be made and the results reported.

"This Department, in cooperation with the Bu-
reau of Plant Industry of the U. S. Department of
Agriculture, has the franking privilege on diseased
plant material; the franks will be sent to those hav-
ing diseased material to be forwarded."

Prof. B. O. Longyear of the Department of Bot-
any and Forestry of the Colorado Agricultural Col-
lege says:

"One of the most widespread and common
diseases of the potato caused by fungi is that com-
monly known as the Fusarium disease, or Fusarium
blight. This trouble first manifests itself in the
field by the wilting and yellowing of the lower
leaves of plants that have reached the height of
ten to twelve inches. In bad cases the entire
foliage appears to suffer as though the plant were
not getting sufficient moisture. Later on, the tips
of the leaves turn brown and dry up, leading to
the trouble commonly known as tip burn. The
edges of the leaves commonly roll inward during
the heat of the day, although they may partially
revive during the night.

196 THE POTATO

*' Badly affected plants will be found to have the
root hairs and rootlets rotted away and often the
larger roots appear sickly. Cross sections of the
main root often appear brownish in the region of
the vascular bundles or woody part. Under the
microscope thin sections of such roots and of the
lower part of the stem will show the delicate fila-
ments of the fungus which pass upward through the
water-conducting tubes of the plant and eventually
clog them to such an extent that the flow of sap is
greatly obstructed. This is what causes the wilting
and eventual drying of the foliage of the plant.

*'The fungus also passes into the tuber-bearing
stems under ground and frequentty enters the stem
end of the tuber for some distance. In bad cases
the stem end of the tuber may be rotted away and
the presence of the fungus deeper in is indicated
by the browning of the vascular ring shown in a
cross section of the tuber. The fungus may also
enter the tuber from the soil through any bruise,
crack, or other break in the skin. Attacks of
insect larvse upon the tubers are often followed by
this disease through the wounds which the ' worms '
produce.

"Under conditions of plenty of moisture and
high temperature, this disease makes its most rapid
progress and may reach its culmination at about
the time when the tubers are ordinarily half to two
thirds grown. When a plant once shows the infec-
tion to any marked degree, all further growth
ceases. The plants seem to stand still and event-
ually wilt down entirely or else struggle along in a
dwarfed and sickly condition for some time.

*' A common source of infection in newly planted
fields is through the use of tubers for seed that
already contain the fungus. Another common

THE POTATO 197

source of the trouble is from planting the potato
in fields that have previously shown the disease
within two or three years. Such soils are said to
be 'sick.'

"A second period of destruction due to this
disease comes during storage. Tubers infected in
the field when stored under conditions of moderate
temperature are apt to show a high percentage
of dry rot. In such cases the fungus causes a
blackening of the tuber, with a final outbreak of a
whitish mold, and may serve to infect the wounds
in other tubers.

"In the control of this widespread and destruc-
tive disease much emphasis should be placed upon
the use of tubers free from the disease. ('Bulletin
229,' Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station.) Ex-
periments have been tried with diseased tubers
which indicate that if the diseased portion is largely
cut away and the tubers treated with formalde-
hyde solution in water such seed will give
nearly as good results as tubers from healthy
plants. Potatoes should not be grown on the same
soil immediately following a crop of the same kind
which showed the disease. Experiments along this
line indicate that even a three-year rotation is too
short to make it safe.

"Storage of the tubers is also an important mat-
ter. It has been found that storing in outdoor
pits is preferable to cellar storage, as a rule, and the
lower temperature at which the tubers are kept
under this method usually prevents, to some ex-
tent, the spread of the dry rot. Being a soil fun-
gus and capable of living for several seasons in the
soil of an infested field, no spray which can be ap-
plied to the part of the plants above ground is
effective in controlling the disease. "

198 THE POTATO

RHIZOCTONIA

This disease of the potato is sometimes known to
growers as "Little Potatoes," "Stem Rot," and
"Rosette."

Considerable research work in regard to rhizoc-
tonia was done by Prof. F. M. Rolfs when he was
at the Colorado Agricultural College. Prof. A.
Nelson also presents some interesting facts in "Bul-
letin 71 " of the Wyoming Experiment Station.
In the information which follows these two sources
have been consulted freely.

This rhizoctonia fungus attacks the underground
portions of the plant. It is a true parasite, hving
either in the internal tissues or upon the external
parts. It attacks the stem at or just below the
surface of the ground, destroying the bark in whole
or in part. If the attack be a severe one it may
result in the death of the plant, but if less severe
it may induce a wet rot and thus result in the death
of the plant, but if still less severe it may simply
girdle the stem, the plant continumg to live and
often producing as a result of the girdling an en-
larged and apparently vigorous top. Owing to the
fact that the girdling will prevent the return of the
elaborated sap on the underground portions, there
can be no tubers formed, or if formed they will be
few and small. In many instances when the plant
is thus prevented from forming the underground
tubers it will throw out from the stem at points
above the injury many short tuber-forming
stems. These tubers are small and green, and of
no value.

The tubers are also attacked by the fungus, and
on the surface of these small, hard knots of myce-
lium, known as sclerotia, are produced. These

Rhizoctonia. Showing devclopuuMil of "Iittl(^ potatoes"
on tlic l)r;iii(li liccausc of llic effort of the j)lant to form
tubers al)ove the i)oiiil of injury. From HnlK-t in 70. ( "olo-
rado Experiment Slalio;i

■it

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*'%i:"-'v*'*;

l^^i-

■'"■^'-I'-^WJI

Rhizoctonia. The illustration, from Bulletin 70 of the Colorado
Agricultural Ex])erinuMit Station, shows stems of a you.ng potato
])lant that has been affected from the seed.

THE POTATO 199

appear as dark brown bodies, irregular in outline
and varying from a mere speek to tlie size of a grain
of wheat. These spots resemble dirt, but do not
wash off readily.

Prof. F. jNI. Rolfs found three distinct stages in
the development of the disease in Colorado, as
follows:

1. Rhizoctonia stage — the first or growing
(vegetative) stage. Tw o kinds of liyphse occur —
the light colored ones in the inner tissue of the host,
which, if abundant, produce wet rot; dark colored
ones in the outer tissues forming a close web of
felted covering, which constitutes merely a girdle or
band. If the last only is present, the plant is not
killed, but may seem unusually healthy.

2. The Corticium stage. It had been sup-
posed that the fungus produced no spores, but was
perpetuated solely by the sclerotia, which are the
closely compacted masses of the mycelium forming
the dark scale-like or grain-like bodies on the tu-
bers and stems of the host plants. At one stage in
its development, however, spores are formed on
short lateral branches arising from the hyphse of
the rhizoctonia stage. These are so readily dis-
lodged that their presence is easily overlooked
when a microscopic examination is made. It is
probable that the spores serve merely for the rapid
dissemination of the disease during its vegetative
period.

3. The Sclerotium stage. This is the period
when provision is made for the perpetuation of the
fungus. The sclerotia on the tubers of an infected
crop, on the stems of the potato and weeds, carry
the disease over from year to year.

To stamp out the disease the sclerotia must be
killed, and this is done by the use of clean seed.

200 THE POTATO

rotation of crops, and treatment of infected seed
the same as for scab.

Following is a description of some of the insect
enemies :

THE COLORADO POTATO BEETLE

The following is by S. Arthur Johnson, in *' Bul-
letin 175" of the Colorado Agricultural Experi-
ment Station:

"This insect (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) is a
native of a strip of country which lies just east of
the Rocky Mountain range and includes eastern
Colorado. In its native state the beetle lives upon
the wild weeds of the potato family. The chief of
these is the buffalo bur, but the beetle is quite a
general feeder on plants of this group, including not
only potatoes, but tomatoes, eggplant, tobacco, and
pepper.

"The adult beetle is oval in shape, about three
eighths of an inch in length and a trifle narrower
than long. The ground color is yellow and the
wings are marked by ten black lines running
lengthwise. There are also black markings on the
thorax. The eggs are bright yellow when fresh
and are generally laid on the under surface of the
leaves in patches containing from ten to fifty each.
The young are dark red or brown grubs with black
heads. The color becomes lighter as the grubs
mature.

"The adult beetles live over winter usually in
the ground at a depth of from four to six inches.
Where the ground is loose they frequently go much
deeper. When the ground becomes warmed by the
spring sun the beetles emerge and seek food plants

THE POTATO 201

on which they may feed and lay eggs. They are
more or less abundant every year and do consid-
erable damage to early potatoes. The late crops
in Colorado generally escape because most of the
adult beetles die off before the potatoes appear
above ground.

"The eggs hatch in from four to eight days,
depending on the temperature. The larvse feed
at first on the surface of the leaf where they
hatch, but soon migrate to the top of the plant
and eat the tender young leaves which are just
unfolding. The young reach full growth about
three weeks later. Soon eggs are laid again and
the second generation hatches. Ordinarily, two
broods are all that we may expect.

"The best and most practical remedy is spray-
ing with some arsenical poison. In commercial
fields the best machine is a power sprayer drawn
by horses. In garden patches a hand sprayer does
very good work. Arsenate of lead, altogether the
best poison, is a white paste which must be care-
fully mixed in a little water before it is poured into
the spray machine. It should be strained through
a fine screen in order to remove all lumps which
might clog the nozzles. Apply the poison at the
rate of six or eight pounds to a hundred gallons
of water. The proper time to spray is when the
grubs begin to appear at the tops of the stems.
Arsenate of lead does not kill as quickly as Paris
green, but it sticks to the leaves much longer and
the benefits can be seen for weeks, even after rains.
Paris green is the old standby, is cheaper for a
single application, and is still the most used. This
poison is mixed with water at the rate of a pound
to seventy -five or one hundred gallons. There
is danger that this substance will burn the foliage

202 THE POTATO

of the potato, and to avoid this it is well to add
the milk from two pounds of slaked lime to each
hundred gallons of water used. While spraying
either of these poisons the contents of the spraying
machme should be kept well agitated. Sometimes
the pest is confined to small areas. In such cases
the insects are often controlled by the use of dust
sprayers, which either blow the Paris green out in
fine clouds, or dust out the same poison when it has
been mixed with flour or carefully screened air-
slaked hme. "

THE POTATO FLEA BEETLE

The facts about this insect (Epitrix cucumeris)
which follow were written by S. Arthur Johnson
for Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station,
"Bulletin No. 175":

"When tomatoes are first set out or potatoes
first come up there may often be found on them
tiny black beetles which jump when alarmed.
Thev are called the flea beetles because of this
habit, though they are not closely related to the
flea.

"The adult insects live over winter and appear
during the latter part of May and first of June.
They get their living by eating tiny holes in the
surface of the leaves of plants of the potato family,
and often attack cucumbers and beans. The in-
sects often congregate in such numbers that the
leaves of the plants appear almost black with them.
Newly set tomato plants and young potatoes fre-
quently have their leaves so badly eaten that they
shrivel and the tomatoes may die. Ordinarily, the
stand of the potato crop is not seriously injured in

THE POTATO 203

this way. Their greatest damage to potatoes in
Colorado is doue by the larvae, which live under
ground. These larvae are tiny white giiibs which
attain a length of about a quarter of an inch. The
first brood is to be found during June or early July.
They frequently cut into and destroy the young
tuber stems of the potatoes, thus preventing a reg-
ular setting of the crop. The second brood of
larv^se appear during August and September. This
brood bores into the flesh and under the skin of the
potatoes, causing a pimply or scabby development,
which may cau!?e great waste in preparing the tu-
bers for the table and seriously depreciate their
market value.

*'No satisfactory remedy for this pest is known.
The leaf injuries to young potatoes and tomatoes
may be largely avoided by spraying the leaves
thoroughly with Bordeaux mixture to wdiich Paris
green is often added. The insects appear to avoid
the parts of the plant covered with these disagree-
able substances and to seek fresh tissues upon
which to feed. It is not certain where the insects
hibernate, but they are found often in the fall in
large numbers feeding on stray potato plants or
pieces of tubers which have been left in the fields.
It is well to clear up the fields immediately after
the crop is gathered. These insects are seldom, if
ever, found on new ground, and are much worse
where potatoes are planted in succession."

GRASSHOPPERS

Grasshoppers are not often counted as an insect
enemy of the potato, but their ravages in eastern
Colorado have been such that growers have lost
heavily. S. Arthur Johnson in "Bulletin 175" of

204 THE POTATO

the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station de-
scribes the insect as follows:

"There are many kinds of grasshoppers, but the
species that become injurious have life histories
which are very much alike . The eggs are laid in
the fall in packets in the ground, containing from
thirty to a hundred eggs. Their position is about
an inch below the surface of the soil. The insects
appear to select places which are comparatively
dry in which to deposit the eggs, and we have found
most of them this year in patches of weeds and
grass under fences, and along ditch banks and road-
sides. The young hatch rather late in the spring
and do not become full-grown until midsummer or
later.

"Grasshoppers frequently injure potato fields
by invading them from the borders, but this is not
one of their favorite food plants. The most serious
relation of grasshoppers to the potatoes is indirect
rather than immediate. Potato growers depend
on alfalfa to renew and enrich the soil. The pres-
ence of grasshoppers in the fields newly sown to
alfalfa is disastrous, for they quickly destroy the
little plants and it is impossible to obtain a stand.
This prevents a proper rotation of crops.

"The best remedy to employ during fall and
spring is the destruction of the eggs. The first step
in this work is to locate the eggs. Inspection
should be made everywhere in the surface of the
soil for the pods of eggs. When the infested areas
have been located they should be plowed deeply
to bury the eggs, or disked or harrowed very
thoroughly to break up the pods so that they will
be exposed to the ravages of birds and animals or
dried out before they have time to develop.

THE POTATO 205

The earlier in the fall that this remedy can be ap-
plied the more satisfactory will be the results. It
is better not to trust to one treatment, but to work
over these places several times at short intervals.
When young, or even when full-grown, grasshop-
pers may be caught successfully in a hopper pan.
If this is set on wheels a few inches above the sur-
face of the ground and driven over the alfalfa when
that is a few inches high, great numbers may be
caught. The best time to do this is in the early
morning when the hoppers are on the tops of the
stems and somewhat numbed with the cold. A
third remedy is arsenic-bran mash. This sub-
stance is made by mixing white arsenic with bran
at the rate of one pound of arsenic to twenty of
bran. After the substances are thoroughly mixed
add sujSicient water to make a sticky but not too
sloppy material. Some add a little anise or syrup.
The mixture should be scattered late in the after-
noon or early in the morning so that the hoppers
will get it before the hot sun has dried it up.

"In the Greeley experiments of 1910 the pota-
toes were sprayed with Bordeaux mixture to test
the value of this substance as a repellent to grass-
hoppers. The results appeared to be favorable as
to keeping off grasshoppers, but indecisive as to the
prevention of flea beetle injuries to potato tubers. "

THE POTATO EELWORM

The Potato Eelworm (a thread worm, Hetero-
dera Radicola) is about one twenty-fifth of an inch
long, and works in the mature tuber. It has been
found in Nevada potatoes shipped to California.
The following is from Nevada Experiment Station
"Bulletin 76"-

206 THE POTATO

"The accompanying photograph shows the ex-
ternal appearance of badly diseased potatoes.
The surface of the potato is more or less wrinkled,
and dotted with circular or oval pimples somewhat
smaller than a pinhead, or with more irregular and
larger nodules. The nodules are of grayish or
brownish color, more or less depressed in the centre
and sometimes surrounded by a slight furrow. In
early stages the potato may be full and firm and
the pimples so inconspicuous that they may easily
be overlooked. When the disease is more advanced
the nodules are more prominent, the specimen more
or less shriveled and of softer consistency than
normal. The easiest way to determine whether a
suspected tuber is diseased or not is to cut off
slices. If diseased, the cut surface will show sev-
eral dry, brownish spots somewhat smaller than
the head of a pin and extending from a sixteenth
to a quarter of an inch into the flesh. They are
usually circular or oblong in shape and consist of a
brownish ring enclosing a central, whitish, pulpy
core. Beneath the pimples there is a similar brown
dry rot-like area which may or may not connect
with the interior spots or worm burrows. Some-
times the burrows are so numerous and close to-
gether as to form an irregular continuous mass like
a number of small shot close pressed together.
More rarely the burrows may extend deeper into
the flesh.

*' Badly diseased potatoes may shrivel up to one
half the natural size, are softer and less nutritious
than normal and of course are not desirable for
human food. The burrov/s afiford entrance for the
bacteria of decay, so that infested potatoes will not
keep as well as healthy ones.

"If a portion of the pulpy centre of one of the

The Potato Mclwonn. sliowiiii: t\y,iis. ^\o^Ills. and iiitVctcd
potato. — From liulldin 7(! of the Aiiricultural Exi)orimeiit
Station of I lie riii\cr>il\- of \c\a(la

THE POTATO 207

burrows is scraped out and examined with the
microscope, it will be found to contain numerous
eggs, larva?, 3'oung and adult worms like those
figured in the illustration. The potato cells have
broken walls and the starch grains are fewer in
number than in healthy tissue and those present
are of smaller size.

**The disease is spread by planting infested seed
potatoes. We do not know to what extent the
worms may hve and multiply in the soil itself or
how long a soil may remain infected. This impor-
tant point can be settled only by careful obser-
vation and experiment.

"How to free infected soil from the parasite is a
question which the knowledge at present at our
command will not permit us to answer satisfac-
torily. Sterilization or disinfection on so large a
scale is not practicable. Possibly deep plowing,
letting the ground lie fallow for a year, or, where
feasible, covering the fields with water during the
winter months, may prove to be effective. The
best advice for the present, it seems to us, is to
plant infected fields with some other kind of crop,
preferably grain or alfalfa rather than a root crop,
such as sugar-beets, which might be attacked by
the same pest. "

CHAPTER XVI

DINING CARS, HOTELS, AND RESTAURANTS

THERE are no keener students of the food
problem than the best hotel, restaurant,
and dining-car men.

Two vitally essential things appeal to them —
quality and economy.

Such men as J. F. Smart of the dining-car service
on the New York Central Lines; Sam Dutton of the
Albany Hotel, and Col. Morse of the Brown
Palace Hotel, Denver; Ford Harvey and A. T.
Hilliard of the Fred Harvey Eating Houses and
dining cars on the Santa Fe, and K. L. Eagan,
formerly of the North Side Inn, Jerome, Idaho,
know more about potatoes than 95 per cent, of
the growers.

It would be a splendid thing if growers could
meet occasionally with these large critical buyers
and users. The caterer to great numbers of
critical people is willing and anxious to pay for
superior quality in a product, for in the case of
potatoes the best and highest priced will often be
the cheapest. He would tell the grower that the
smooth, even, medium-sized potato, could he
get quantities of them for the entire annual supply
and be sure that entire sacks and shipments would
be all alike, would be worth 25 to 50 per cent, more
than the product now purchased.

The hotel man wants a potato of good cjuality —
a tuber that has been evenly and uniformly grown
to maturity with no check at any time, then well

208

THE POTATO 209

ripened and stored. When the potato plant ex-
periences drought, the development of the tuber is
stopped. Moisture following this starts a second
growth, generally watery and waxy — and to the
detriment of the part developed before the dry time.
A good potato is firm and crisp, with tissues sound
and plump and cells well filled with starch. This
cooks evenly and is both nutritious and delicious.

Flavor in potatoes is receiving more attention
than ever before. The flavor of the tuber is sup-
posed to depend on the mineral matter, citric acid
and other substances dissolved in the juice.
Flavor is influenced both by variety and the con-
ditions under which the plant is grown.

There is as much difference in the flat and taste-
less or bitter and biting flavor of the potato of low
quality and the rich, nutty flavor of the better
sorts as there i« between rancid and good butter.
. Potatoes sell in hotels and dining cars at from
5 to 15 cents an order, and a tuber of one pound
weight or a little less is an ideal order. There
should never be any trouble in selling potatoes
at approximately this size for one cent each. This
would be 60 cents a bushel, or $1 a hundred, a
good price if it could be assured.

In every local territory some grower or set of
growers should be able to work up a good trade
with hotels and restaurants. If a superior prod.-
uct can be furnished regularly, the caterer will
be glad to give prominence to the name of the
farm on which the potato is produced, or to the
variety and locality, thereby helping the individual
grower and localitv and the whole industrv.

Buyers for dining-car service on American rail-
roads were among the first to make cooking tests
of the crop before purchasing.

CHAPTER XVII

FERTILIZERS

THE object of fertilizing is to have available
in the soil a sufficient quantity of all the
elements the plant needs for making a max-
imum crop.

It is also necessary that the soil be in such per-
fect mechanical condition that plant food may be
made available, and that the roots and rootlets
of the plant may be able to easily and readily take
up this available plant food.

Theoretically, in order to determine the amount
of fertilizer a crop should require, it would only be
necessary to have a chemical analysis and know the
tonnage of the crop, and have an analysis to show
the amount of fertility in the soil. Practically,
these analyses constitute only one of a combination
of factors that should be used in estimating what
fertilization is necessary.

The crop indicates whether or not the fertili-
zation is right for immediate returns, but the
analyses should be a guide to the grower in esti-
mating what should be done to maintain large
crops continuously.

A great many formulas for fertilizing have been
w^orked out by growers and experiment stations
both in America and Europe. A number of these
will be given — not that they should be used
simply because they have been successful under

210

THE POTATO 211

other conditions, but that they may be used as a
guide for experimenting.

There is removed in a (iOO-bushel crop of pota-
toes approximately:

160 pounds of nitrogen
60 " " phosphoric acid
160 " " potash

An acre of soil eight inches deep weighs about
2,375,000 pounds. (This varies somewhat and
this estimate is for soil on the Twin Falls North
Side Irrigation Project, Jerome, Idaho.) The ele-
iiK^nts of fertility vary, but, as an example, the soil
at Jerome, Idaho, contains:

.47 per cent, of potash

.11 per cent, of phosphoric acid

.06 per cent, of nitrogen

This would be a total of

Nitrogen 1,425 pounds

Phosphoric acid . . 2,612.5 pounds
Potash 17,692.5 pounds

Even though it is not possible for plants to use
all of this, if proper cultivation methods are used
there is food enough to last for a great many years.

The three elements of fertility that are called
the *' essential elements" are nitrogen, phosphoric
acid and potash. At least ten other elements
enter into the plant and are important and neces-
sary for the production of plants. All but these
three are used in small quantities and it is generally
considered by students of the soil that the seven —
magnesium, sodium, chlorin, sulphur, iron, sili-
con and calcium — are present in most soils in
sufficient quantities to supply the needs of crops

212 THE POTATO

almost indefinitely. The one exception to this is
Hme, and its use is generally considered to be more
to make conditions right for the making available
of other elements than as an element of plant food
itself.

The potato plant — leaf, vine, stem, root, and
tuber — is composed of elements taken from the soil
and air. The plant is started from stored-up nutri-
ment in the tuber or part thereof that is planted.
After the start, the rootlets take water (hydrogen
and oxygen), nitrogen, the phosphates, potash and
the other mineral elements from the soil. These
are taken up by the movement of sap to the leaves.
The leaves take carbon and oxygen from the air
through the stomata or breathing pores on their
under surface; the various elements are trans-
formed by the sunshine, heat, protoplasm and
chlorophyl, and water (hydrogen and oxygen) and
carbonic acid gas are given off by the leaves. The
food which is manufactured or transformed is
deposited throughout the plant. A large part of it
goes to the storehouse of the enlarged underground
stem or tuber.

An average plant is made up somewhat as fol-
lows :

Phosphate, potash and other minerals (from

the soil) 5.0 per cent.

Nitrogen (from the soil and air) . . . 1.5 per cent.

Hydrogen (from vrater) 6.5 per cent.

Oxygen (from water and air) . . . 4'2 . 0 per cent.

Carbon (from air) 45 . 0 per cent.

From this it appears that Nature is lavish in its
supplies, and that the soil, the condition of which is
more or less under the control of man, contributes
a comparatively small share in the plant's economy.

THE POTATO 213

This part is very important, however, so much so
that in many instances success or failure depends
on how it is looked after.

In stating the part the elements have in the
growth of the plant it must be considered that the
statements are relative and not absolute.

Nitrogen is largely instrumental in providing
growth in plants, heavy, luxuriant stems and
leaves being credited to a liberal supply of this
element in available form. A deficiency is shown
by weak, yellow growth. The elements of plant
food in the soil are transformed or manufactured
in the leaves in combination with sunlight and the
gases of the air into the substances that form the
edible tubers. In order that these processes be
carried on with the best results there must be a
strong, healthy manufacturing establishment — the
])lant.

Phosphoric acid hastens the maturity of crops
and influences the production of seeds in fruits.
In the potato it is supposed to influence the pro-
duction of starch.

Potash is supposed to influence yield, and be a
factor in the formation of starch.

Like many other things concerned with the pro-
duction of crops and the working of the various
elements in nature's laboratorv, the exact offices of
potash and phosphoric acid are not known, but
can only be judged and estimated by experiments
and results. In general, it is known that nitrogen
is mostly concerned with growth of plants, and
phosphoric acid and potash with the fruit or
crop.

Nitrogen is obtained from the following sources:

(1) Organic — Natural products in which ni-
trogen is combined with other elements such as

214

THE POTATO

carbon hydrogen and oxygen, decaying or de-
cayed vegetable matter, dried blood, dried meat,
tankage, fish, garbage, tannery waste, cottonseed
and linseed meal, guano, animal manures.

(2) Inorganic (chemical forms) — Ammonia in
combination with other elements, nitrate of soda,
and nitrate of lime or nitrolin (a new Swedish
product) .

Phosphoric acid is supplied in the form of phos-
phates of lime, iron, and alumina. Some of the
materials used are bone phosphate (phosphate of
lime), raw bone, bone meal, steamed bone, bone
black or animal charcoal, bone ash. South Caro-
lina, Florida, Canada and Tennessee rock phos-
phates, iron phosphate, a by-product of the manu-
facture of iron phosphatic iron ores, and super-
phosphates (a product made by treating some of
the foregoing elements with acid to make readily
available or soluble phosphoric acid).

Fertilizers should be purchased on a per pound
basis for the amounts of the elements actually
contained. The fertilizer that costs the most per
ton may be the cheapest. The following table
shows the relative amounts of the elements in
various combinations and is used in checking up
guarantees :

To convert the guarantee of

Ammonia
Nitrogen
Nitrate of soda
Bone phosphate
Phosphoric acid
Muriate of potash
Actual potash
Sulphate of potash
Actual potash

mto

an
equiv-
alent

'' Nitrogen
Ammonia
Nitrogen
Phosphoric acid
Bone phosphate
Actual potash
Muriate of potash
Actual potash

, Sulphate of potash

Multiply
by

0.8235

1.214

0.1647

0.458

2.183

0.632

1.583

0.54

1.85

THE rOTATO 215

It is often best to buy the elements singly, and
with a guarantee as to the contents of availal)le
plant food. There are ways of manipulating
mixtures so as to puzzle the buyer, and at the
same time permit the seller to keep within the law.
In buying combined fertilizers the cost of mixing,
handling, and advertising must always be added
and paid for by the buyer.

In order to maintain and build up virgin fertility
and soil condition a grower should be continually
adding stores of vegetable matter and such mineral
or organic elements as will probably be depleted
first. The latter can be applied in forms that are
available at once or in less soluble forms where the
usable fertility becomes available gradually.

In the countries of Europe where the best results
are obtained, and in this country where growers
have given the most careful attention to the busi-
ness, the highest importance is placed on the use
of the decaying root systems of strong growing
plants for fertilizing material and for keeping the
soil in good condition. Sir John Lawes, the
eminent British farmer and experimenter, said:
"It is the physical condition of the soil, its per-
meability to roots, its power of absorbing and
radiating heat that is of more importance than its,
strictly speaking, chemical composition."

An interesting article on the value of green
manures is given by R. W. Thatcher in "Bulletin
32" of the Washington Agricultural Experiment
Station. It follows:

"Soil is a mixture of inorganic material — i. e.,
rocks or mineral substance broken down into more
or less fine particles — with organic matter — i. e.,
decayed or decaying material which has once been

216 THE POTATO

living vegetable or animal tissue. The inorganic
particles usually compose the greater portion of the
soil (95 per cent, to 98 per cent, of sandy or gravelly
soils, 80 to 95 per cent, of loams and clayey soils,
less than 80 per cent, of muck or peaty soils) and
supply the necessary mineral elements of plant
food. The organic portion of the soil furnishes
the supply of nitrogen, a very necessary element
of plant food, without which no crop can make
any growth ; supplies also the other elements which
were taken up in the growth of the plant or animal
and which bv their decav are returned to the soil
in a form readily available for plants; helps to
render the mineral elements of the soil avail-able
by the action upon the inorganic matter of the
acids produced in the decay of organic matter;
affects very beneficially the physical properties of
the soil, increasing its ease of tilth, moisture hold-
ing capacity, capacity to absorb heat, and decreas-
ing the tendency to 'puddle' when wet or 'bake'
when dry. Too much organic matter usually
results in a soil which dries out very rapidly and
w^hich is likely to be 'sour' from the excess of or-
ganic acids which it contains. Very few% if any,
well-drained lands contain an excess of organic
matter, however.

"It is apparent, therefore, that the maintenance
of a proper balance between the organic and the
inorganic or mineral portions of the soil is one of
the first essentials to fertility and to proper physi-
cal condition of the soil. Many of the so-called
'wornout' soils have only had their store of
organic matter depleted by improper methods of
cropping and can be restored to fertile condition
by the plowing under of some additional supply of
vegetation to decay.

THE POTATO 217

*' Any farm crop whicli is grown for the sole pur-
pose of plowing it under to increase the supply of
organic matter in the soil is known as a 'green
manure.' Green manures affect the soil benefi-
cially in many ways. Some of the possible benefits
are: (1) The addition of vegetable matter or
'humus,' with its attendant beneficial effect upon
the physical and chemical properties of the soil.
(2) Increasing the nitrogen content of the soil by
fixation of nitrogen of the air, when leguminous
crops are used as the green manure. (3) Using
surplus available plant food which might other-
wise be lost. (4) Plant food from lower depths
may be brought nearer to the surface and made
available for subsequent crops.

"The kind of crop which may best be used as a
green manure depends upon w hich one or more of
these beneficial effects is most desired. If the
addition of humus, or an increased supply of decay-
ing vegetation, is the only necessity, then any rank-
growing farm crop may be used. The more suc-
culent or juicy plants are best, as they decay much
more quickly and are more easily incorporated in
the soil. If, however, the supply of nitrogen in the
soil IS small and its increase is either the chief
necessitj^ or a desirable addition to the increased
humus content, then some leguminous crop must
be used, as no other farm crop has the power of
utilizing atmospheric nitrogen or of returning to
the soil any essential element of fertility which it
did not draw from it. If it is desired to bring up
from below some of the mineral plant food which
is present in deeper layers of soil, then a deep-
rooting crop should be used.

"The legumes, or leguminous crops, are a group
of plants which are characterized by growing their

218 THE POTATO

seed in pods and by having peculiar knots or
nodules on their roots. These nodules are formed
by the action of a certain group of bacteria,
immense numbers of which are found in each
nodule, which have the peculiar property of being
able to use the gaseous nitrogen of the air for their
own growth, and supplying this element as they
die and decay to the host plant on whose roots
they are located. Included in this group are al-
falfa, all the clovers, vetches, peas, beans, etc.
No other group of plants or animals, so far as is
now known, is thus able to make use of atmospheric
nitrogen. Legumes may grow in soils which are
rich in available nitrogen without the presence of
the nodule-producing bacteria, deriving their ni-
trogen supply directly from the soil as do other
crops, but have the distinctive power of being able
to flourish in soils poor in nitrogen if the proper
bacteria are present to grow upon their roots and
supply them with nitrogen from the air, and when
so grown to increase the supply of soil nitrogen
when plowed under as green manures."

The potato growers of the Jersey Islands use the
following mixture at the rate of one ton per acre
in addition to animal manures, etc. :

1000 pounds super-phosphate

600 " sulphate of ammonia

300 " sulphate of potash

100 " lime dust or sulphate of lime

2000 pounds

William D. Hurd states that in Maine "the
most common and popular commercial fertilizer
used for potatoes has been the one analyzing 4

THE POTATO 219

per cent, ammonia, 6 per cent, available phos-
phoric acid, 10 per cent, potash, and costing $37 to
$39 a ton. The following materials for a home
mixture would duplicate the above formula:

150 pounds nitrate soda (15 per cent, nitrogen).
800 " tankage (7 per cent, ammonia, 15 per cent,
total, 10 per cent, available phosphoric acid).
300 ' acid phosphate (15 per cent, phosphoric iicidj.

400 " sulphate potash.

1650 pounds (equivalent of a ton).

"The above material can be purchased f.o.b.
Boston at the following prices: Nitrate of soda
$50 per ton, tankage $27 per ton, acid phosphate
$16 per ton, sulphate potash $48 per ton.

"The cost of this mixture w^ould be as follows:

150 pounds nitrate soda at $50 $ 3 . 75

800 " tankage at $^27 . . . .' . . . 10.80

300 " acid phosphate at $16 2.40

400 " sulphate potash at $48 9.60

Cost of material f.o.b $26.55

Labor of mixing, waste, sacking, etc 75

Total $27.50

(( I

To this must be added the cost of freight. xVt
most Maine points this would not be over $2
to $2.50 for the above quantity. A saving then
of about 25 per cent, can be made by home mix-
ing.

"Many Aroostook County growers have aban-
doned the 4-G-lO fertilizer and are now^ using one
analyzing 5 per cent, ammonia, 8 per cent, available
phosphoric acid, and 7 per cent, potash.

"This sells at $41 to $42 a ton in Aroostook

220 THE POTATO

County. Such a mixture can be made from the
following materials, using tlie same grade as in the
4-6-10 mixture given above:

200 poimus nitrate soda,

980 *' tanlvage,

400 " acid phosphate.

280 " sulphate potash.

18G0 pounds (equivalent to a ton).

Cost f.o.b. Boston, $28.15. Cost of mixing, same
as before. Freight extra. "

CHAPTER XVIII

THE FARM ROTATION

THE rotation of crops is a fundamental
practice in good farming operations. The
potato is one of the most useful crops in a
general rotation, because the clean and thorough
cultivation required, as well as the preliminary deep
plowing and the digging, puts the soil in excellent
mechanical condition.

The object of rotating crops is to grow a uniform
maximum product. All crops benefit by a change.
The fertility requirements of no two are exactly
the same. A soil is benefited both mechanically
and in its store of fertility by the changing of crops.
For instance, a soil may have plenty of the essen-
tial mineral elements of fertility to last for gener-
ations, but the amount of those elements available
for the use of a certain pLait might be exhausted
by a few years' continuous cropping. x\nother crop
would require different elements or different
amounts or forms of the same elements. By the
time the first crop considered would be grown
again on this land, the fertility that was exhausted
would either be replaced or made available by dif-
ferent methods and conditions. On farms where
rotation is practised diseases are avoided, checked,
or controlled.

The maintenance and replacing of nitrogen is
one of the most important soil cultural conditions.
Humus or decayed vegetable matter is a source of

222 THE POTATO

nitrogen. Alfalfa, clovers, peas, and other legumes
grow so luxuriantly in many localities, and place
and leave such large amounts of fertility in the soil,
that the nitrogen problem consists simply of grow-
ing legumes in the rotation. The keeping of live-
stock and the return of manure to the land replace
some of all of the elements to the soil in a good
combination.

A rotation of crops, and their arrangement as
far as location on the farm is concerned, is a matter
that must be worked out for the requirements of
the individual holding.

The farmer is a manufacturer. He directs the
growing of meat and dairy products, the fruit,
grain, and vegetable crops from the soil and other
elements. To get all the returns from the business,
he must have no waste, and the by-products must
be manufactured into some marketable form.
His unmarketable potatoes must be utilized for
feed and his unmarketable fruits must be made
into cider, vinegar, or jelly. The farmer who
makes the greatest success is the one that produces
a pound of beef, a pound of pork, or a pound of
butter the cheapest. To do this he must know the
value of the grain and the hay he uses in producing
them. He must know on how much less food a
year-old animal makes a pound of gain than a two-
year-old animal. He must know how much food it
takes for a pound of gain for a steer and how much
for a hog. He must know how to market to the
best advantage the products that he raises on his
farm, whether directly from the fields or as meat,
dairy products or poultry, or as draft horses,
pure cattle, hogs or sheep.

There is no *'best" breed of horses, no "best"
breed of cattle, and hkewise no "best" kind of

THE POTATO 223

farming. Successes have been made in every line
and successes will continue to be made in every
line repeatedly. No farmer cares to pursue exactly
the line followed by his neighbors nor is it neces-
sary. Individuality is just as marked here as
elsewhere. To have and to pursue one ideal is the
essential thing, and to know all there is to be known
about it is a large part of the equipment. Success
follows knowledge and application.

The diversified farm is a farm that, having a rul-
ing central idea, grows a rotation of crops to main-
tain fertility, supports enough and the proper
kind of livestock to best utilize those crops, and
furnishes as much as is profitable of the products
necessary for maintenance of everything on that
farm. Any one of the component parts that make
up a diversified farm is capable of being a specialty,
but the combination and the utilization of the
waste ends make diversity.

CHAPTER XIX

EARLY POTATOES SPECIALTIES

THE early potato, like all other early vege-
tables and fruit, is an "out of season" or
*' semi-out of season" product, and con-
sequently brings a fancy price.

Extraordinary conditions, either natural or arti-
ficial, are required for its production.

The early potato is a specialty suited to the
colder part of the season in semitropical countries,
such as California, Mexico, Florida, and Texas.

With artificial conditions of sprouting and
starting the crop, a large industry has been de-
veloped in Great Britain and the Channel Islands
during the past ten years.

Protection from early frosts is a prime con-
sideration in sections where the climate is other
than strictly semitropical. There are great pos-
sibilities for the industry in the Sacramento Valley
and other sections of California.

One great advantage of an early crop is that it
is matured and harvested before the time (August
and September) when the blights and other diseases
may ruin the late crops.

Some work has been done by American experi-
ment stations in investigating the business. In
"Farmers' Bulletin 114" of the United States
Department of Agriculture is the following: "A
difference of two or three days or a week in the
placing of a crop on the market often makes a dif-

224

THE POTATO 225

ference between profit and loss, and tlie prices
obtained for extra-early crops have stimulated
cultural experiments with every kind of fruit and
vegetables. Some interesting results along this
line with potatoes have recently been reported
by the Kansas and Rhode Island stations.

"At the Kansas station seed tubers of four dif-
ferent varieties of medium-sized potatoes were
placed in shallow boxes with the seed ends up in
February. Tlicy were packed in sand, leaving
the upper fourth of the tubers exposed, and, the
boxes were placed in a room with rather subdued
light, having a temperature of 50 degrees to GO de-
grees F. Vigorous sprouts soon pushed from the
exposed eyes. The v/liole potatoes were planted
in furrow^s in March in the same position they oc-
cupied in the boxes. The same varieties of po-
tatoes taken from a storage cellar were planted
in parallel rows. The sand-sprouted potatoes took
the lead from the start in vigor and strength of
top and produced potatoes the first of June, a
W'Cek earlier than the storage-cellar potatoes. At
the final digging they showed better potatoes and
gave a 10 per cent, larger total yield.

''In another experiment part of the potatoes
was treated the same as in the first test, except
that the sand was kept moistened and the other
part was placed in open boxes and kept in a light
room having a temperature of 50 degrees F. The
tubers placed in sand developed strong sprouts
and nearly all rooted. When planted in the field
they outstripped both the tubers sprouted in open
boxes and the storage-cellar tul)ers in vigor of
growth. The tubers started in the open boxes
gave earlier yields than were obtained from the
storage-cellar tubers, but not as early as the

^26 THE POTATO

tubers sprouted in moist sand. The tubers
sprouted in moist sand produced table potatoes
from seven to ten days earlier than the storage-
cellar seed.

*'At the Rhode Island station medium-sized
whole potatoes sprouted on racks, in a fairly warm
and light room, gave a 27 per cent, better yield
at the first digging than potatoes kept in a cold
cellar until planting time, and this was increased
to 40 per cent, at the final digging. The percent-
age of large tubers was also greater at each dig-
ging with the sprouted tubers.

"The results of these experiments are sugges-
tive. The handling of seed potatoes in such man-
ner as to secure strong, stocky sprouts before
the tubers are planted out is shown to be an im-
portant factor in increasing both the earliness and
the total yield of the crop. By planting only
well-sprouted seed a full stand is assured.

*'One of the objections to this method of grow-
ing potatoes is the large amount of space required
for exposing the tubers to the light for sprouting.
This objection has been overcome in part by the
use of trays and racks. At the Rhode Island
station the rack used held nine trays. Each tray
was three and three fourths feet long and one and
one half feet wide, and would hold about one
bushel of potatoes when spread out in a single
layer for sprouting. The bottoms of the trays
were made of pieces of lath placed about one inch
apart. Nine trays were placed in a rack over
each other, leaving about nine inches of space be-
tween each tray. This method of arrangement
has the advantage of securing a very uniform dis-
tribution of light, heat, and air for all the traj^s.
It greatly facilitates the handling of the potatoes

K. L. Clcvflaiiil, lloulloii. Maine

THE POTATO 227

and lessens the danger of breaking oflp the sprouts
when transferring to the field for planting."

Where it is desired to grow potatoes on heavy-
lands or without cultivation tliey are sometimes
planted under straw.

In a Nebraska Experiment Station publica-
tion R. A. Emerson says:

*' Potatoes are a cool weather crop. It is because
of this that they succeed so well in the far north.
Moreover, potatoes require for their best develop-
ment fairly uniform conditions, especially as re-
gards soil moisture and soil temperature. This
being the case, wh}^ should not potatoes grown
under a litter mulch be especially well developed
and therefore make strong seed? The soil be-
neath a mulch not only has a moderately low
temperature during sunnner, but its temperature
is also exceptionally uniform, varying not more
than a degree or two between day and night and
only a few degrees from day to day. The soil
moisture beneath a good nuilch is also more
abundant and much more nearly uniform in
amount than in case of bare ground, even though
the latter is given good tillage.

*'The value for seed purposes of tubers grown
under a little mulch has been tested during two
seasons at the experiment (Nebraska) station.
In 1904 a plat of potatoes was mulched with straw
and an adjoining plat was given careful culti-
vation. The soil of the two plats was practically
uniform and the seed planted on the two plats was
taken from the same lot of tuljers. Seed was
saved from the mulched and cultivated j)lats sep-
arately, kept under the same conditions during

228 THE POTATO

winter, planted on adjoining plats in the spring of

1905, and given identical cultivation during the
summer. In 1908 the experiment was repeated
with seed grown in mulched and in cultivated
ground the year before. The same precautions
were observed as in the first test. Uniform seed
was used to start vv^ith in 1905. The seed saved
from the mulched and from the cultivated plats
was taken as it came, without selection, and was
kept over winter under the same conditions.
Both kinds of seed were cut in the same way,
planted in the same way, on adjoining plats, and
treated alike as regards tillage, spraying, etc.
Under these conditions anv constant differences
in yield between the two plats must be ascribed
to the effect of the methods of culture employed
the previous season. The yields obtained from
the mulched and from the cultivated seed were as
follows: Cultivated seed, 384 pounds in 1905;
mulched seed, 563 pounds in 1905; cultivated seed,
123 pounds in 190G; mulched seed, 174 pounds in
1906.

"The use of seed that has been grown under a
mulch the preceding year increased the yield of
potatoes 47 per cent, in 1905 and 41 per cent, in

1906. If further tests confirm the results re-
ported here it would seem that mulching might
be used for the production of high-grade seed
potatoes at home. Moreover, mulching usually
results in increased yields if properly handled.
Mulching potatoes on a large scale is, of course,
impracticable, but most farmers could easily
mulch enough of their potato field to produce the
seed that they would require the following year,
and in doing so they would not necessarily in-
crease the cost of production per bushel."

THE POTATO 229

((I

The growini? of Irish potatoes as a truck crop
at the South has assumed large proportions," says
L. C. Corbett, horticulturist in charge of Arling-
ton Experimental Farm and Horticultural In-
vestigations of the Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S.
Department of Agriculture, in "Farmers' Bulletin
407." "Thousands of acres are annually planted
to early varieties of potatoes which are harvested
as soon as they have reached suitable size, re-
gardless of their maturity, and immediately trans-
ported to Northern cities for distribution and con-
sumption. This industry extends along the At-
lantic seaboard from the southernmost terminals
of railway transportation to the vicinity of the
great centres of consumption, Florida producing
a large annual crop of early potatoes, followed by
Georgia, South Carolina, North Carohna, Vir-
ginia, Maryland, and New Jersey in turn. The
great early -potato-producing sections of Florida
are centred around Hastings; in Georgia the sec-
tions are largelv confined to the vicinitv of Savan-
nah; in South Carolina a large acreage is cul-
tivated in the trucking region about Charleston;
in North Carolina a very extensive crop is planted
in the vicinity of Wilmington; while Norfolk, Va.,
probably outclasses all other regions along the*
Atlantic coast so far as acreage and yield are con-
cerned. This vicinity is one of the oldest and
largest early-potato-producing sections of North
America. Besides this belt of country devoted to
this industry there are isolated regions along the
Gulf coast and in northern Texas, Kentuckv, and
Missouri where potato growing has been es-
tablished and has proved quite i)rofitable.

*'It is impossible to give accurate statistics in
regard to this crop, for it changes annually with

230 THE POTATO

the markets of the preceding year, those who en-
gage in the industry, particularly in the West,
being influenced very decidedly by the previous
year's return. This is an exceedingly unfortunate
condition, as the growers should determine their
planting, not by their previous year's experience,
but by the condition of the crop at the North.
The crop of so-called winter potatoes produced
at the North has more influence upon the price
which will be received for the early crop than any
other single factor. The truck farmer should
therefore keep a very careful record of the crop at
the North preceding the year his planting is to
be done. The cpantity, quality, and price of the
held-over Northern crop are factors which de-
cidedly influence the price of the new crop when
it reaches the market. A market w^hich is well
stocked with old potatoes which have been kept
in fairly good condition means a very low price
for the early crop when it comes in competition
with such stock. As this new crop cannot be
retained long in the soil at the extreme South with-
out rapid deterioration, neglect on the part of the
owner to determine the quantity of old potatoes
in sight at planting season, as compared with the
normal supply, may mean a very meagre profit,
if any, or a very heav;^^ loss if the crop cannot be
moved at the proper season at a very satisfactory
price.

*'In growing early potatoes, perhaps more than
any other single crop, the sources from which the
seed is obtained influence the resulting crop. The
practice which is almost universally followed is to
plant tubers of early varieties which have been
grown for several seasons at the North. The de-
mand by truck farmers for Northern -grown seed

THE POTATO 231

has developed a very considerable industry in
some of the potato-producing regions, notably
Maine, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Early varieties
which are especially adapted to truck work at
the South are in these Northern regions planted
extensively for the purpose of producing seed to
be used in the South. The crop is harvested and
placed in storage houses either at the North or at
the South, where it can be made available to the
growers at the South early in the spring to meet
the demand for seed for early planting.

"Within recent years there has been a marked
increase in the use of second-crop potatoes for
seed throughout the Southern potato-growing
sections. This crop is frequently grown on the
same land from which the first crop of potatoes
was harvested. In most instances, however, it
follows beans or cucumbers, as the seed for this
second potato crop is not usually planted until
July or August. The seed for this crop is, as a
rule, saved from the early crop, the small tubers
being stored in a well-ventilated shed, where they
are protected from the direct action of the sun
and from storms until about ten days or two
weeks before the time of planting, when they are
spread thinly upon the ground and lightly covered
with straw or litter to partially protect them from
the sun. Under these conditions the tubers
quickly 'green' and all those suitable for seed
will develop sprouts. As soon as the sprouts are
visible, and before they are large enough to be
rubbed off in handling, the potatoes are ready to
plant. The product of this planting gives a crop
of partially matured tubers which are held over
winter for spring planting. This practice gives
excellent results in many localities and is found to

232 THE POTATO

be more economical than the purchase of Northern-
grown seed. To what extent it is safe to follow
this practice without renewing the seed from the
North by the use of fully matured tubers has not
been determined.

"A novel practice for securing quick growth
from second-crop seed has been developed by a
successful potato grower in Texas. Mr. Morrell
has developed an idea which is closely akin to the
practices of the potato growers of the Channel
Islands. The method consists in storing the
tubers of the second crop in a tight building, which
by the use of artificial heat can be kept frostproof.
At harvest time the tubers are placed in slatted
crates and the temperature of the storage house
held as low as practicable without freezing until
four to six weeks before planting time, when the
temperature is raised to 68 degrees or 70 degrees
F. This temperature is maintained until the eyes
of the potatoes show activity. The sprouts
should not be allowed to develop to any con-
siderable length before planting the tubers, on
account of the danger of breaking them in the
necessary handling at planting time. If the
sprouts are one eighth of an inch or less in length
there should be little loss from handling. If the
house can be well lighted at the time the tempera-
ture is raised the sprouts which develop will be
much stouter than those developed in the dark.
This plan provides a congenial temperature for
the germination of the tubers and makes it pos-
sible to delay planting until outside conditions
are generally favorable for the rapid growth of the
plants, and to use for seed only those tubers which
are actually viable. With good preparation and
cultivation this method should give a perfect

THE POTATO 233

stand and a decidedly increased yield, together
^vith the e.'irly maturity of the crop.

"This plan has been used for Northern-grown
seed, but it is found that the mature Northern-
grown seed responds more quickly to a given heat
stinuilus and consequently does not require to be
placed in a warm room more than ten days to two
weeks before planting.

"The practice on the Channel Islands accom-
plishes the same results in a slightly different
manner. The tubers are placed one layer deep
on germinating trays which are arranged on racks
or are provided with comer posts a few inches
long so as to admit air and light. The tubers are
induced to germinate in the traj^s, and at planting
time only those with well-developed sprouts are
used for planting. As the work is all done by
hand there is little danger of damage to the seed
from breaking off the sprouts. In all sections of
the South where hand planting is practised this
method of procedure is perfectly practicable, and
would entirely obviate losses from poor stands
resulting from uncongenial conditions due to cold,
damp spring weather, and inferior seed. Planting
could be delayed until conditions were favorable
and poor seed would be detected before it was
planted.

"Early potatoes grown as market-garden or
truck crops and intended for immediate con-
sumption are, as a rule, harvested as soon as they
have reached marketable size, regardless of the
maturity of the crop. Because of the immature
condition of the tubers it is essential that the crop
be handled carefullv and quicklv. The tender
tubers are easily bruised and diimngod in ap-
pearance; consequently care should he exercised

234 THE POTATO

in the conduct of all operations connected with
the harvesting of this crop. As a further safe-
guard to loss from bruising at harvest time or
during transit the growers and the trade have
determined upon the red-skinned varieties as
best adapted to withstand these misfortunes.
Scars and bruises show less on red-skinned than
on white-skinned sorts.

"The varieties in most common use among
truckers are known as Irish Cobbler, having a
white skin, and Bliss Triumph, a red-skinned sort.

"Notwithstanding the fact that red-skinned
sorts handle better, the smaller yield usuall}^ ob-
tained from such varieties has led all growers ex-
cept those located at extreme distances from the
market to use white-skinned sorts. Red varieties
are not employed extensively along the Atlantic
coast, although they make up the bulk of the crop
grown in the Gulf Coast States.

"While the harvesting of early Irish potatoes
grown for home consumption is largely carried on
by hand, in some localities improved implements,
such as potato diggers and potato sorters, are
brought into service. The truck farmers along
the Atlantic coast, however, adhere largely to the
simpler methods of handling the crop, as sug-
gested in figures 9 and 10. This is undoubtedly
accounted for bv the fact tliat labor is more abun-
dant and not so w^ell trained in the use of improved
machinery as in the more northern and western
districts. In digging early potatoes in the Atlantic
coast district ordinary one-horse turning plows are
used. Laborers follow the plows and gather the
potatoes from the soil and throw them, four or six
rows together, in piles, after which they are sorted
and put into barrels for shipment. In the potato

THE POTATO 235

regions of Louisiana and Texas, where early pota-
toes form a crop of considerable importance, im-
proved machinery is largely depended upon for
harvesting.

"The packages for early potatoes are determined
partly by custom and the demands of the market,
but largely by the local timber supply. In regions
where timber is plentiful and barrels and crates
figure largely in the shipment of other truck crops,
potatoes are chiefly shipped in barrels. In other
localities burlap sacks are chiefly employed, as is
the case in most regions growing late potatoes.

"Up to the present time no standard measure,
barrel, or bag for the handling of potatoes has been
adopted. Recently certain states have passed
laws requiring that these packages should come up
to a given standard, usually 170 pounds net for a
barrel, and that all short-measure packages enter-
ing their markets should be so marked. The
barrel used by the trucker of the Atlantic coast
region during past years holds about 11 pecks and
weighs from 155 to 1G5 pounds net. These barrels
cost the grower about 22 cents each, including the
burlap cover. The bags used for the handling of
the crop grown in the southwestern region cost the
grower about 5 cents each in lots of 1,000 or more.
These packages are used but once and are not
returned to the grower.

"The grading of early potatoes is quite as im-
portant as the grading of fruits. I^arge and small
tubers should not be mixed in the same barrel.
The pickers should be taught to gather the large
and merchantable tubers in one basket and the
small or seed potatoes in another, and these if
placed upon the market should go in separate
receptacles and be clearly marked so as to repi'i^-

236 THE POTATO

sent the grade. If a mechanical sorter is used this
work will be more effectively accomplished than if
left to the pickers.

"The type of grade usually used is similar to
that employed in some sections for grading apples
and peaches, although the common type of potato
grader is a rotary screen which separates the earth
from the tubers and allows the small tubers to fall
through the large meshes of the screen before
reaching the general outlet which carries away
those of merchantable size. The objection to a
mechanical grader of this type is that it bruises
the immature tubers and renders them somewhat
less attractive than when not so handled and prob-
ably also shortens the length of time they can be
safely held on the market."

CHAPTER XX

THE BURBANK POTATO

FOR several years the authors of this book
have looked upon their occasional visits
to Luther Burbank at Santa Rosa, Cal.
as bright spots in their year's work. Each
visit brings a greater love for the genial, kindly,
wonderful man and a greater admiration for his
marvelous work in plant breeding — the like of
which the world has never before known. He is
both a genius and a philanthropist, and the value
of his life work to the world will probably never be
given a correct rating.

The Burbank potato is in a class by itself on the
Pacific coast. In discussing the potato situation
in California, Mr. Burbank said:

"I suppose the Russians, who had a trading post
on the coast of what is now Sonoma County, may
have grown potatoes, but the first potatoes in
the state of which we have any record were those
brought by sailors from Chile, South America.
That it was possible for them to be used on the
slow-sailing vessels of seventy -five years ago shows
that they were good keepers.

""This Chilean potato was grown on the shores
of Bodega Bay in Sonoma County and came to be
known as the ' Bodega Red. ' It was a red potato,
with heav>^ eyebrows and deep eyes, and wlien piled
in the field and ccnered with vines would keep for

237

238 THE POTATO

two years. It was very subject to blight, however,
and a field of growing potatoes might be wiped out
by the disease in a few days. At that time it was
thought that potatoes could not be grown in the
interior valley of California."

It was not until the introduction of the Burbank
that large acreages of potatoes were grown in
California.

On one of our visits to Mr. Burbank he told us
the story of the Burbank potato, and although
busy with the thousands and thousands of plants
involved in the bringing out of new and improved
varieties, and with the writing of the history of
his life's work, he has written the following for
this book:

"In the summer of 1871, after I had had several
years of amateur experience in raising seedling
potatoes, I was on the lookout for some potato
which did not reproduce itself almost exactly from
the seed in form, size, color, and all other particu-
lars, as did most of the potatoes then known.
While searching for such a variety, I happened,
that autumn, to find on my place a single seed-ball
on an Early Rose potato vine, and was immediately
impressed with what later proved to be the fact,
that this must be something valuable, as the Early
Rose very seldom bears seed-balls. It was watched
with the utmost care until nearly ripe, my atten-
tion being upon it daily. When it was about
mature and ready to pick, the patch was visited
that morning with that intention, but to my great
consternation the coveted fruit had disappeared,
and the pain and disappointment were intense
when, after a careful search, I was unable to find

THE POTATO 239

any trace of it. However, believing tliat it might
be somewhere in the vicinity, day after day the
place was visited, and the most diligent search
made, moving the vines about and leaving nothing
undone that might disclose it. At Lxst it was
found a number of feet away from the original
vine, no doubt removed either by a bird or some
animal passing rapidly through the field.

"From this single seed-ball twenty-six distinct
new varieties were obtained. The seed was
planted out of doors, as one would plant beets or
cabbages, and not grown in boxes under glass and
transplanted as seedlings of potato and tomato
plants usually are. The ground had been pre-
pared with as much care as could be bestowed upon
it, and each seed was placed about a foot from its
next neighbor in the rows. To-day I would not
think of planting valuable potato-seeds in this
way because the risks would be too great; but it
turned out, perhaps from the unusual care given
them, that they all grew well, and from that lot of
seedlings varieties were obtained entirely distinct
from any which had before been seen. There were
two sorts with long, white, beautiful tubers, the
most shapely, most uniform in size, of any that
had yet been developed. One of these was after-
ward named and introduced as the 'Burbank' by
that pioneer seedsman, Mr. J. H. Gregor^^ of
Marblehead, Mass. The other white one was
almost as good, but by careful test proved to
be somewhat less prolific. This, and all the others
except the ' Burbank, 'are now lost to cultivation,
and let us hope without loss to the cultivator.

"Besides the two seedlings above mentioned,
one variety was bright red, not very productive,
and most of the tubers decayed shortly after they

240 THE POTATO

were dug. Another was a round, white potato:
still another was pink ; a second pink variety was
characterized by its white eyes; another pinkish
variety had eyes so prominent that the long, slen-
der tubers seemed to be all eyebrows, the eyes
reaching quite to the centre of the potato. Prob-
ably seedlings raised from some of these might
have produced varieties of great importance, but
soon after, in moving to California, the seed was
lost. I have raised more than ten thousand seed-
lings from the 'Burbank' potato since coming to
California, but have never obtained one that was
equal in all respects to the original.

"Over eight million bushels of the Burbank
potato were produced on the Pacific coast alone
during 1906, and probably nearly as many each
year for fifteen or twenty years past. It is the
standard tuber on this coast to-day from Alaska to
Mexico, and almost invariably brings the highest
price of all potatoes. It thrives as well here to-day
as it did in Massachusetts thirty-five years ago.
This is one of the proofs that varieties do not run
out if grown under suitable environments. "

CHAPTER XXI

THE SWEET POTATO

THE article which follows consists of extracts
from "Farmers' Bulletin 324" of the
United States Department of Agriculture,
and is by W. R. Beattie of the Bureau of Plant
Industry :

"With the passing of each year the sweet potato
is becoming of greater importance as a commercial
truck crop in the United States. During a long
period it has formed one of the principal sources of
food for the people of the Southern States and of
tropical America. As a commercial truck crop the
sweet potato would be included among the five of
greatest importance, ranking perhaps about third
in the list. As a food for the great mass of the
people living in the warmer portions of our country
the use of this crop is exceeded by hominy and rice
only. In many of the islands of the Pacific, espe-
cially in the Philipj)ines, the sweet potato is the
principal vegetable food for large numbers of the
lower classes, at certain seasons being almost the
only food available.

"The sweet potato industiy in this country is
readily divided into two classes of production: (1)
For home use and (2) for market. A quantity
sufficient for home use can be grown under a wide
range of conditions, wliiW production on a com-
mercial scale is somewhat restricted by climate and

241

242 THE POTATO

soil and also by market and transportation facil-
ities. The larger Eastern markets are now well
supplied, but there are sections where the people
have not as yet become accustomed to the use of
sweet potatoes in large quantities. The field for
the production and use of sweet potatoes is very
broad, and this crop promises to become of more
general farm importance.

*'In view of the constantly increasing interest in
sweet potatoes it is the purpose of this bulletin to
give simple cultural directions covering their pro-
duction both for home use and for market, includ-
ing the soil and its preparation, the propagation
of the plants, planting, harvesting, storing, and
marketing, together with the uses of sweet potatoes
for stock feeding and for similar purposes.

"The sweet potato is of a tropical nature, its
original home probably being the West Indies and
Central America. The true sweet potato, as we
have it growing in the United States, belongs to the
morning-glory family, its botanical name being
Ipomoea botatas. Throughout the Southern
States the sweet potatoes having moist flesh are
commonly known as 'y^^^s' and those having
dry flesh as sweet potatoes. The name 'yam' is
misleading and properly belongs to a distinct class
of plants that are confined almost entirely to the
tropics.

"Owing to the tropical nature of the sweet
potato it naturally thrives best in the South Atlan-
tic and Gulf Coast States, but it may be grown for
home use as far north as southern New York and
westward along that latitude to the Rocky Moun-
tains. The areas suited to commercial production
extend from New Jersey southward and westward
to Texas, and are found again in the central valleys

THE POTATO 243

of California. In the Mississippi Valley the com-
mercial area extends as far north as the southern
part of Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana. The region
around Louisville, Ky., is noted for excellent crops
of sweet potatoes.

"Sweet potatoes thrive on a moderately fertile
sandy loam which does not contain an excess of
organic matter. They are frequently grown upon
almost pure sand, especially where the subsoil is a
yellow clay. Soils containing considerable cal-
cium or underlain with limestone are well adapted
to the growing of the crop. The sweet potato is
exceptional in that a fairly good crop can be grown
upon soils that are too poor for the production of
the majority of farm crops. Sweet potatoes yield
a fair crop on the 'wornout' tobacco and cotton
lands of the South, especially when used in a rota-
tion including some leguminous crop for increasing
the humus in the soil.

"The more common varieties of the sweet potato
have for a gi^eat many years been propagated by
cuttings, or sets, taken either from the potatoes
themselves or from growing vines, and as a result
the plants have ceased to flower and produce seed.
The greater portion of the commercial crop is
grown from sets, or 'draws,' produced by sprout-
ing medium-sized potatoes in a warm bed of soil.
In the Southern States the seed potatoes are fre-
quently cut into pieces in the same manner as Irish
potatoes and planted in the row where they are to
mature. Where several plants appear in one hill
they are thinned, and those removed are used for
planting other land. In the South Atlantic and
Gulf Coast States the sweet potato is frequently
propagated by making vine cuttings. A compar-
atively small bed of seed potatoes is planted quite

244 THE POTATO

early and the sets so produced are used to plant a
small patch from which vine cuttings are taken
later by the cartload for planting large fields. In
the southern parts of Florida and Texas and on the
South Sea Islands the potatoes may remain in the
soil from year to year, being dug only as required
for use, those remaining over producing the sets
for the following season's planting.

^"In the warmer portions of the sweet-potato-
growing district the seed should be bedded when
danger of frost has passed. In the northern por-
tion of the area the seed should be placed in the
hotbed from the 20th of March to the 10th of
April, after the temperature of the bed has fallen
to 80 degrees or 85 degrees F. and become regular.
"As a general rule sweet-potato plants are set in
the field shortly after a rain. In order to avoid
delay in planting, the hands should begin to get
out the sets as soon as the rain ceases falling and
place them in crates or baskets ready for transpor-
tation to the field. The sets are not all produced
at once, and only those that have formed good
roots are ' drawn, ' the others being left until later.
In ' drawing ' the sets the seed potato is held down
with one hand while the plants are removed with
the thumb and finger of the other hand. It often
happens that five or six plants will cling together
at the base, and these should be separated in order
to avoid loss of time in the field. Where plants
are to be set with a transplanting machine it is
essential that they should be in the best possible
shape in order that they may be handled rapidly
by the boys who feed the plants into the machine.
The roots should all be kept in one direction, and
if the tops are long or irregular they may be
trimmed off even by means of a knife.

THE POTATO 245

*'T\TiiIe * drawing' the sets it is a good plan to
have at hand a large pail or a tub containing water
to which there has been added a quantity of clay
and cow manure which has been stirred until it
forms a thin slime. As the plants are pulled from
the bed they are taken in small bunches and their
roots dipped into this mixture. This process,
termed 'puddling,' covers the roots with a coating
which not only prevents their becoming dry in
handling but insures a direct contact with the soil
when they are planted in the field or garden.

"The success of the crop depends largely upon
the way in which the plants start after being
removed from the bed and set in the field or garden.
Practical growers always plan to set the plants
during a ' season ' or period w hen the conditions are
suitable to a quick start into growth, either just
before a rain or as soon afterward as the soil can be
worked. The method of setting will depend en-
tirely upon local conditions and the acreage to be
grown, the essential features, however, being to
get the roots in contact with moist earth and the
soil firmly pressed about the plants.

"The use of water around the roots of the plants
is desirable under most circumstances, as it not
only moistens the soil but assists in settling it about
the roots. A large quantity of water is not neces-
sary, one half pint to each plant being generally
considered sufficient.

"Where level culture is practised, the plants are
set from 24 to 30 inches apart in each direction.
On the eastern shore of Virginia the greater portion
of the crop is planted '24 inches apart each way,
requiring about 11,000 plants to an acre. By
planting 30 inches apart each way, only about
7,000 plants are required to set one acre. Where

246 THE POTATO

the crop is grown on ridges it is customary to have
the ridges from 36 to 42 inches apart from centre
to centre and to place the plants 14 to 18 inches
apart in the row. By this method an acre will
require from 8,000 to 12,500 plants. An acre of
good sweet potato land will readily support 9,000
to 11,000 plants, and the number most commonly
planted by the several methods will fall within
these figures.

"The machine transplanters are provided with a
spacing device which indicates the distance be-
tween plants; also with a row marker to show the
location of the next row.

*' Where a few hundred plants are to be grown
for home use, or if only an acre or two are to be
planted, the hand method of planting will answer
every requirement. A trowel or a dibble is used
for opening the soil to receive the plant, and the
earth is closed about the roots by a second thrust
with the implement, or the heel of the shoe is used
to press the earth about the plant. For hand
planting, the plants are dropped ahead of the
'dibblers' by boys and girls. Seven thousand to
ten thousand plants, or an acre, is an excellent
day's work for a planter when everything is in good
condition. Where a few hundred plants are set
in the garden it is always desirable to water them
before closing the earth about the plant.

"Under reasonably favorable conditions a ma-
chine will plant from three to four acres a day. In
addition to being labor savers, these machines do
the work better and more uniformly than it is or-
dinarily done by hand. The plants can be set
without the use of water, but the results are more
satisfactory where the water is used.

"The methods of handUng a crop of sweet pota-

THE POTATO 247

toes do not differ materially from those employed
with ordinary farm and garden crops.

"Aside from planting and harvesting, the work
of caring for a crop of sweet potatoes can be done
almost entirely by the use of ordinary farm and
garden tools.

"The sweet potato is subject to injury from a
number of diseases. Those diseases causing rot
and decay are most prevalent and result in the
greatest loss during the period that the crop is held
in storage, Occasionally, however, the crop may
be lost before harvesting, and one form of rot,
known as black-rot, destroys the young plants,
attacks the potatoes while they are in the ground,
and causes them to decay while in storage. The
spores that are responsible for the several forms of
rot affecting sweet potatoes may remain in the soil
from year to year, or they may be carried over
winter upon the seed. Diseases are generally
introduced with affected seed or plants, and when
once established in the soil, the storehouse, or the
propagating bed it is doubtful whether they can
be eradicated except by the adoption of the most
thorough methods.

"A disease known as stem-rot causes the stem
of the plant to begin to die at the surface of the
ground. This decay gradually extends downward
to the potatoes and frequently kills the entire
plant.

"The diseases kno\\Ti as soft-rot, dry-rot, and
white-rot are all similar in their method of attack
to the black-rot. One form, known as soil-rot,
causes the loss of the crop while it is in the field.
Each of these diseases is caused by a particular
fungus, but has received the common name sug-
gested by its general appearance or some marked

248 THE POTATO

characteristic. Any one of the diseases of the
sweet potato may be present without causing se-
vere loss provided conditions are unfavorable to its
development, and growers should be constantly
on their guard to prevent the spread and develop-
ment of diseases.

"A system of crop rotation by which the land
will not be planted to sweet potatoes oftener than
every four or five years is the first step toward
disease control. Care in the selection and keeping
of potatoes intended for propagation is of impor-
tance, while clean cultivation and proper handling
at the time of harvesting are essential. Diseases
will generally make their first appearance upon cut,
broken, or bruised potatoes, and all that are in any
respect injured should be stored separately from
the seed and perfect stock. The storage house
should be cleaned and fumigated with sulphur or
formalin before storing begins, and all crates or
baskets used for handling the crop should be in the
house during the fumigation.
, *' It is very apparent that some varieties are more
subject to the attacks of diseases than others.
The Big-Stem Jersey and the Jersey group gen-
erally are especially subject to disease, while va-
rieties of the Hayman group, such as Southern
Queen, are seldom aifected.

*'The sweet potato is reasonably free from the
ravages of insects. Cutworms frequently destroy
the young plants after they are set in the field,
especially when the land has been in grass the
previous season. The sw^eet-potato borer, which
works in the roots, is widely distributed and causes
considerable injury in the Gulf Coast States. A
small insect known as thrips works on the under
side of the leaves during the hot and dry weather of

THE POTATO 240

midsummer, but as a rule the real damage caused
by this insect is slight.

"The harvesting and marketing of sweet pota-
toes direct from the field begin about the middle
of August and continue until the crop is all dis-
posed of or placed in storage for winter marketing.
During the early part of the harvesting season the
yield is light, but as a rule the prices paid are good.
The supply for home use and those potatoes that
are to be kept in storage should not be dug until
just before frost. In the localities where frosts do
not occur until quite late in the season the sweet
potatoes ripen and the vines show a slight tinge of
yellow when ready for handling.

"The foliage of the sweet potato is very tender
and is easily injured by frost. A light frosting of
the leaves will do no harm, but should the vines
become frozen before digging they should be cut
away to prevent the frozen sap passing down to
the roots and injuring them.

"In sorting sweet potatoes preparatory to pack-
ing, about four grades are recognized — i. e., fancy,
primes, seconds, and culls. Those packed as fancy
include only the most select, both in size and shape.
The primes include all those adapted to general
first-class trade, while the seconds include the
smaller and more irregular stock which goes to a
lower-priced trade. The culls are not marketed
unless good stock is exceedingly scarce, and as a
rule are used for feeding to hogs.

"Sweet potatoes are usually shipped in barrels
holding eleven pecks each. Some markets require
that the barrels be faced and headed, while for
others the tops are slighth^ rounded and covered
with burlap. Small lots of extra -fancy sweet po-
tatoes are sometimes shipped in one-bushel crates

250 THE POTATO

having raised tops; also in patent folding crates.
Throughout the process of handling care must be
exercised to see that the sweet potatoes do not
become bruised, for upon this their shipping and
keeping qualities greatly depend.

"Unlike most perishable products, the sweet
potato requires warmth and a dry atmosphere
w^hile in storage. The method of storing will
depend both upon the locality and the quantity of
potatoes to be cared for. The temperature and
conditions of a rather cool living room are admira-
bly adapted for keeping sweet potatoes intended
for home use in the North, while in the South they
may be placed in j^its or stored in outdoor cellars.
The home supply may be placed in crates and
stored in a loft over the kitchen part of the dwell-
ing. Sweet potatoes should not be stored in bags
or in barrels without ventilation.

"Where large quantities of sweet potatoes are
stored for winter marketing, the method employed
in the Southern States is to place them in outdoor
pits and cellars, while at the North some form of
heated storage house will be required. Whether
the storage be in pit, cellar, or house, a dry, warm
atmosphere with ventilation is essential to good
keeping.

"Of the large number of varieties of the sweet
potato there are not more than ten that are now of
great commercial importance in the United States.
For the markets that require a dry, mealy-fleshed
potato those varieties belonging to the Jersey
group are suitable. For the Southern trade and
where a moist-fleshed potato is desired those com-
monly designated as yams are in demand. Among
the Jerseys that are extensively grown are the Big-
Stem Jersey, the Yellow Jersey, and the Red Jer-

THE POTATO 251

sey. The principal varieties of the yam group are
the Southern Queen, the Pumpkin Yam, the Geor-
gia, the Florida, and the Ked Bermuda. Of the
varieties mentioned there are a large number of
special strains known under many local names.

"In the selection of varieties for home use one
must be governed largely by locality. As a rule
those of the Jersey group will thrive farther north
than those of the so-called yam types. For market
purposes the particular variety or strain grown in
the vicinity should first be selected, and afterward
other varieties may be experimented with in a
small way.

"The following brief descriptions of a few^ of the
leading varieties may be of assistance in selecting
those best adapted to various conditions of soil
and climate:

''Big-Stem Jersey. — This variety is the most
popular among growers who are supplying the
Northern and Eastern markets. It is a form of the
Yellow Jersey, having been selected for its pro-
ductiveness and dry, yellow flesh. The vines are
slender and long; the potatoes are of spindle shape
and inclined to grow rather large; color of potatoes
yellow; color of flesh light yellow or deep cream.
While this variety yields heavily, it is unfortu-
nately a rather poor keeper, and its flesh is inclined
to become dry and 'punky' toward spring. It
will thrive well toward the north, but is better
adapted for use as a commercial variety than for
home consumption.

''Southern Queen, or Hayman. — The vines of
this variety are strong and vigorous; the potatoes
are large, thick, and blunt at ends or of short
spindle shape; the color is white or light cream,
while the flesh is of cream color, becoming darker

252 THE POTATO

in cooking, moist, and very sweet. This variety
is most extensively grown for market purposes
where a sweet, moist-fleshed potato is demanded.
The Southern Queen yields well, is an excellent
keeper, and is adapted for both marketing and
stock feeding and for home use in the South Atlan-
tic and Gulf Coast States, but it does not mature
when grown in the extreme North.

*' Red Bermuda. — The Red Bermuda vines. are
large and vigorous. The potatoes are usually
large and overgrown with heavy ridges and veins.
The color of the potatoes is rose red; flesh, creamj^;
quality fair but not so sweet as Southern Queen.
This variety is a heavy cropper and suitable for
feeding to stock. It is one of the few so-called
yams which thrive in the northern portion of the
sweet potato area.

''Black Spanish, or 'Nigger Choker.* — The
Black Spanish vines are very long, vigorous, and
dark purple in color. The potatoes are long,
cylindrical, crooked, or bent; dark purple in color,
with snowy white flesh and poor quality. This
variety is grown mostly for stock feeding.

*' Shanghai. — The vines of the Shanghai variety
are large and vigorous; the potatoes long, cylindri-
cal; the outside color almost white. The flesh is
creamy white, becoming darker in cooking. When
baked the flesh is somewhat dry and mealy and the
flavor rather poor. This variety yields fairly well
and is adapted for use as stock food in the Gulf
Coast States.

"The cost of growing an acre of sweet potatoes
will vary with the cropping plan and the extent to
which the crop is grown. On an average the cost
of growing an acre of sweet potatoes in the regular
commercial district is about as follows: Rental of

THE POTATO 253

land, $8; plowing and fitting, $5; fertilizers, $20;
10,000 plants, $10; planting, $5; cultivating, $5;
digging and marketing, $25; total, $78. An aver-
age yield of sweet potatoes is at the rate of one
barrel to 100 hills, or 100 barrels to an acre. The
price per barrel paid the grower is seldom less than
$1.25, and $2.50 or $3 is not uncommon. During
good seasons the net profit from one acre of sweet
potatoes is about $75. While occasionally the
net returns are from $100 to $150 an acre for a
single season, there are seasons of crop failure or
overproduction when very Httle, if any, profit is
realized.

"The sweet-potato growers on the eastern shore
of Virginia as a rule plant about ten acres in sweet
potatoes, and this constitutes their money crop.
The remainder of the cleared portion of their small
farms is devoted to corn, pasture, and hay, all for
home use. Here the sweet-potato crop is grown
almost entirely without the aid of hired help, and
the cost of production does not exceed $40 an acre.
Where the crop is stored the gross returns are
greater, but the cost of production is increased
proportionately. "

CHAPTER XXII

LEGISLATION

THE control and eradication of all disease
— human, animal, and vegetable — is a
problem in which all of the people in a
country or a state are vitally interested. Con-
sequently, laws designed to accomplish this must
be made by the highest legislative bodies. No
matter how well the individual grower may do
his part, unless there is concerted action, enforced
by the law, little headway can be made in pre-
venting or combating contagious diseases.

As an industry gains prominence either by its
growth or the ability and public-spiritedness of
the men interested in it, it is better able to secure
such laws as are necessary for its protection.

An example of this is the result of the work of
the Commissioner of Horticulture in California.
The men interested in the fruit industry in this
state demand protection from foreign insect and
fungous pests that may be introduced to be a
menace to the fruit interests of the state, and in-
spectors are stationed at every port of entry to
inspect importations.

The potato industry in various sections needs
similar protection. The Colorado beetle has not
yet been introduced west of the Rocky Mountains.
The states or parts of states that are now free
from this pest should take steps to prevent its
introduction.

254

THE POTATO 255

A very bad pest is now prevalent in Europe —
the wart disease (black scab). There should be
a law to prevent this from getting a foothold in
iVmerica. The following letter was written by
the senior author to Secretary of Agriculture James
Wilson from London, England, May 28, 1910:

*'I am getting along very well, and am securing
information invaluable to the American potato
grower about the various stages of potato pro-
duction.

"There is little or no manufacture of farina
from potatoes in Great Britain; all waste and low
priced potatoes are cooked and fed to meat making
livestock, but I have information that Germany
is making flour from potatoes, and later I shall visit
there.

"I am in very close touch with the Department
of Agriculture here, the seed potato breeders and
growers, the commercial growers, and the market
men.

*'I am sending you a leaflet from the Depart-
ment of Agriculture of Great Britain on the black
scab disease of potatoes. Some of the office men
tell me that it is inconsequential, that the disease
has been prevalent for fifteen or twenty years,
and it has affected potato growing to but very
little extent. Some of the field men tell me that it
has been developing very rapidly in the last two
years, but especially so the last year. They regard
it as a very dangerous, if not the very worst, menace
that the potato industry has ever had.

"We spent a day with the potato work at Sut-
ton & Sons, Reading, England, with Mr. Lasham,
a Scotchman. He has been their expert and po-
tato specialist for thirty years. They are doing

^5Q THE POTATO

more in the way of breeding new types and growing
more seed potatoes, and selling and exporting more,
than any other firm in the world.

"Mr. Lasham showed us samples of potatoes in
the various stages of black scab disease. When I
looked at the potato and then when they were cut
open it made me shudder with horror. Mr. Las-
ham considers it more damaging and far reach-
ing in its results to the potato industry than any-
thing of its kind that has ever appeared. He
says it takes eight years of grass crops to eradicate
it from the soils when the fungus once invades it.

"Mr. Rogers of the Department of Agriculture
in London says they do not regard it as very seri-
ous, as it is not breeding very rapidly, but calls
the attention of the potato growers in the bulle-
tins of the Department of Agriculture of Great
Britain to the hea\^ penalties for not reporting it
to the Department. There are penalties for ship-
ping any such diseased potatoes, however. Mr.
Rogers admits that they have it in Newfoundland,
and that it is developing quite rapidly the last
year or two in Germany, Belgium, Roumania,
Hungary, and other potato districts of Europe.
A few instances are known in Scotland, but it is
the worst in Wales.

"Mr. Rogers very kindly invited me to go with
their experts throughout the infected districts
during the month of August, when the disease
makes its greatest development.

"In my judgment it has not been given very
wide publicity in Europe, as it would endanger the
export trade. I believe the disease is much more
malignant than we have a knowledge of, and that
it will be a greater menace to the American farmer if
once estabhshed in the United States or on the

THE POTATO 257

farms of our country than any of the infectious
or contagious diseases of the Hvestock industry.
Steps should be taken before this year's
crop is harvested to prohibit the importation
of potatoes to America from any of the infected
districts of Europe. All of the vessels plying
between Europe and the United States use foreign
grown potatoes, and it would be very easy for
those potatoes to get ashore, and it is also easy
for emigrants to take seed stocks with them.

*'I feel that I am your personal representative
over here in the potato industry^ and I am sure
that with this full information you wull do all in
your power to protect the American potato grower
from the chances of the introduction of this
disease, just as you have protected the livestock
grower from the animal diseases of the countries
of Europe."

Following up this important work the senior
author brought the matter to the attention of
Senator Guggenheim of Colorado, who, on April
6, 1911, introduced the following bill in the
Senate of the United States:

"To enable the Secretary of Agriculture to more
effectually suppress and prevent the spread of
diseases of potatoes known as black scab and
wart disease, and for other purposes.

^^ Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States of America
in Congress assembled. That in order to enable
the Secretary of Agriculture to effectually sup-
press and extirpate diseases of potatoes known
as black scab and wart disease, and to prevent
the spread of such diseases, the Secretary of

258 THE POTATO

Agriculture is hereby authorized and directed,
from time to time, to estabhsh such rules and
regulations concerning the importation from
foreign countries to the United States and trans-
portation into and through any state or ter-
ritory of the United States, including the
District of Columbia, as he may deem neces-
sary, and all such rules and regulations shall
have the force of law. Whenever it shall
appear to the Secretary of Agriculture that any
potatoes grown in an infested country, district,
department, or locality, outside of the United
States, are being or are about to be imported into
the United States, or the District of Columbia,
and such potatoes are infested by wart disease
or black scab, he shall have authority to quaran-
tine against such importations from said coun-
try, district, department, or locality, and prevent
the same until such time as it may appear to
him that any such wart disease or black scab
has been exterminated, when he may withdraw
the quarantine.

"Sec. 2. That when any shipment of potatoes
imported or brought into the United States is
found to be infested with wart disease or black
scab the entire shipment shall be destroyed in
such manner as the Secretary of Agriculture
may direct.

"Sec. 3. That upon complaint or reasonable
ground on the part of the Secretary of Agri-
culture to believe that any potatoes grown with-
in the United States and likely to become sub-
ject to interstate commerce are infected with
wart disease or black scab, the Secretary of
Agriculture shall cause the same to be inspected
by a qualified expert, and, if need be, placed

THE POTATO 259

under quarantine until such infection is re-
moved.

"Sec. 4. That the Secretary of Agriculture
shall have authority to make such regulations
and take such measures as he may deem proper
to prevent the introduction or dissemination of
black scab and wart disease in potatoes from a
foreign country into the United States or from
one state or territorv of the United States or
District of Columbia to another, and to seize,
quarantine, and dispose of any potatoes so in-
fected coming from an infectd foreign country,
district, department, or locality to the United
States, or from one state or territory or the
District of Columbia in transit to another state
or territory or the District of Columbia when-
ever in his judgment such action is advisable
in order to guard against the introduction or
spread of such diseases.

"Sec. 5. That any person, company, or cor-
poration knowingly violating the provisions of
this Act, or the orders or regulations made in pur-
suance thereof, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor,
and on conviction shall be punished by a fine
of not less than one hundred dollars nor more
than one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment
of not more than one year, or by both such fine
and imprisonment.

"Sec. 6. That the sum of twenty -five thousand
dollars, to be immediately available, or so much
thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appro-
priated, out of any moneys in the Treasury not
otherwise appropriated, to carry into effect the
provisions of this Act."

It is a sad commentaiy on American legislative

260 THE POTATO

affairs that this bill was not made a law. The
part which applies to potatoes was attached to an
omnibus bill covering all parts of nursery stock.

The bill was opposed by importers of nursery
stock, who do not want to be bothered with an
inspection that will protect the American grower
from foreign pests.

x\s drawn up by the attorney for the Depart-
ment of Agriculture, a trifling mistake occurred
— so that when it was read Congressman Mann
of Illinois made a funny speech calling attention to
this error. The bill was then held up, and the
American potato grower is without protection.

The legislative end of farm affairs has been
badly neglected in the past, but with increasing
interest in agriculture this should be remedied
in the immediate future.

Following up this matter during the winter of
1911-1912, further consideration was secured in
Congress, and a bill prohibiting the importation
of all kinds of diseased farm produce and nursery
stock has been introduced.

During this past winter, however, many mil-
lions of bushels of potatoes from Europe have
been imported, and a bulletin has been sent out
warning against the use of these foreign potatoes
for seed.

CHAPTER XXIII

COOKING THE POTATO

IN CHAPTER II the potato as food is dis-
cussed by Dr. J. H. Kellogg.
In this chapter the food value of the potato
and special recipes are given by Mrs. E. H. Grubb,
and valuable recipes are also given by Miss Lenna
F. Cooper and Mr. Emil Tenthorey.
The following is by Mrs. E. H. Grubb:

"There are many varieties of potatoes, and
tastes differ as to a choice. In America and Great
Britain the white fleshed, mealy varieties are pre-
ferred. In Continental European countries many
yellow fleshed varieties are in great favor, such
potatoes being especially valuable for soups,
ragouts, salads, and hash, as they are of a waxy
texture and retain their shape better when cooked
than those of a mealv texture. The vellow fleshed
potato is said to contain more protein in propor-
tion to the starch content than the white fleshed
and is therefore richer in flavor.

"The potato is a food rich in starch, which sup-
plies the body with fuel for keeping up warmth and
provides it with energy necessary for muscular
activity.

"The food value and composition of rice and
potatoes are very nearly the same, the dift'erence
being that potatoes contain a larger percentage of
juice, while the rice is dry and concentrated.

262 THE POTATO

Potatoes are so easily and quickly prepared and
may be served in such a variety of ways that they
add variety to the daily meal. Their mineral
matter is valuable in the processes of digestion.
They are easily grown and yield abundantly, and
their keeping qualities are excellent. These ad-
vantages place them at a price within the reach
of all in the localities where they can be grown.
Often, when old potatoes are out of the market,
new ones are so high in price as practically to be
out of reach of those of ordinary means. It is
well known that so much of a necessity is the po-
tato considered that many families sacrifice to
obtain them at the exorbitant prices new potatoes
bring in Northern markets; also in the South the
same condition occurs later in the season when po-
tatoes are scarce and high priced. These facts
go to prove the popularity of potatoes in the diet.
"As dried or evaporated potatoes become bet-
ter known they will supply the poorer people with
this much-prized vegetable at a cost within their
reach. The composition of such evaporated po-
tatoes is much the same as the original. While
the flavor and in some cases the appearance does
not equal that of fresh potatoes, they may be pre-
pared in all the appetizing ways of the fresh ones,
and are most acceptable when the fresh potatoes
are too high in price to be easily obtained. Evap-
orated or dried potatoes should be as common in
our markets as the dried fruits that are such a
welcome addition to our supply of food when the
fresh ones are high priced or out of the market.
Even in some of our largest potato-grov\'ing states,
especially in the Mississippi Valley, potatoes often
have very poor keeping qualities, and the average
farmer finds himself short or entirely without this

THE POTATO 263

vegetable, and the city people of moderate means
must inconveniently economize in the use of po-
tatoes or do without this article of diet. At such
times a heavy demand would be made for desic-
cated or evaporated potatoes were they common
in our markets.

"Potatoes for storing for future use should be
firm and crisp wdien cut open with the knife.
The quality can only be definitely tested by cook-
ing. This test is best made by boiling in the skins
or baking. After removing from the fire hold in
a napkin and squeeze lightly, then break open,
and if the starch is abundant^ you have a white,
flaky, uniform mass somewhat sliiny and crystal-
line in appearance. If the starch is sciinty it will
be soggy and may have a watery core. This
condition may be discovered in the i*aw potato by
cutting a thin slice transversely from the middle
of the tuber. Hold it up to the light, and if the
core is large and many large arms bninch out into
the outer section, and the outer ring, known as
the cortical layer, is thin, sucli a potato is not
Hkely to be light and flaky when cooked. There
is another quality of the potato which is neither
soggy nor mealy, and which is very agreeable to
most tastes, and is commonly described as waxi-
ness. This quality is found in the immature tu-
bers or early spring potatoes. In point of flavor
there is as much difference as in texture. The
immature potatoes contain a larger proportion of
albumenoids that gelatmize in cooldng, giving
this moist consistency, and the larger proportion
of acids and mineral matter gives the richness of
flavor. In selecting potatoes for the table it is
a very difficult matter to judge the quality b\'
the outside appearance. A good, firm potato of

^64 THE POTATO

fine, smooth skin might not be superior in quahty
to one of rough and uneven character. It is un-
usual for the purchaser to be fastidious in regard
to flavor and quahty, and yet these are elements
worthy of more attention than color, size, or form.
Very large potatoes have a large watery core, or,
as is said in the kitchen, a bone, in the centre.
They are apt to be coarse grained and lacking in
flavor.

"Excepting in cases of necessity no one lives
upon potatoes alone. They are under ordinary
circumstances eaten with meat, fish, eggs, butter,
milk, and cheese, and digestive experiments prove
that in these combinations their nutritives are
very completely utilized in the body. Their
abundant mineral matters are valuable aids in the
process of digestion, and are supposed tx) be a pre-
ventive of scurvy. So well recognized was this
property dm*ing the Civil War, and before the
nutritive value of foods had been scientifically
learned, tliat potatoes sliced and pickled in salt
vinegar were sent by orders of physicians to supple-
ment the soldier's diet of white flour, fat meat,
beef, and beans. The same conditions were noted
in the early Klondike days. Potatoes were re-
garded as necessities and were used regardless of
their excessively high cost.

"The early Spanish explorers found the Peru-
vian natives stocking their boats for long voyages
with a plentiful supply of this wholesome tuber.

"Potatoes are easy to cook, not requiring the
expensive process in labor and fuel that bread
making does. They may be prepared in such a
variety of ways that they make many agreeable
changes in the food supply during the winter
months. They are easily' grown, yield abundantly,

THE POTATO 265

and supply a starchy food at a price within the
reach of all. They are especially rich in starch
or energy supplying food, are preeminently the
food of those who work at physical labor, and it is
said that those who work never tire of potatoes.
When we consider all these advantages, it is sur-
prising that more potatoes are not used in the
United States.

NOTES ON COOKING POTATOES

"The potato is in such universal use, and is so
highly nutritious, that above all other vegetables
it would seem that it should be cooked in perfec-
tion. However, it may be in reality that no other
vegetable is so carelessly cooked. The proper
cooking of the potato has much to do with its
nutritive value. It is a starchy food; the mi-
croscopic starch grains are intermingled with the
waterj' juice, which contains the albumen, gelatine,
minerals, sugar, and acids. All of these elements
are highly valuable as food or stimulants, but by
careless and unscientific methods in preparing
and cooking they may be partially lost and wasted.
How often do we hear epicures criticising our best
hotel cooking, remarking the impossibility of being
served with mashed potatoes of a good quality.'^
Where food must be prepared in such large quan-
tities the potatoes are pared and soaked in water
for from twelve to eighteen hours before being
boiled, thus losing a high percentage of the agree-
able flavors, the nutritious starch and albumen
and valuable mineral matter.

"In preparing potatoes for cooking, by clumsy,
awkward paring large quantities of the edible i)or-
tion are wasted, one fifth on the average and as

t>QQ THE POTATO

high as one fourth, when by careful measure-
ment the crude fibre or true skm off the potato is
less than one half of 1 per cent, of the whole.
When potatoes are pared and soaked in water and
then boiled the loss has been found to be as high as
7 per cent, of the food value, the albumen and
mineral matter being the elements most largely lost.
"The different methods of cooking potatoes are
baking, boiling, steaming, and frying. Each of
these methods may be so conducted as to retain
practically all of the food material. When po-
tatoes are cooked in the skins they lose nothing of
the food value, but a slight loss of water is noted.
When fried there is no loss of nutrients and the
toasted or browned starch flavor is relished by
many. Baked potatoes have been found by
scientific experiment to be more quickly digested
than those cooked in other ways, but it seems that
in healthy individuals the time of digestion of food
is not material so it is normally digested. A
potato cooked in the skin, either baked, boiled or
steamed, then peeled and mashed and seasoned with
plain milk, has a richness of flavor, from the con-
serving of the elements of flavor, that no amount
of high-priced artificial seasoning such as butter
and cream can give. This does not argue against
the use of cream and butter, but only calls at-
tention to the fine, smooth consistency and good
flavor that can be secured by conserving the cor-
tical layer instead of panng it away. Chemical
analysis has shown that as much albumen, the
flesh-forming food, is thrown away or needlessly
wasted in paring fifty pounds of potatoes as is con-
tained in a pound of sirloin steak; besides this loss
of nitrogenous food, that of the carbohydrates or
starch is still more.

THE POTATO 267

"It is evident from all tests that if it is desired
to cook potatoes with as little loss of flavor and
food material as possible, they must be cooked
with the skins on."

The following formulas for cooking potatoes are
given as cwamples of met hods by which all of the
nutrients are conserved:

Boiled Potatoes

Place in deep kettle with perforated pan in bottom of
kettle, and cover with sufficient water to cook them, but
not to immerse the potatoes in the boihng water, as the skins
are Hable to burst, and thus the food be wasted in the boil-
ing water. Cover very closely. When very well done
take in towel and squeeze each one lightly and break the
skin; this allows some of the moisture to escape and leaves
the flesh in a light, fine, mealy condition. If the potatoes
are not in this condition it is because of immaturity or
watery ciuality which is characteristic of tubers grown in
soils and climate not well adapted to potato culture.

Baked Potatoes

Place in moderate oven for thirty minutes or more, then
increase to quick heat to finish. When done take in a towel
and stjueeze lightly, enough to crack the skin, which should
not l)e baked until a thick crust is formed, as by so doing
the cortical layer, which adds so much to flavor and nutri-
tion, is lost. Potatoes thus treated may be served imme-
diately or will keep well for a short time if placed in a warm-
ing oven.

Mashed Potatoes

Boil or steam potatoes in their skins until very thor-
oughly done. Peel and mash in a hot kettle, seasoning
with hot milk, adding butter and cream according to taste.
Many like the added flavor of a little grated onion or finely
minced chives.

The secret of having these in perfection is in mashing and
beating thoroughly with a wire beater until they are light
and creamy.

268 THE POTATO

Special Baked Potatoes

Bake as for ordinary baked potatoes. When cooled
sufficiently to be handled without burning the hands, cut
skin from one side, scoop out contents into a hot kettle,
mash and beat very thoroughly, seasoning carefully as for
mashed potatoes. Fill shells, place a small piece of butter
in top of each, and brown in quick oven. Grated cheese
over the tops while baking is a welcome addition for many

tastes.

Harvest Home Potatoes

Take smooth medium-sized potatoes, cut a thin slice
from one side, scoop out contents. Mince finely, seasoning
with salt and pepper and minced parsley. Place in shells
and cover with very thin slices of bacon so arranged that, in
cooking, the fat from the bacon may run down into the
minced filHng. Finely chopped celery may be added to the
mixture.

Buttered bread crumbs may garnish the tops, if liked,
instead of bacon.

Cracker crumbs and milk may be added to the filling. In
fact ahnost any number of variations may be invented.

Place in hot oven and bake until thoroughly done. Set
in warm oven for fifteen minutes or more before serving;
this gelatinizes the filling, giving it a rich, creamy texture.

Potato Soup

Boil, steam, or bake potatoes until thoroughly done,
then peel and mash very finely, adding while mashing a
spoonful of flour for each good-sized potato.

Season with salt, pepper, minced celery, chives or grated
onion as liked. Add milk to make desired consistency.

This is one of the most highly nutritious soups.

COOKING RECIPES BY A FAMOUS CHEF

The following recipes were compiled for this
book by Emil Tenthorey, chef at Hotel Colorado,
Glenwood Springs, Col. In polite society potatoes
are only admitted "en robe de chambre," — that
is to say, in their jackets — to the midday meal and

THE POTATO 2G9

then not on formal occasions. At such times the
following are used:

Potato Georgette

Special recipe of M. Josopli, chef of the Cafe Paillard:
Take a potato and hollow it out, filling the hollow with a
salpicon of shrimp tails drenched in a bisque sauce made
from the heads and pounded bodies of the shrimps. Cover
the potato with some of the mashed insides and bake very
well done and serve hot.

Pommes de Terre aux oeufs

From the recipe of a famous French chef: Put a good
sized lump of butter into the pan, as soon as it is hot, and
brown some onions in it. Cut some cold potatoes, which
have been boiled in their skins and afterward peeled, into
slices. Throw these into the pan, spread over them the
well-whipped yellow of two eggs. Salt, pepper and serve
when the potatoes have taken a nice brown color on each
side.

Potatoes Hangraise

Slices of cold boiled potatoes and onions fried together,
then baked in the oven with a little grated cheese thrown over
it and garnished with finely chopped parsley.

Potatoes a la Maires

Potatoes cut in rounds, boiled until barely done in salted
water, drained and put in cream which has been reduced
to a state of condensed richness by evaporation in a steam
vessel. The reduction of the cream to one half its volume
is the special and essential feature of this recipe.

Potatoes Hashed in Cream

Cut three warm boiled potatoes into small even pieces,
add them to half a pint of boiled cream and a salt spoonful
of salt.

Potatoes Anna

Specialty of Delmonico's, New York: Cut very thin
slices from across the largest potatoes, lay the slices in flat
layers on a small plate; spread fresh butter freely over the
potatoes, then add another layer, and so on until the po-

270 THE POTATO

tatoes are about four inches higli. Bake unlil the potatoes
are tender (about one half hour) in a quick oven.

Potatoes a la Bonne Bouche

Shce some boiled potatoes, chop a blade of shallot, also a
little parsley very fine. Place in a stewpan with a small
piece of butter and a pinch of mixed sweet herbs. Let
simmer slowly for five minutes, then put in the potatoes,
sprinkle some seasoning over them and let simmer slowly
for ten minutes, occasionally stirring to prevent burning.
Just before serving squeeze the juice, of a lemon over the
potatoes.

Potato Croquettes

Dry boiled or steamed potatoes with butter, salt and
egg yolks, all mashed together, rolled into cone shape,
breaded, or rolled in cracker dust, and fry in hot lard.

Potatoes Duchesse

Large slices of raw potatoes cut in fancy shapes, sprinkled
with salt, dipped in eggs and baked.

Potatoes Victoria

Same as croquettes, dipped in egg and baked to a light
brown color.

Potatoes Gastronome

Potatoes raw, cut in shape of bottle corks with tube
cutter, boiled barely done in salt water, drained, and finished
in hot lard, dust with salt and chopped parsley.

Potatoes Monico

Raw potatoes cut size and shape of a lialf dollar, cooked
barely done in salt water, drained and finished in hot lard.
Dust with chopped parsley and paprika.

Potatoes Julienne (Shoestring Potatoes)

Cut raw into very fine shreds like straws, cook quickly
in hot lard, dust with fine salt.

Between the Acts Potatoes
Same as Juliemie, only cut about twice as large.

THE' POTATO 271

Potatoes a VAnglatse

Boiled potatoes in skins, peeled, cut in quarters, shaken
up with soft butter, salt and chopped parsley.

Potatoes au Graiin

Boiled potatoes sliced in cream sauce with Parmesan
cheese and cracker dust on top. Bake to a golden brown
in oven.

Potatoes au Lard

Stewed potatoes with finely minced bacon in the sauce.

Potatoes SautS

Boiled potatoes cut in slices, fried in pan in hot lard or
butter.

Poinmes Nouvelles a la C rente

New potatoes peeled and stewed in cream.

Potato Queuelles

Potatoes boiled or steamed, then mashed with salt, butter
and egg yolk, rolled in balls, well breaded and fried in very
l-.ot lard.

Potato en Surprise

Bake large potatoes in the skins until three quarters done.
Make a tubular opening in the end and hollow out the end.
Tightly roll a thin strip of bacon, insert in the opening, close
the end and bake until done.

Potatoes Bretonne

Cold boiled potatoes cut in cubes. Fry with onions and
brown sauce.

Potato Colbut

Same as Bretonne. Add chopped parsley.

Potatoes Naiarroise

Potatoes cut in cubes, parboiled and fried to a light color
in oil.

Potatoes Regente

Same as potato croquettes — hollow out and fill with
pattie mixture of lobster. Replace end and stand upright.

272 THEr POTATO

Saratoga Potatoes

Cut into very thin slices, wash and steep in water for the
starch to settle. Fry in hot lard. Dust with salt and
pepper.

HOTEL POTATOES

The following list is from the breakfast bill of
the Brown Palace Hotel, Denver, Col. :

Potatoes, French Fried. ... 15 Potatoes, Baked 15

Potatoes, Saratoga Chips. . 20 Potatoes, Julienne 25

Potatoes, O'Brien 30 Potatoes, Saute 15

Potatoes, Hashed Brown . . 20 Potatoes, Parisienne 25

Potatoes, Sweet 25 Potatoes, Lyonnaise 20

Potatoes au Gratin 25 Potatoes Stewed in Cream. 25

Potatoes, German Fried. . . 20

BATTLE CREEK RECIPES

The following recipes, which are in daily use
at the Battle Creek Sanitarium, have been fur-
nished by Miss Lenna F. Cooper, director of the
Battle Creek Sanitarium School of Health and
Household Economics:

Peanut Potato Soup

11 cups potatoes

1 cup cream

1 pint milk

Cook two medium sized potatoes and put through a
colander. Add water, if necessary, to make 1^ cups; heat
and add hot milk and cream; salt and serve. Thi;i makes
one quart.

Potato Chowder

1 cup milk

1 cup cream

^ small sliced onion

f pint sliced potatoes

1 pint boiling water

I teaspoonful salt

THE POTATO 273

Put two thirds of the potatoes to cook in the boiling water;
when tender, put Lheni through a cohindcr and add the re-
maining sliced potatoes, the onion and salt. Cook till all
are tender; heat the milk and cream in a double boiler and
add to the cooked potatoes. Add water to make one quart.

Potato Soup

1 cup raw sliced potatoes

1^ teaspoonfuls butter

1 teaspoonful celery salt

2 cups water

Steam the potatoes and put through a colander. Add
water to make two cups; season and serve.

Potato Cakes

2 cups hot riced potatoes
2 tablespoonfuls butter
2 teaspoonful salt
§ teaspoonful celery salt
5 teaspoonful onion juice
Yolk of 1 egg
Mix the ingredients, shape and bake m cakes; when almost
done, brush the cakes with cream to glaze them.

Neiv Potatoes in Cream

1 pint cooked potatoes
^ cup cream sauce

J cup cream

Lentil and Potato Loaf

1^ cups lentil puree

2 tablespoonfuls butter
J cup cream

1 teasj)oonful salt
^ teaspoonful sage

2 cups riced potatoes
J cup cream

^ teaspoonful butter
I teaspoonful butter for brushing
Mix the first five iugredionls and place in the bottom of
an oiled baking dish. Whip together the hot potatoes and

274 THE POTATO

the remaining ingredients. Place this mixture on top;
bake in a quick oven; serve with tomato sauce.

Creamed Baked Potatoes

12 medium -sized potatoes
I cup cream
1 cup milk
f teaspoonful salt
Fare the potatoes and place in the bottom of a pan? cover
with the milk and cream; add the salt; cover tlie pan and
place in the oven; keep covered until the potatoes are almost
done; then remove the cover and allow the milk and cream
to cook down until they are somewhat thick.

Creamed Potatoes and Peas

3 pints steamed or boiled potatoes
1 can peas
1 cup cream

1 cup milk

2 tablespoonfuls flour
1 tablespoonful butter

Thicken the milk and cream with flour, braided vnih a
little milk saved out for the purpose; add the butter; cook
fifteen minutes; put the peas in and pour over the steamed
potatoes.

Potato and Onion Hash

1 cup boiled onion chopped

2 cups cold boiled or steamed potatoes
2 tablespoonfuls butter

1 teaspoonful salt
Chop Ihe potatoes and onions together; add salt and butter,
and heat in the oven.

Potato Loaf

1 pint freshly mashed potatoes
^ cup cream
1 egg

1 teaspoonful salt
Mix, and place in oiled baking dish ; brown in the oven.

THE POTATO 275

Savory Potato Meal Gruel

1 cup water, in which is steeped two stalks of cel-
ery
^ cup water
§ cup strained tomato
2| tablespoonfuls baked potato meal
J cup cream
f tcaspoonful salt
Mix ingredients and heat.

Baked Potato Cream Gruel

1 baked potato
5 cup cream
^ cup water
\ teaspoonful salt
Mash the potato and add the other ingredients, and reheat.

Baked Potato Gruel

1 small baked potato
\ teaspoonful butter
1 cup water
\ teaspoonful salt
Mash the potato, add the butter, salt and water; heat to
boiling.

Potato Meal Gruel

\\ quarts water
1 cup potato meal
Mix, heat and serve.

Lyonnaise Potatoes

3 quarts diced steamed potatoes
1 medium-sized raw onion cliopped
\ cup chopped parsley
f cup butter
Mix and heat in a double boiler.

Mashed Potatoes

1 quart mashed potatoes
I cup cream or milk
\ tablespoonful butter

276 THE POTATO

Minced Potatoes

1 qwart minced potatoes
^ cup cream or milk
f teaspoonful salt
Heat in oven.

Parisian Potatoes

1 quart steamed potatoes
1 pint brown sauce
Place potatoes in a pan, cover with, brown sauce, and
bake fifteen to twenty minutes.

Brown Sauce

J cup flour
I cup butter
1| cups water
^ cup cereal coflPee (liquid) broth
^ cup strained tomato
1 teaspoonful salt

Stvjfed Potato

1 medium-sized baked potato

1 teaspoonful cream

1 teaspoonful butter
Remove the inside of the potato with a spoon, mash and
mix with the cream and butter. Fill the potato shell with
the mixture and put in the oven for a few minutes.

Potato Salad

1 quart diced potatoes

2 hard cooked egg yolks
Grated onion or celery

Salt for seasoning two cups of mayonnaise dressing; dice
cold boiled potatoes; cut yolks in small pieces, season, mix
with mayonnaise and let stand one hour before serving.

CHAPTER XXIV

MANUFACTURES

THE potato consists largely of starch and
water. Its use in manufacturing comes
from the high content of the carbohy-
drate starch.

In the manufacturing world the potato is made
use of for starch, potato flour, glucose, alcohol,
and desiccated potatoes.

STARCH

The starch content in potatoes in Wisconsin is
discussed in "Farmers' Bulletin 05" of the United
States Department of Agriculture:

*'The value of a potato crop to the grower de-
pends mainly upon the yield and the size, form, and
healthy condition of the tubers. Perfect tubers
find ready sale at the best prices, while the yield
in itself has no effect on the transaction, and the
chemical composition of the potatoes is, as a rule,
disregarded by the buyer, unless they are to be
used in starch making. In every 100 pounds of
average potatoes there is seventy-five pounds of
water. Of the remaining twenty-five pounds
about twenty pounds is carbohydrates (starch and
sugar, etc.) and two pounds protein. The chief
value of the potato for food as well as for starch
making lies in the stiirch which the tubers contain.

277

278 THE POTATO

The protein content is low and tiie carbohydrates
high, and, therefore, potatoes are especially valu-
able for use in connection with foods rich in pro-
tein, such as lean meat, eggs, etc., to furnish a
well-balanced diet. The subject of the starch
content of potatoes is thus seen to be one of great
importance, and during recent years it has at-
tracted increased attention from American and
European investigators.

"An interesting study of the conditions affect-
ing the starch content of potatoes, begun in 1889,
is reported in the Annual Report of the Wisconsin
Experiment Station for 1895. In these investi-
gations the starch content was approximately
determined by means of the specific gravity of the
tubers. Since by far the greater part of the po-
tato tuber is starch and water, and since starch is
heavier than water, it is evident that the variation
in starch content will affect the specific gravity
of the tuber.

"Among the forty-six varieties of the crop of
1889 the variety Zenith showed the highest starch
content, 22.9 per cent., and Rural Blush the least,
13.1, the average for all varieties being 16.2 per
cent. In 1890 thirty-one varieties, mostly dif-
ferent from those tested the year previous, had an
average starch content of 14.3 per cent., Burbank
showing the highest, 17.7, and the Kidney, a po-
tato from Germany, the least, 11.4 per cent. All
these varieties of potatoes were grown on the
same kind of soil and under practically the same
cultural conditions. Still, the variation in starch
content was as much as 9.8 per cent.

"The starch content was found to vary with
the season with different tubers of the same va-
riety. Pronged and regular tubers of four varieties

THE POTATO 279

were tested separately, and in each case it was
found that the percentage of starch in the pronged
tubers was smaller than in the regular tubers.
This seems to be one of the causes of the variation
in the starch content above referred to

*'A test of different-sized tubers of the same
variety proved that there was practically no differ-
ence in the starch content of large and small tubers.

*'In studying the influence of the depth at
which tubers grow in the soil upon the starch con-
tent, it was found the first year that in every case
the percentage of starch was largest in the deeper-
growing tubers and smallest in those growing
nearest the surface. When we consider the slight
variation in depth at which the tubers grow in the
soil these facts are significant. The next year the
experiment was repeated with a trial of level and
hill culture. The level culture gave higher starch
content than hill culture, and the variations with
the depth were greater in the hill culture than in
the level culture. These facts suggest a possible
explanation of the depth influence — viz., that it
acts through the temperature of the soil. The
deeper tubers are in a cooler medium than the
shallow ones, and soil that is hilled is warmer in
w^arm, dry weather than that which is not hilled.
The variation of temperature in the deeper and
shallower layers would naturally be greater in the
hilled soil.

"In experiments in planting at different dis-
tances the starch content increased as the distance
between the plants decreased. This seems to ac-
cord with the results of the tests of depth of plant-
ing, since close planting promotes shading of the
ground and thus tends to reduce the soil tempera-
ture.

280 THE POTATO

"A test of scabby and healthy tubers of the
Delaware variety showed a higher starch content
in the scabby tubers than in the healthy ones, thus
showing that scabby potatoes are not necessarily
poorer in starch than those free from scab."

The manufacture of starch from sweet potatoes
is discussed in "Farmers' Bulletin 334" of the
United States Department of Agriculture as fol-
lows:

"With a view to the more complete and profit-
able utilization of the sweet-potato crop the
South Carolina station several years ago began
investigations to determine the starch content of
different varieties of sweet potatoes and those
most promising for starch making, how much
starch can be recovered commerically from the
potatoes, and the quality of the starch for com-
mercial purposes.

"As it is usually managed at the present time,
only a fraction of the crop is disposed of, all un-
marketable potatoes being usually a dead loss, and
frequently, through inability to market the crop
promptly, great loss is suffered through damage
by rotting, etc. Where the crop could be dis-
posed of to starch factories the grower would have
the following advantages: (1) All potatoes
could be sold, regardless of their size. (2) No
barrels or containers would be required in market-
ing the crop. They could be loaded into a wagon
in the field and hauled directly to the factory, or
to the nearest railroad and loaded into cars for
shipment. (3) Grown on such a large scale,
modern machinery could be employed in plant-
ing, cultivating, and harvesting the crop, thus

THE POTATO 281

reducing the cost of growing. (4) Heavier yield-
ing varieties could be grown, which are the ones
most valuable for starch production.

*'Up to the time when the study of the question
of producing starch from sweet potatoes was be-
gun at this station, it was a subject that had re-
ceived practically no attention in this country.
It is true, starch was made from this plant on a
small scale in the Southern States during the war,
but the starch obtained in this way was a com-
paratively impure product and intended^ only
for home consumption.

"It would seem that the sweet potato could be
profitably used for this purpose, as it contains a
larger percentage of starch than the Irish potato,
yields a heavier crop, and can be grown more
cheaply. Another advantage it has over the Irish
potato is the fact that the vines of the former
make a good food for stock — some varieties being
very palatable, making good hay and excellent
silage. In composition they compare favorably
with other forage crops.

"The development of cotton manufacturing in
the South has created a demand, which is con-
tinually increasing, for starch used in 'sizing' yarn
and 'filling' cloth. At present every pound of this
starch is brought from other states, principally
from the cornstarch factories of New York and
Illinois. The experiments which we have had
carried out show that for use on cotton goods the
starch produced from sweet potatoes is better than
cornstarch, and fully equal to the best grades of
Irish potato starch. The annual })roduction of
sweet potatoes in the South Atlantic and Gulf
States is about 60,000,000 bushels, but this might
be easily increased tenfold. The theoretical

282 THE POTATO

amount of starch produced per acre from a good
crop of sweet potatoes is from one and one half
to four times as much as from corn, wheat, or Irish
potatoes per acre.

"The variety most in demand for a table po-
tato is not necessarily the one best suited for the
manufacture of starch. In fact, we can say al-
most conclusively that it is not, as the variety con-
taining the largest percentage of starch is apt to be
dry and insipid. Then, too, for starch production
we want a prolific potato, and as a rule the heaviest
vields are not of the best qualitv for the table.
These are the most essential requirements: (1)
High starch content; (2) prolificness; (3) fiesh
light, or white in color. The following come nearer
possessing these requirements than any ve have
thus far examined: Providence, Southern Queen,
and Triumph. Further work may show that
there are other varieties better suited for this
work than anj^ of those mentioned.

"The machinery used in the station experiments
was similar to that used in making starch from
Irish potatoes.

"Four varieties of potatoes were used —
Southern Queen, Providence, Triumph, and Red
Nansemond. The first three were chosen for their
high starch content and light color, and one test
was made of Red Nansemond to see if the color
would interfere with successful starch making.

"The results of experiments carried out for
two years in succession show the entire practi-
cability of the manufacture of starch from sweet
potatoes, but 'the data accumulated is yet insuf-
ficient to make any positive statement as to
whether engaging in this enterprise will prove a
paying investment.'

THE POTATO 283

"At the price at which sweet potatoes are sold
at the present time their nianufaclure into stiircli
alone would not be profitable. It must be re-
membered, however, that, grown on the scale
which would be necessary to run one or more starch
factories, there are a number of expenses which
could be eliminated.

"In the conducting of a factory the following
plan suggests itself as a feasible one : The factory
to take over all potatoes from the farmer, select
the best and even-size ones to be shipjjed to market
for table use, and make starch from the small,
over-size, and ill-shaped ones. All operations
being controlled in this way by the factory on a
large scale, the product could be utilized and mar-
keted to the best advantage. In case of dull
market conditions, instead of shipping the potatoes
they could be canned, for which there is a great
and increasing demand at the present time.

"A successful method has also been devised
for evaporating sweet potatoes. In this con-
dition they will keep indefinitely, and, owing to
their concentrated form, can be shipped long dis-
tances at comparatively small cost. They would,
no doubt, be quite popular if better known.

"As is the case in all paying enterprises, it
would be necessary to watch carefully the by-
products and utilize them to the best advantage.
A method could undoubtedlv be devised for col-
lecting the water with which the potatoes are
treated in the grinding operation. This would
contain the greater portion of the sugars and
could be added to the pulp — from which starch
has been extracted — and all sugars, starch, and
fermentable matter remaining could be converted
into alcohol. It has been sliown that, theoreti-

284 THE POTATO

cally, fifty gallons of 95 per cent, alcohol could be
produced from the residues from 100 bushels of
potatoes.

"It is practically settled that the starch pro-
duced from sweet potatoes is of a high grade and
suitable for use in many operations where a high
grade starch is required. In all of the tests we
have had made not a single adverse report has
been received.

"In practical tests for laundry purposes, for
sizing yarn, filling cloth, thickening colors, etc.,
the starch gave highly satisfactory results."

AI.COHOL

The potato is one source of industrial alcohol.
In "Farmers' Bulletin 2G9" of the United States
Department of Agriculture H. W. Wiley says:

"The most important of the uses of industrial
alcohol as far as the farmer is directly concerned
are those included in heating and illumination.

"It is quite certain that the use of alcohol
motors on the farm will become quite common as
soon as the technique of construction is practically
complete and the price of alcohol is sufficiently
low. Alcohol can be used for all purposes for
which gasoline is employed — namely, the driving
of wagons, carriages, stationary motors, water
pumps, mowing machines, plows, etc. Very little
change need be made in the engine of a motor car
designed to use gasoline to fit it for the use of
alcohol.

"Alcohol is used very extensively in the manu-
facture of dj^es and other by-products from coal
tar. The manufacture of smokeless powder is one

THE POTATO 285

of the industries in which tax-free alcohol is of the
highest importance.

"One of the most important technical uses of
alcohol is in the manufacture of varnishes and lac-
quers, where the gums which are employed are
necessarily dissolved in alcohol. The use of alco-
hoi is extremely important and affects a great many
industries.

"The ether of commerce, sometimes called sul-
phuric ether, is manufactured exclusively from al-
cohol by the action of sulphuric acid and heat.

"Alcohol is used very extensively in the prepa-
ration of medicines. That great body of reme-
dies known as tinctures is made by using alcohol
as a solvent for the active principle of the herbs
and plants from which the tinctures are made.
The law, however, docs not permit the use of de-
natured alcohol for * liquid medicinal purposes.'

"The substance which is known as imitation silk
is really a production from cotton or other cel-
lulose material which, in its finished state, re-
sembles silk somewhat in lustre. It is not silk
and hence not even artificial silk. It is a textile
product which has the promise of a successful
future and is therefore of interest not only to the
manufacturer and the consumer but to the farmer
who produces the cellulose. Imitation silk is in
a measure the same substance as smokeless powder,
except that after it is made the nitrogenous con-
stituents are removed, so as to restore the finished
product again to the condition of ordinary cotton,
devoid of explosive proj)erties. In the making of
imitation silk a partial nitrification of the cotton is
accomplished in much the same manner as in mak-
ing smokeless powder. The partially nitrated
cotton is then reduced to a paste by solution in

286 THE POTATO

alcohol, ether, or other solvent, and in this con-
dition is forced through small orifices, producing
fine fibres of a silky lustre.

"Dilute alcohol, commonly known as low wines,
can be utilized for the manufacture of vinegar.
For this purpose the dilute alcohol is made to pass
over the fresh shavings of beech wood.

"The flavoring extracts of commerce are made
largely with alcohol as a solvent."

In "Farmers' Bulletin 268" is the following by
the same author:

"The term ' industrial alcohol' is used for brevitA%
and also because it differentiates sharply between
alcohol used for beverages or for medicine and
alcohol used for technical purposes in the arts.

"The process of rendering alcohol unsuitable
for drinking is called 'denaturing,' and consists,
essentially, in adding to the alcohol a substance
soluble therein of a bad taste or odor, or both, of
an intensity which would render it impossible or
impracticable to use the mixture as a drink.

"The substance should also be of such a char-
acter that it is difficult to remove it entirely from
the alcohol by any usual process of distillation.

"Industrial alcohol, therefore, is a product
which is the joint work of the farmer and the
manufacturer. The function of the farmer con-
sists in the production of the raw materials from
which the alcohol is to be made. The manufac-
turer takes these raw materials and converts them
into alcohol. This is done under the supervision
and control of the Bureau of Internal Revenue of
the Treasury Department.

"The number of substances which have been

THE POTATO 287

mixed with alcohol to dcnaiiirc it is extremely
large, and that particular denaturing agent should
be selected which is best adapted to the special
use to which the denatured alcohol is to be put.
Among the substances which have been proposed
are the following:

"Gum shellac (with or without the addition of
camphor, turpentine, wood spirit, etc.), colophon-
ium, copal resin, Manila gum, camphor, turpen-
tine, acetic acid, acetic ether, ethylic ether, methyl
alcohol (wood alcohol), pyridin, acetone, methyl
acetate, methyl violet, methylene blue, anihn blue,
eosin, fluorescein, naphthalene, castor oil, benzin,
carbolic acid, caustic soda, musk, animal oils, etc.

"The materials and the quantities which are
employed depend upon the purposes for which
the denatured alcohol is to be used. There are
many technical uses of alcohol, however, in which
the pure alcohol only can be employed, and it is
a question to be decided by the Bureau of Inter-
nal Revenue whether such use of pure alcohol can
be permitted under the existing law.

*'The raw materials from wdiich alcohol is made
consist of those crops grown upon the farm which
contain sugar, starch, gum, and cellulose (w^oody
fibre) capable of being easily converted mto a
fermentable sugar. Alcohol as such is not used
as a beverage. The alcohol occurring in distilled
beverages is principally derived from Indian corn,
rye, barley, and molasses. Alcohol is also produced
for drinking purposes from fermented fruit juices,
such as the juice of grapes, apples, peaches, etc.

"The term ' alcohol ' as used herein and as gener-
ally used means that particidar product which is
obtained by the fermentation of a sugar, or a
starch converted into sugar, and which, from a

288 THE POTATO

chemical point of view, is a compound of the hy-
pothetical substance ethyl with water, or with that
part of water remaining after the separation of one
of the atoms of hydrogen. This is a rather tech-
nical expression, but it is very difficult, without
using technical language, to give a definition of
alcohol from the chemical point of view. There
are three elementary substances represented in
alcohol: Carbon, the chemical symbol of which is
C; hydrogen, symbol H; and oxygen, symbol O.
These atoms are put together to form common
alcohol, or, as it is called, ethyl alcohol, in which
preparation two atoms of carbon and five atoms of
hydrogen form the hypothetical substance ethyl
and one atom of oxygen and one atom of hj^drogen
form the hydroxl derived from water. The chemical
symbol of alcohol therefore is C^ H5 OH. Ab-
solutely pure ethyl alcohol is made only with
great difficulty, and the purest commercial forms
still have associated with them traces of other
volatile products formed at the time of the dis-
tillation, chief among which is that group of al-
cohols to which the name fusel oil is applied.

"Starch is a compound which, from the chemical
point of view, belongs to the class known as car-
bohydrates— that is, compounds in which the ele-
ment carbon is associated by a chemical union
with water. Starch is therefore a compound made
of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, existing in the
proportion of two atoms of hydrogen to one atom
of oxygen. Each molecule of starch contains at
least six atoms of carbon, ten atoms of hydrogen,
and five atoms of oxygen. The simplest expres-
sion for starch is therefore Ce H5 O5.

''The principal starch producing plants are the
cereals, the potato, and cassava. With the po-

THE POTATO 289

tato may be classed, though not botanlcally re-
lated thereto, the sweet potato and the yam.
Among cereals rice has the largest percentage of
starch and oats the smallest. The potato, as
grown for the table, has an average content of
about 15 per cent, of sUirch. When a potato is
grown specifically for the production of alcohol it
contains a larger quantity, or nearly 20 per cent.
Cassava contains a larger percentage of starch
than the potato, varying from 20 to 30 per cent.

*' Under the microscope the granules of potato
starch have a distinctive appearance. They ap-
pear as egg-shaped bodies on which, especially the
larger ones, various ring-like lines are seen. With
a modified light under certain conditions of ob-
servation a black cross is developed upon the gran-
ule. It is not difficult for an expert microscopist
to distinguish potato from other forms of starch
by this appearance.

"The mineral matters which the potato ex-
tracts from the soil or from the fertilizers which
are added thereto consist chiefly of phosphate and
potash. The mean average composition of the
ash of the potato is shown in the following table :

Potash (K,0) .... 60.3

Soda (XaO) 2.62

Lime (CaO) 2.57

Magnesia (MfiO) 4.69

Iron oxid. (Fe.O,) 1.18

Pho-sphoric acid (P.O5) 17 . 33

Sulphuric acid (S63) 6.49

Chlorin 3.11

SiHcic acid (SiO,) 2.13

"This analysis was made upon the so-called
pure ash, deprived of its unburned carbon, and
freed of sand and carbon dioxid.

290 THE POTATO

*'0f all the common root crops, the potatoes,
including the yam and the sweet potato, are the
most valuable for the production of alcohol, mean-
ing by this term that they contain more ferment-
able matter for 100 pounds than other root crops.
This is shown by the following comparative
statement:

White turnips . . ... . . 6 to 8 per cent.

Rutabagas ' . 8 " 13

Mangel-WTirzels ". 8 " 15

Carrots 8 " 16

Parsnips 8 " 17

Sugar-beets 10 " 22

Potatoes, sweet potatoes and yams . 14 " 26

"Under the most favorable circumstances and
with potatoes which have been bred especially for
the purpose an average content of fermentable
matter of about 20 per cent, may be reasonably
expected. It is thus seen that approximately
ten pounds of industrial alcohol can be made
from one hundred pounds of potatoes. If sixty
pounds be taken as the average weight of a bushel
of potatoes, there are found therein twelve pounds
of fermentable matter, from which six pounds of
industrial alcohol can be produced, or six sevenths
of a gallon. It has also been shown that at the
prices quoted in 1905 the amount of Indian com
necessary for the production of a gallon of indus-
trial alcohol costs not less than 15 cents. From
this it is evident that the potatoes for alcohol mak-
ing will have to be produced at a cost not to exceed
15 cents per bushel before they can compete with
Indian corn for the manufacture of industrial
alcohol.

"The three principal steps in the manufacture of

THE POTATO 291

alcohol are (1) the preparation of the mash or wort,
(2) the fermentation of the mash or wort drawn off
from the mash tun, and (3) the distillation of the
dilute alcohol formed in the beer or wash from the
fermentation tanks. The preparation of mash in-
cludes (1) the treatment of the material used with
hot water to form a paste of the starch or the sugar,
and (2) the action of the malt or ferment on the
paste to convert the starch into fermentable sugar.

*'The object of the mash tun is to reduce the
starch in the ground grain to a pasty, gummy mass,
in order that the ferment of the malt may act upon
it vigorously and convert it into sugar. If the
mashing be done before the addition of the malt
the temperature may be raised to that of boiling
water. If, however, the malt be added before
the mashing begins, the temperature should not
rise much, if any, above 140 degrees F., since the
fermenting power is retarded and disturbed at
higher temperature. The mashing is simply a
mechanical process by means of which the starch
is reduced to a form of paste and the temperature
maintained at that point which is best suited to
the conversion of starch into sugar.

"The mash, after the starch has all been con-
verted into sugar, goes into fermenting tanks,
which in Scotland are called * wash backs' when the
yeast is added. They often have a stirring ap-
paratus whereby the contents can be thoroughly
mixed with the yeast and kept in motion. This
is not necessary after the fermentation is once
well established, but it is advisable, especially in
the early stages, to keep the yeast well distributed
throughout the mass. In these tanks the fer-
mentations are conducted, the temperature being
varied according to the nature of the product to

292 THE POTATO

be made. For industrial alcohol the sole purpose
should be to secure the largest possible percentage
of alcohol without reference to its palatable prop-
erties."

Consul John H. Grout, Odessa, Russia, says:

"In the alcohol-distilling industry of Russia
potatoes are annually increasing in importance,
the alcohol produced therefrom exceeding that pro-
duced from all other sources.

"Aside from the large quantities of potatoes
purchased every year by the factories from peas-
ant producers and estate owners whenever these
may have a surplus which they cannot more prof-
itably dispose of, there are large plantations
devoted solely to the production of potatoes for
distilling purposes, there being also a tendency
to increase these plantations.

"The potato crop of 1910 for European Russia
was greatly in excess of that of the previous year,
which was also a good one, and the quality of the
tubers was in most districts better than in 1909.
It is generally supposed that the climate of Russia
is favorable for the production of potatoes in vast
quantities, and that, with the aid of fertilizers,
their production can be increased to meet all
demands of distillation, the production of dena-
turized sprits for industrial and illuminating
purposes now being only in its infancy."

DRIED OR DESICCATED POTATOES

It is the opinion of Secretary of Agriculture
James Wilson and other close students of the food
supply of the world that there should be some way

THE POTATO 293

of preparing and preserving potatoes that stocks
may be carried over from tlic "fat" (large jm'o-
ducing) to the "lean" (small producing) years.
This would balance or equalize supplies to guard
against possibility of famine or an approach to it
because of crop shortage in densely populated
countries.

In the Daily Consular and Trade Reports of the
Bureau of Manufactures of the Department of
Commerce and Labor, February 19, 1910, Consul
Thomas H, Norton, of Chemnitz, describes a proc-
ess recently introduced by a Prussian firm by
which potatoes may be converted into a dry con-
centrated meal. He writes as follows:

"The potato occupies a relatively more impor-
tant position in Germany than in other European
countries. It is not only employed largely for
food for both man and beast, but also for conver-
sion into starch and alcohol. The 1908 crop was
estimated at 40,500,000 metric tons (51,i25G,950
short tons), 13,000,000 tons being used for hiunan
food and 19,000,000 tons for feeding domestic
animals. Starch factories utilized 1,500,000 tons,
distilleries 2,500,000 tons, while 5,500,000 tons
were required for seed. There remained 5,000,000
tons, lost by decay, freezing, etc. German econo-
mists have recognized the extent of this national
loss, of about $28,500,000 in value, especially be-
cause the empire now imports annuallv about
$72,000,000 worth of cattle fodder. Nearly 40
per cent, of this sum, paid to foreign agriculture,
could be saved if the loss by subseciuent decay in
the harvest potato crop could be prevented.

"Numerous processes have been sul)mitted in
response to an offering of prizes amounting to

294 THE POTATO

$6,000. These are based upon two distinct
methods of treatment. In the first, sUced po-
tatoes are exposed to the current of hot gases from
a furnace; in the second, the flake process, potatoes
are more finely divided, and dried at a lower tem-
perature with the aid of steam coils. This last
method is costly. The product of the first method,
while available for industrial purposes, is not fully
satisfactory for use as a fodder.

"A process recently patented and introduced
by a Prussian firm seems to have successfully over-
come the disadvantages of the earlier systems.
The essential features consist in the use of pressure
combined w ith a vacuum for withdrawing the bulk
of the water in potatoes, the further drying of the
residue by artificial heat, and the isolation of
albumen found in the press liquor. This process
has been tried with excellent results on an indus-
trial scale.

"The plant employed is comparatively simple.
The potatoes are first thoroughly washed in a large
vat provided with a stirring apparatus. Thence
they pass into a mashing machine, and the pulpy
mass is pumped into a reservoir, and from this is
fed through a large funnel into the suction machine.
The latter is the central feature of the plant and
presents a somewhat novel form of utilizing the
vacuum principle. It consists of two hollow cyl-
inders, one immediately above the other. The
exterior is made of perforated plate similar to that
employed in centrifugal machines and filter pumps,
and is covered with linen filtering cloth. A pipe
connects the interior of each cylinder with an air
exhaust. The interior spaces are, however,
divided into segments, and the construction is
such that the lessened pressure in each segment is

THE POTATO 295

felt when it is in immediate contact with the com-
panion cyHnder. As the potato pulp passes be-
tween the two cylinders, not only their pressure,
but also atmospheric pressure, removes nearly all
liquid. The residual mass falls into a trough and
is conducted by a helical conveyor to small cars.
These pass into a hydraulic press, where the mass
is finally deprived of all water capable of removal
by pressure.

"From the press the potato mass is transferred
to the drier. This consists of a cylindrical cham-
ber, within which there is a revolving drum,
divided horizontally into ten sections. The upper
seven sections are heated by connection with a
series of steam pipes; the lower three are cooled by
means of a similar series, through which water
circulates. The pressed potato cake is continu-
ously fed into the top section. From this it grad-
ually descends through openings into the lower
sections, one after another, until it finally issues
from the bottom compartment and is conveyed to
storage rooms. The construction of this revolv-
ing drum is such that prongs attached to its axis
continually stir up and crumble the nearly dried
potato cake, so that it is in coarse grains when it
leaves the apparatus. At the same time, by means
of properly directed air currents and the aid of
the elevated temperature in the upper seven sec-
tions, nearly all moisture remaining after the treat-
ment in the press is effectively removed.

"The resultant coarse potato meal has one
quarter of the original weight of the tubers em-
ployed, and occupies one eighth of the space. It
has an odor and taste similar to that of freshly
made bread. It may be used or kept in this con-
dition, or can be pressed into compact cakes for

296 THE POTATO

convenience in transportation. The chemical analy-
sis of potato meal, dried as above described, gives
the following percentages: Water, 11.50; fat, 0.31;
protein, 3.73; ash, 2.06; fibre, 1.71; carbohydrates,
80.69.

"Pressed potato cake is easily broken up by
hand, and can be fed to animals, alone or mixed
with other forms of fodder, preferably after mois-
tening with a little water, when it is at once
softened.

*'By the combined processes of pressure and
suction nearly three quarters of the weight of raw
potatoes are removed in the form of a cloudy
liquor. This portion is allowed to stand in res-
ervoirs until all traces of starch have settled to
the bottom. The clear liquor is then boiled and
filtered with the aid of a vacuum apparatus.
A precipitate is obtained of crude protein
amounting to about 2 per cent, of the original
weight of the tubers. By proper treatment this
yields about 80 per cent, of technically pure
albumen, which is constantly in demand in Ger-
man markets.

"The residual liquors from the protein precipi-
tate contain small amounts of sugar, salts, and
nitrogenous matter. They can be advantage-
ously used for irrigation purposes on agricultural
lands.

"The plant requisite for the treatment of
10,000 tons of potatoes during a season of about
eight months costs $18,000 to $19,000. The
machinery alone, without a press for transforming
the meal into cakes, costs $12,000. For a building,
$3,000 suffices, and the remainder is needed for
pumps, motive power, washing vats, etc.

"The force needed to operate the plant con-

THE POTATO 297

sists of seven men, and includes one engineer, a
stoker, one helper, one workman in the potato
cellar, two to attend to the machines, and one to
handle the residual liquors. If the fintd product
is to be pressed into cakes, the additional cost of
the plant is about $4,000, and two more operatives
are required. Such an installation can naturally
be operated with great economy in connection
with a distillery or starch factory.

"In practice it is found that the total cost of
preparing unpressed potato meal by the above
method (including interest, depreciation, etc.) is
$0.56 per long ton of tubers. The additional cost
for pressing into cakes is $0.12 per ton of potatoes.
In estimating the cost of the fodder thus produced
it is, of course, necessary to deduct a certain sum
for the albumen extracted from the residual liquor,
as mentioned above. AVhen potatoes are to be
raised for supplying regions more or less remote
with cattle fodder the advantage of having the
nutritive constituents of the tuber in a concen-
trated form is obvious. Thus, in practice, 3.8
tons of raw potatoes yield one ton of the (l(\sic-
cated product. The freight charges in Germany
for transporting (in carloads) the 3.8 tons a dis-
tance of 100 kilometers (62 miles) are $3.07. The
freight charge, under similar conditions, for the
one ton of meal would be $0.81. Addhig to this
the cost, 50 cents per ton, of treating the 3.8 tons
of raw potatoes, or $2.13, the total expense of
delivering the fodder would be $2.94. At the
comparatively short distance of twenty-six miles
there is then a distinct economy in shij)ping the
meal instead of tubers. With every increase in
distance there would be a proportionate increase
in the saving.

298 THE POTATO

"In these days of rising values for all meat prod-
ucts there is a prospect that the newly introduced
process will aid materially in decreasing the cost
of cattle raising in various sections of the empire,
where stock raisers are largely dependent upon
fodder transported from a distance.'*

The manufacture of desiccated potatoes has
been started in the United States.

C. F. Langworthy, in "Farmers' Bulletin 295,"
says:

"Potatoes are so valuable in the diet that
many attempts have been made to put them into
a compact form in which they can be kept for a
long time. This is usually accomphshed by drying
them, which both preserves them from decay and
reduces their bulk. One of the oldest of such prep-
arations is one long used in Peru and known as
chunno. To make it, part of the juice is pressed
out of the potatoes, w^hich are then dried in the air
imtil they are reduced to about one fourth of their
original weight. There is a variety of similar prep-
arations in American and European markets, and
although the mode of procedure differs consider-
ably in the various brands the main principle is
the same — namely, to check bacterial action. The
changes which w^e call decay are caused mainly by
the development of bacteria. These can repro-
duce only where there is moisture and warmth
present. Therefore, if the moisture is removed,
their growth is retarded. The fact that the bulk
of the potatoes is reduced at the same time is
especially advantageous because such dried prep-
arations are used mainly for camping expeditions,
long sea voyages, and under other conditions where

THE POTATO 299

storage space is at a premium. The composi-
tion of such desiccated or evaporated potatoes is
practically that of the original tubers minus more
or less of the water. Of course, if extreme heat
is used in the preparation, part of the starch may
be changed to dextrin and there may be other
minor changes in the chemical composition.
There is no reason to believe that these decrease
the nutritive value. Various kinds of desiccated
potatoes have been studied at the California
Agricultural Experiment Station. Their water
content ranged from 4.8 to 7.9 per cent, and their
total carbohydrates from 77.9 to 80.6 per cent.
In fact, their general composition was not unlike
that of good white flour. They contained slightly
less water, protein and fat, slightly more car-
bohydrates, and noticeably more mineral matters.
Of course desiccated potatoes are supposed to be
soaked in water before using and in this way re-
gain somewhat their original characteristics.
While their flavor and appearance cannot equal
these of good fresh potatoes, they are considered
very appetizing and acceptable where fresh ones
are unobtainable.

"Chemical substances are sometimes used for
improving the color (i. e., 'bleaching') of desiccated
potatoes. While a small quantity of these may be
harmless, their continued presence in the diet
might be very dangerous, and their use is not to be
recommended.

"Canned potatoes are on the market and arc
prepared for use in camps or wherever it is not
convenient to cook food. They also may be kept
in good condition for a long time. In composi-
tion such goods do not dift'er from similar freshly
cooked potatoes."

300 THE POTATO

MANUFACTURING AT KYRITZ, GERMANY

During the season of 1910 the senior author
made a study of manufacturing potato products
in Germany, and his notes follow:

"The manufacture of starch, potato, flour and
glucose at this place was started in 1872. It is
now one of the largest and most successful manu-
facturing centres. The factory there claims to
produce the best product in Germany. There
are from twenty to thirty factories in the countiy.

*'The factory is an immense affair, as large as
a million dollar beet-sugar factory in the United
States and equipped with the finest macliineiy.
Everything in the factory is kept pohshed and
clean. Germans are noted for this in all tlieir
manufacturing plants.

"Potatoes come to the factoiy in cars in buBv.
The factory starts about September 1st, or as soon
as starch is developed in the potatoes.

"The company which owns and operates the
factory is owned jointly by the growers and busi-
ness men of Kyritz. It must be operated at a
profit. As manager, Mr. Bergmann wa^ anxious
to know if there were opportmiities for factories
in America.

"In the factory every economy that German
science and mechanics can invent is employed for
the cheap handling of the product, for saving
greatest per cent, of high-class products and con-
serving the by-products.

"One of the most interesting features was a
pipe line for carrying the water that had been
used in extracting the starch from the sliced or
pulped potato to a waste piece of sand land grown

THE POTATO 301

up to hcallier, two miles distant. This was re-
claiming and building uj) the fertility of this land.
It was seeded to pasture grasses and 200 acres
furnished grazing for 300 head of stock.

"The pulp or waste is used for stock feeding, the
same as beet pulp from sugar-beet factories, but
the Germans prolong its use more than we do by
dr^^ing it so that it retains its feeding value for a
year. It is mostly used for cow and pig feed.

"Farmers who live long distances from the
factory manufacture coarse or crude starch on their
farms and ship the gross product to the factory for
refining and manufacturing, saving the transpor-
tation on raw potatoes and keeping the pulp for
their stock.

"Potato flour is usuallj^ called rough starch.
The process of manufacturing has recently been
very greatly improved and still greater improve-
ments are now contemplated.

"The price of starch and flour is the same. It
is ruled by the price of wheat and sells at about
the same price per hundred.

"Rye flour is improved for baking by its ad-
dition. Cake makers and confectioners use it
mixed with wheat flour. It makes dehcious and
nutritious puddings and cakes. The usual price
is $5 per barrel of 200 pounds.

"When the manager was asked wdiy they had
so many casks racked up at a starch factory, he
replied; 'I had hoped you would not see them or
ask me about them. They are casks in which we
ship glucose in to the confectioners of London,
Paris, Berlin, and other large cities.'

"This glucose is one of the by-])roducts of the
factory. It is of the highest (jualiiy and brings
more money than glucose manufactured from

302 THE POTATO

cereals. It sells for 75 cents more per 200 pounds
than flour.

*'This factory uses 250,000 tons of potatoes
annually. The price paid for potatoes of 18 to
24 per cent, starch content is 20 to 35 cents per
hundred, or 12 to 21 cents per bushel. One of the
by-products is 3,500 tons of glucose.

"The farmers in irrigated districts of the West
can make splendid incomes for growing potatoes for
starch. It can also be done by the farmers of
the potato-growing states of the East when they
bring their lands up to the productiveness they
are capable of.

"The manufacturing of small and waste and
rough potatoes every year, feeding the pulp, and
making desiccated potatoes in seasons of over-
production, will make the potato industry more
stable and make the prices more even.

"With our cheap electric power and coal, as
compared with Germany, this manufacturing of
potatoes should be more profitable here.

"The manufacture of alcohol from potatoes
keeps the price of gasoline comparatively low in
Europe."

CHAPTER XXV

POTATOES AND POTATO PRODUCTS AS STOCK FEED

ON A basis of strict economy as regards the
use of the world's supply of foodstuffs, it
would probably never be right to feed po-
tatoes fit for human food to livestock.

Granting this, the potato has yet a place of some
importance as a stock food. There are thousands
of tons of small, cut, bruised and diseased potatoes
produced annually in potato districts that should
be converted into high-class animal products. In
addition to this, there are the by-products of the
various manufacturing processes in which the po-
tato is used

The feeding of potatoes and potato products has
been practised more in Europe than in America,
because the American farmer has had, since the
beginning of agriculture in this country, an abund-
ance of cheap grains for stock feeding.

We have undoubtedly seen the last of ex-
tremely low-priced grains — so that the heavy
cropping, succulent potato, should have a place
of increasing importance as one part of stock feed
rations.

In "Farmers' Bulletin 79 " of the United States
Department of Agriculture is the following in-
teresting information:

"A number of French agriculturists have re-
cently studied the desirability of ensiling potatoes.

303

304 THE POTATO

A considerable amount of heat is generated by the
fermentation of the green material in silos, and it
was thought this could be utilized and the pota-
toes could be cooked as well as preserved.

"In one test the potatoes were buried in a silo
filled with crimson clover. They acquired the
characteristic color of the plant and the odor
developed in fermentation. The tubers were
flattened by the heavy pressure to which they had
been subjected. When removed from the silo
they were comparatively soft. They were exam-
ined microscopically and chemically, and it was
found that they had been cooked by the heat of
fermentation, and that they were rendered more
digestible by the process; that is, the percentage of
soluble material was increased...

"Another silo was filled by siurrounding about a
ton of potatoes with corn (whole plant). Upon
opening, the corn and potatoes were both found in
good condition. The tubers were found somewhat
flattened, as in the previous experiment, but were
more cohesive. The potatoes were not as thor-
oughly cooked, since the temperature and pres-
sure were less than in the previous case.

"As shown by analysis, the potatoes ensiled
with crimson clover had lost less water than those
ensiled with corn. The most striking difference,
however, was the high percentage of cooked starch ;
or in other words the increased assimilability of
the potatoes ensiled with clover. The crushed
potatoes when removed from the silo lost weight
very rapidly on exposure to the air, and formed a
hard mnss, containing only 15 to 20 per cent, of
water. In this condition they could be kept for a
long time. When required for feeding purposes
they were soaked in water, which they readily

THE rOTATO 30.>

cibsorbcd and llius regained their softness and di-
gestibility.

"Another investigator ensiled chopped raw
})otatoes with two pounds of salt per 1,000 pounds
of potatoes, under pressure of 2,500 pounds per
square yard. The total cost of hashing, chopping,
putting in the silo, and weighing fifty tons of pota-
toes was about $15. The potatoes were put in
the silo in the latter part of November. When
the silo was filled the material was five and a half
feet deep. Sixty-two days later the silo was
opened, and the mass had sunk to a little over
three feet. The temperature of the silo when
filled was 39 degrees F., and when opened it was
50 degrees. The ensiled potato pulp was white,
but became blackened on exposure to the air.
Cattle ate this pulp greedily, alone or mixed with
cottonseed cake.

"Experiments made at the Minnesota station
have shown that while the digestibility of cooked
and raw potatoes by pigs was about the same,
pigs could be induced to eat larger quantities of
cooked potatoes. It was calculated that a ration
of fifteen pounds of potatoes and four pounds
of shorts would furnish an amount of protein
sufficient for maintenance, leaving a margin for
growth.

"On the basis of cost, comparisons were
made of the value of potatoes and other feeding
stuffs. In the investigator's opinion, with foods
at the present prices, it is doubtful whether it
would be profitable to feed large amounts of
potatoes to dairy stock, because cows require
more protein than would be supplied by a fatten-
ing ration similar in character to that mentioned
above.

306 THE POTATO

*' Potatoes cannot be fed to young animals as
safely as to more mature ones, since if fed in too
large quantities they have a tendency to pre-
maturely fatten the animal. With mature animals
when the object is principally the addition of fat
to the body, potatoes may be fed to good advan-
tage.

"When the crop of potatoes is large and prices
low, a method of storing and feeding potatoes to
advantage is desirable.

"A method of preserving potatoes which at the
same time cooks them would seem worthy of trial,
but it would doubtless be wise to experiment on
a small scale first."

John M. Scott, in Florida Agricultural Experi-
ment Station *' Press Bulletin 71," says:

"In all feeding experiments it has been found
that rations containing a high percentage of carbo-
hydrates (fat and heat producing material) do not
give good returns in producing meat; but if suf-
ficient protein (muscle and bone producing ma-
terial) is added, so as to give the animal a balanced
ration (or one nearly balanced) the results arc
generally satisfactory. It makes little difference
in what feeds the carbohydrates are furnished so
long as the material is digestible. Since sweet
potatoes are a crop easily grown, give good yields,
are well adapted to the soils and climate of Florida,
and contain a large percentage of carbohydrates,
some notice should be taken of them, and they
deserve to be studied in order to find out their
value as a feed for pork production.

"It has been pretty clearly demonstrated that
sweet potatoes when fed alone are a poor feed for

THE POTATO 307

pork production. This is due to the fact that
sweet potatoes contain such a hirgc amount of
carbohydrates and such a small percentage of
protein. The results of these experiments may be
summarized as follows:

"In a feeding test lasting forty -two days, four
pigs were fed on sweet potatoes only, during which
time the pigs lost in weight instead of making a
gain. The pigs in this test were rather small,
averaging only twenty-two pounds. In another
experiment with older pigs, averaging about one
hundred pounds, the results were a httle more
favorable; yet the gains in w^eight were not large
enough to make it a paying investment to feed
sweet potatoes alone. When some other feed was
used in combination wath sweet potatoes, the
results were quite different. In one test lasting
for a period of twenty-eight days pigs averaging
150 pounds were fed sweet potatoes and shorts in
the proportion of one part shorts to six parts sweet
potatoes by w^eight. The pigs made good daily
gains, giving the sweet potatoes a value of about
50 cents per hundred (when pork was worth 5 cents
per pound) for pork production.

"This may perhaps seem a very small price for
the farmer to receive for his sweet potatoes, but
it certainly gives him an idea as to the feeding
value of his potato crop. If the market price of
potatoes should fall as low as 65 cents or 70 cents
per hundred, it would be a question whether or
not the farmer could best afford to put his crop on
the market or feed it to his hogs."

In "Farmers' Bulletin 410," the analysis of pota-
toes, potato skins, and potato slop is given as
follows :

308

THE POTATO

Material

Ash

Protein

(Nx 6.25)

Ether

extract

(fat)

Sugar as
dextrose

SUrch

Crude
fibre

Nitro-
gen free
extract

Per

cent.

Per
cent.

Per

cent.

Per

cent.

Potato
Potato
skins
Slop

4.39

6.51
11.26

10.06

21.87
30.00

0.29

2.55
.69

1.59

1.44
2.29

70.35

8.65
2.98

2.26

20.69
6.54

10.55

38.40
46-24

"This table shows that the dry substance in the
slop is very different in composition from the
potato itseK, being a more highly nitrogenous food.
The great increase in the amount of protein as
compared with the total dry substance in the slop
is, of course, due to the fermentation of the starch
and sugar, resulting in a concentration of the nitrog-
enous material.

"Any scheme for the operation of agricultural
distilleries, whether small or large, should provide
for the utilization of the by-product knowTi as
'slop.' This is the residuum remaining after the
alcohol and a small amount of water have been
boiled off from the fermented distillery mash; and
it contauis, dissolved or suspended in the remaining
liquid of the mash, all of the constituents of the
materials employed except that portion of the
sugars and starch which was converted into alcohol
during tlie fermentation. This slop has been
found, both in this country and abroad, to be a
feeding stuff of high value and should be fed to the
stock on the farm that furnishes the raw materials
used in the distillery. In this way its full utiliza-
tion can be secured. First, through the production
of flesh, milk, or energy in the stock to which it is
fed; and, second, by returning to the soil in the

THE POTATO 309

form of manure those necessary elements of plant
food which were abstracted during the production
of the potatoes or other raw materials.

"The large proportion of water contained in all
slop has an important bearing in determining the
amount of slop solids which can be fed to any
animal in one day. It has been customary in this
country, where cattle have been fed with slop in
sheds on the grounds of large whiskey and alcohol
distilleries and not on the farm, to allow each bul-
lock dailj'' the volume of slop corresponding to a
bushel of the grain mashed. In other words, a
distillery mashing 1,000 bushels daily will diiitrib-
ute its slop among 1,000 head of cattle. Reduced
to volume, this would be equivalent to about
thirty gallons per head per day. This amomit is
excessive, even when fed with considerable ciuan-
tities of hay and other roughage, as is showTi by
the flabbiness of the stock and the liquid character
of their manure. The injurious effect of the slop
when fed excessively, as heretofore in tliis countr3%
is liable in the case of milch cows to result in
dangerous contamination of their milk through
the great difficulty of keeping their hindquarters
clean.

"In Germany, where slop feeding has been
practised very successfully on the basis of care-
ful investigations at the agricultural experiment
stations, it is customary to feed much smaller
volumes. According to Maercker, it is allowable
to give from eighteen to twenty gallons per head
per day in fattening oxen weighing from 1,300 to
1,400 pounds. More than this amount has been"
found injurious. Milch cows should not receive
more than sixteen gallons daily. It is necessary
to feed the slop as hot as i)Ossible, and since it is

310 THE POTATO

especially susceptible to bacterial decomposition it
should also be fed when fresh.

"Investigations are needed in this country to
determine the composition of rations, suited to
American conditions, in which potato slop takes
its proper place."

CHAPTER XXVI

POTATOES FOR EXHIBITION: SCORE CARDS AND

STANDARDS

THE interest in exhibits of agricultural prod-
ucts increases yearly. Never before in
the history of this country have the most
representative and influential people so keenly
realized the importance of farming, and this is
manifested in the apparent demand for shows at
which are displayed the ])roducts of the soil.

To see the results of the most advanced work in
farming helps the producer, the dealer, and the
consumer. The producer is spurred to do his best,
and the rivalry between growers makes the product
better each year; the dealer is educated as to better
sorts, and methods of marketing are improved, and
the consumer learns to know and appreciate the
best, thereby increasing consumption.

The Old World is far in advance of America in
some features of agricultural exliibitions. There,
shows are held for agricultural exhibits alone,
without the disgusting so-called "attractions" and
fake shows that characterize so many American
fairs. A change is coming rapidly in this country,
brought about largely by the representatives of tlie
agricultural press. These broad-minded, hard-
working gentlemen have had and continue to have
in a greater degree than ever before a most whole-
some and uplifting influence for higher ideals in
American agriculture.

311

312 THE POTATO

The selection and exhibition of potatoes Is a fine
art in England, the potato being one of the princi-
pal features in their agricultural shows. Recent
shows in this country, notably the Chicago Land
Shows in 1909 and 1910 and 1911, and the New
York Land Show of 1911, have had most creditable
exhibits, and there are plans now under way for
displays better and more elaborate than any yet
made. During the next decade visitors to Ameri-
can agricultural fairs will see remarkable advances
in the modern potato.

Exhibitions of the past have been a factor in
increasing the demand for high-class potatoes, and
in the future will be an even greater factor in mak-
ing demand and increasing per capita consump-
tion. These displays show discerning people that
there are potatoes and potatoes, the same as
other food products, and they teach themselves
to distinguish between the good, bad, and in-
different.

The work of preparing potatoes for exhibit
should begin with the selection of strong, true-to-
type seed, and include everything that is correct in
cultural methods. A deep, mellow, well-aired seed
bed is especially important. This permits the tu-
bers to grow naturally and evenly.

At digging time the potatoes are either carefully
dug with a fork, or selected as they are turned out
by the digger. The ground should be perfectly dry
and every precaution taken to prevent bruising and
peeling. This is particularly important when the
tubers are not entirely ripe.

As they are gathered they should be allowed to
remain in the sun only long enough to dry and
harden the skin — probably two or three hours.
As soon as thoroughly dry, the potatoes may be

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THE POTATO 313

carefully brushed with a soft brush — to remove all
dirt and dust — then wrapped in soft paper and
carefully packed in slatted crates. If potatoes are
left in the sun too long they turn green.

Exhibition potatoes must be kept in a cool, dry
place and should be examined frequently to make
sure that all conditions are right. The kind of
potato that wins in the shows is one that is of the
greatest commercial value — a smooth even tuber
weighing ten to sixteen ounces, with clear, disease-
free skin, shallow eyes, and the lustre and bloom
that make an attractive appearance. It must be
true to the \}^e of the variety, and each potato as
nearly like the others as possible.

Shows encourage growers, keep old varieties dis-
tinct and bring about the production of new ones of
higher quality and usefulness.

The big overgrown potato is no longer a factor
at a show except as a monstrosity.

At the show, the ideas of the exhibitor as regards
attractive display make the individuality of the
exhibit. The one important thing to keep in mind
is that pretty decorations should be made second-
ary to displaying the quality and uniformity of
the potatoes. Bushel market baskets may be used
to advantage in display, and plates are sometimes
used.

A large quantity of potatoes, displayed in a pile
or against a wall, impresses the observer with the
idea of plenty, and that they must come from a big,
rich country or farm that is well adapted to the
production of the crop. Such a display is espe-
cially striking when in the same show there are
exhibits consisting of only two or three specimens
of a variety.

At the English and Scotch shows very fme dis-

314 THE POTATO

plays are made by tlie big seed houses. They
show big banks of even tubers that are as attrac-
tive as oranges or apples. Retail dealers in Great
Britain put up potatoes for sale in very much
more attractive shape than our dealers, thereby
increasing their sales and the consumption of
the crop.

Fruit and flower shows have been important
factors in increasing the interest in and demand
for these, and there are great possibilities both
for the grower and exhibitor, and the industry
in general in the well-planned exhibitions of po-
tatoes.

For judging potatoes there is no universal scale
of points. The following is one used by the Weld
County, Colorado, Farmers' Club. Greeley is the
principal town in this county:

SCORE CARD FOR GREELEY POTATOES

Disqualifications: For show or first three mar-
ket grades. Screen less than one and seven eighths
inches in clear. INIany knots. Very deep eyes or
very irregular shape. For show, any mixture of
varieties; for market, more than 5 per cent, of
same color or 2 per cent, of different color. Color
mottled, splashed, blue or purple. Muddy. Over
15 per cent, scabby or wormy, or 1 per cent, un-
sound. One fourth hollow. Sacks not neat,
strong, uniform in size. Sacks not securely sewed
with standard sack twine.

Trueness to name and type required, but judges
are instructed to favor improvements in type. No
red potato to score as high on color as a white
variety; no deep-eyed or long potato to be scored
as high on shape as if round and smooth.

THE POTATO 315

/. Dealers' Scale. External Examination

{ Too large 2

Size 20 ] Too Small 12

( Not even 0

Shape 10 10

( Not bright 10

Appearance GO -< Dirty 10

( Scabby or wormy 40

t^ \•^ in j Unsound 5

Quahty 10 j Brittle or spongy 5

100

//. Filial Purchasers' Scale. Knije Examination

Smoothness 5

Pares thin 10

Flesh white 5

Soimd and not hollow 5

Cortical layer thick 10

Centres small and not watery 15

50
///. Consumers' Scale. Table Quality

Quickness of cooking 5

Potatoes cook alike 10

Mealiness 20

Whiteness 5

Grain (mashed) 5

Flavor 5

Four potatoes for cooking test of same total bulk
for each lot shall be put into white pots of same
shape and size, covered at same time with boihng
water, kept boiling evenly until done. Set one
potato aside until cold. If it then crumbles on
cutting as for rewarming, deduct 1 to 5 points on
mealiness. Drain and season alike the three po-
tatoes on each lot with same (luanlity of sailed

316 THE POTATO

cream, mashed the same number of strokes with

same masher.

Total score. Perfect 200 „

MARKET GRADES

Fancy Potatoes. One variety ripe, sound,
smooth, clean, bright, even, run of good size, true
to type, not over 5 per cent., but would run over
screen two inches in clear:

Choice Potatoes. One variety, ripe, sound, not
over 5 per cent, scabby, wormy or knotty; fairly
clean, bright and even in size; not over 10 per cent.,
but would run over screen two inches in clear.

No. 1 Grade. One variety with not over 5 per
cent, mixture of same color, or 2 per cent, of
other color; fairly ripe for date of shipment; not
over 15 per cent, scabby or wormy; not very knotty
or muddy; fair size, run over screen one and seven
eighths inch in clear.

No. 2 Grade. Not over 50 per cent, scabby,
wormy, knotty, or green; not over 5 per cent,
unsound or that would go through a screen one and
seven eighths inch in clear.

The grower who sorts poorly, or uses a screen
less than one and seven eighths inch in the clear,
or who does not throw away his poor sacks, or who
fails to do that little job of grading and to provide
that foot ditch and wasteway, injures his neighbor
even more than himself.

THE CHICAGO SCALE

The scale which follows is used under the Chicago
Produce Reporter System:

Fancy Potatoes shall be known as: One variety'
true to name, ripe, sound, smooth, clean, bright,

THE POTATO 317

free from disease, scab and second growth, uniform
run of medium to large size, correct shape for the
variety quoted, with none but would run over a one
and three fourths inch screen, and not over 5 per
cent, that would run through a two-inch screen
for round varieties. For long varieties there may
be 20 per cent, that would run through a two-inch
screen.

Choice Potatoes shall be known as: One variety
with not over 10 per cent, mixture, but all of one
color, ripe, sound, not over 5 per cent, scabby,
diseased and second growth, fairly clean, good
color, mediimi to fair size and shape for variety
quoted, ^^'ith none but w^ould run over a one and
one half inch screen, and not over 10 per cent, that
would run through a one and three fourths inch
screen for round varieties. For long varieties there
may be 20 per cent, that would run through a one
and three fourths inch screen.

Good Potatoes shall be the same as Choice, onlj'
there may be a 30 per cent, mixture of same color,
or 10 per cent, mixture of any color and variety,
fairly well matured, according to season shipped,
and not over 15 per cent, scabbj'', diseased and
rough, fair to dark color, fair size, with none but
would run over a one-inch screen, and not over
15 per cent, that would run through a one and
one fourth inch screen, w^ith not over 2 per cent,
unsound.

Field Run Potatoes should be practical!}^ sound,
but unassorted. Dockage, when loading potatoes.
In cases w^here the percentage of dirt, small, infe-
rior, green, etc., potatoes exceeds the allowance in
above grades, inspectors may make said stock equal
to the grade quoted, or purchased, by such dock-
age as they consider equitable.

318 THE POTATO

The section from w]ilch the potatoes are quoted,
and the general quahty of that season's crop in that
section, should always be considered in connection
with grades; not as really changing above defini-
tions, but in close cases inspectors should favor
the shipper if that season's general crop is not up
to the average quality, or favor the receiver if as
good or better than usual. "

CHAPTER XXVII

POTATO SUPERSTITIONS AND PREJUDICES

IIIERE are a great many superstitions and
prejudices in regard to the potato. Some
are as old as time but, generally there is no
good reason for their existence.

Planting "in the dark of the moon" is a popular
fallacj^ Some argue, and often can relate, experi-
ences that to them seem to prove that potatoes
will not make a satisfactory crop unless planted
during that part of the month when the moon does
not shine. If planted when the moon shines at
night, the belief is that the plant goes "all to top"
and will not make tubers. Others will argue that
the planting should be done "in the light of the
moon" in order to give the plants a good start,
because of the additional light. There are experi-
ences to prove that both are right. There is of
course no foundation for such notions, and pota-
toes make good crops if soil and moisture condi-
tions are right, regardless of the moon.

"Cutting off the seed end," or terminal bud, is a,
practice supposed to result in benefit to the crop.
The young potato plant is started and nourished
by the plant food stored up in the tuber. To
throw away any part of the potato is to destroy
food that could be used to advantage. The reason
given for doing it is to keep too many eyes from
starting, but experience shows that if the seed is
strong and has been well stored and handled, the

319

320 THE POTATO

sprout from one strong bud dominates and the
others remain practicall}^ dormant. The terminal
bud is the one found first, and European growers
consider it the most important part of the seed
tuber, and it normally starts first.

"Cutting seed to one eye," or two eyes, or some
other number, is supposed by some to carry a
mysterious charm that will affect the crop. All
there can be of importance in this notion is that
the larger the seed piece the greater supply of
nutriment available for starting the new plant.

"To irrigate when potatoes are in bloom" is a
practice relied upon by growers in some irrigated
sections. This may or may not be the right time,
depending on the condition of the soil. The time
to irrigate is when moisture is required by the
plant, regardless of anything else.

"Do not use manure on potato land, it makes
scab," is a belief so strong in the minds of some
growers that the crop is grown continuously on
land without manuring until it becomes impover-
ished. It is probably true that fresh manure ap-
plied to land immediately preceding the planting
of potatoes furnishes conditions favorable to the
growth of the scab bacteria, but when used in a
rotation, as on the grass crop that precedes po-
tatoes, manure, especially when well rotted, is a
benefit. Growers in Europe place great depend-
ence on its use.

"To plant potatoes on Good Friday" is beheved
by some people to insure the crop, regardless of the
conditions. If all conditions are right, it would be
as well to plant on this day as any other, but no
better. Soil and climatic conditions must be the
guide for time of planting.

Color and shape are factors that govern some

THE POTATO 321

markets. For instance, on the Pacific coast the
demand is for a long, white potato; Denver and
Colorado Springs pay a premium for red potatoes;
in England, kidney shaped varieties are in highest
favor, and nowhere are blue-skinned varieties pop-
ular except in Spain. As a matter of fact, any
good potato is good food ; there is no more reason
for these discriminating prejudices than for w^hite
eggs to sell higher in San Francisco than brown,
and vice versa in Boston.

*'That potatoes grown on irrigated land" are not
of good quality and flavor is sometimes believed.

Moisture is one of the essentials in the produc-
tion of the potato crop, and with irrigation the
supply of moisture can be kept even and sufficient
to grow a product of the greatest possible uni-
formity and quality. It depends entirely on the
grower. A potato grown from start to maturity
without a check is produced under the most ideal
conditions.

CHAPTER XXVIII

RECENT DEVELOPMENT IN NEW AND OLD DISTRICTS

IHE acres of land In the world capable of
producing crops can and must produce a
greater annual tonnage of food in order
to feed the people, unless there be some unfore-
seen calamity to stop the rate of increase of pop-
ulation.

The production must be mcreased by better
methods in the countries now producmg the great-
est total crops, and undeveloped and semi-devel-
oped countries and districts must be brought up to
the limit of their producing possibihties.

That the potato has been and is given very high
consideration in Great Britain is very conclusively
shown in the article bj^ David Yomig in tlie chap-
ter on "Seed Stocks and Varieties."

During the past decade more attention has been
paid to the potato in America tlian at any period.
This interest must continue because of the mcreas-
ing iniiwrtance to the world of all food crops.

A number of educational factors are at work in
this country. Among these are the agricultural
colleges and experiment stations, the farmers'
institutes and the great transportation interests.

Great good has been accomplished in the devel-
opment of districts by the railroads. It is true, of
course, that the reason for this is the increase m
tonnage, but the result has been of great benefit
to individual growers.

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THE POTATO 323

The first railroad to operate a special potato
instruction train was the Denver Kio (irande
in Colorado. C. H. Sclilaacks, now vice-president
of the Western Pacific, was vice-president of the
Rio Grande at the time of the beginning of this
work, and credit is due him for its initiation. He
was the first man in America to grasp the great
importance of this work.

The first train consisted of five cars, carrying
practical growers as instructors, specimen imple-
ments to improve crop production, and approved
types of seed. The train travelled over the
entire system — 1,700 miles. In five years the
production of potatoes in this territory was quad-
rupled.

D. E. Burley, general passenger agent of the
Oregon Short Line Railroad, Salt Lake City, Utah,
was the first man to put up his own money for
prizes for the best potatoes grown in his territory.
He also ran a special potato train through Utah
and Idaho over 3,500 miles of railroad. This gave
great aid to potato growers in a big, undeveloped
territory. His work in the interests of agriculture
in the Northwest is far-reaching in its effect.

Following are the blanks and other documents
used in the Burley contest:

CONDITIONS OF BURLEY POTATO PRIZE CONTEST

YEAR 1910

1. Entries to be filed on or before May 5, 1910.

2. No more than one crop of one variety of potato must be

grown on one acre (43,560 feet), and in case grower
enters more than one acre, separate blanks nmst be
filled out for each additional acre.

3. The hills or rows must be at least twelve inches from the

boundary lines of the acre.

324 THE POTATO

4. The contest is confined to the four following varieties:

Peachblow, Rural Type, Netted Gem, or Dalmeny
Challenge.

5. The land must be surveyed by a competent engineer, and

satisfactory proof made.

6. "Planting blanks" will be furnished, and must be filled

out and sent to D. E. Burley, G. P. A., O. S. L. R. R.
Co. Salt Lake City, two weeks after potatoes are
planted.

7. D. E. Burley, G. P. A. O. S. L. R. R. Co., Salt Lake City,

must be notified ten days before potatoes are har-
vested.

8. During the growing season inspection of the potatoes

may be made at any time by representatives of the
contributors.

9. The first prize of $500 will be awarded to the acre

producing the largest tonnage of best quality market-
able potatoes, and the second prize of $225 will be
awarded to the next best acre.

Prizes are personal contributions of the following:

D. E. Burley, Salt Lake City . .

E. M. Heigho, Weiser, Idaho .
E. H. Dewey, Nampa, Idaho .
H. E. Dunn, Payette, Idaho .
D. C. MacWatters, Milner, Idaho

$500.00

100.00

75.00

25.00

ENTRY BLANK FOR BURLEY POTATO COMPETITION,

YEAR 1910

Name of Grower

Location

Town

County

State

Section

Township

Range

Variety to be grown

Character of soil

Probable date of planting

I'lwlo Copyright l>y I'ach l-ro,.

JAMES J. HILL

An empire bulkier wlio early realized llic imporlaiice of agrieulture

to Iraiisporlatioii iiileresLs

Eugene H. Grulib. who conducted the tirst potato instruction train

in America

THE rOTATO 323

PLANTING RECORD OF BURLEY POTATO
COMPETITION, YEAR 1910

Name

Location

Variety to be grown

Character of soil

Fertilizer used, if any

Crop in land previous year

Crop in land second year previous

Crop in land third year previous

When was ground plowed

What was subsequent preparation of land

When were potatoes planted

How were potatoes planted (by machinery or by hand) ....

Depth of planting

Number of rows planted on acre

Distance of rows apart

Distance hills apart in rows

Number of hills per acre

Size of seed

IRRIGATION AND CULTIVATION RECORD OF BURLEY
POTATO COMPETITION, YEAR 1910

Name

Location

Variety to be gro^\^l

Character of soil

WTien cultivated

How deep

Number of times irrigated

Kind of cultivator used

When ditched for irrigation

Date

How deep

How high and how wide were ridges made, if any

326 THE POTATO

HARVESTING RECORD OF BURLEY POTATO COMPETITION,

YEAR, 1910

Name

Location

"\^ariety

Plot measured by engineer

Date of harvesting

How harvested (by machinery or hand)

Yield

State of )
County of f ^^'

AFFIDAVIT

We and

being residents of the county and state aforesaid, hereby

certify that on the day of

1910, we were each personally present at

the digging of one acre of

potatoes planted and owned exclusively bj^

at or near the city of county of

and state of

that the said potatoes were weighed, sacked and sealed in

our presence; that they were of a total weight of

pounds and that they were all raised on and taken from one
acre of ground only.

We further certify and declare that we a''e in no way or
manner interested financially or otherwise in the outcome of
this contest.

Subscribed and sworn to before me this ,

day of 1910.

Notary Public.

THE POTATO 327

ANNOUNCEMENT OF AWARDS IN POTATO PRIZE CONTEST

FIRST PRIZE, $500

To Mu. L. A. Snyder,
Twin Falls, Twin Fulls County, Idaho

Variety, "Dulmcny Challenge"

Gross weight .... 38,085 pounds 044.75 bushels
Less culls 4,150 pounds

Marketable . . . 34,535 pounds 575.5 bushels

SECOND PRIZE, $225

To Mr. W. B. Gilmore,
Payette, Canyon County, Idaho

Variety, "Peachblow"

Gross weight 37,470 pounds

Less culls 3,920 pounds

Marketable 33,556 pounds

A description of the methods by which the Snyder pota-
toes were grown is given in the " Idaho " chapter.

The development of any industry should first
follow the lines of least resistance. For this rea-
son, a prospective grower in search of a location
would find the opportunities very attractive in the
many good valleys throughout the intermountaiu
region of the western part of the United States.
As has been indicated elsewhere, the climatic con-
ditions are such that produce the wild potato.
In these districts, where irrigation is possible and
the soil conditions are right, the highest quality of
product can be produced at the lowest possible
cost.

In succeeding chapters, the potato industry in
various districts, is taken up in detail.

CHAPTER XXIX

NORTH ATLANTIC STATES

A REPORT of the potato industry in Maine
and New York is given as typical of the
states covered in this classification.
The potato is an excellent rotation crop on a
general farm in this territory, and there are dis-
tricts in it that produce as fine seed potatoes as are
grown in the world.

MAINE

The following article is by Mr. E. L. Cleveland,
of Houlton, Maine, one of the best potato author-
ities in America:

*' Aroostook County, Maine, covers an area
equal to that of the state of Massachusetts,
growing and shipping annually approximately
30,000 car loads, or about 18,000,000 bushels of
potatoes.

"By reason of its northern latitude, and the
virgin soil in which the potatoes are grown, they
inherit those staple and vigorous qualities which
make them at once the best and most valuable seed
obtainable, as well as the most desirable table pota-
toes known to the general trade.

"The most improved methods and machinery
are here used, and probably no potato-growing
county within any state in the Union can show

328

THE POTATO 320

such marked prosperity or satisfactory results as
those which obtain in Aroostook.

"Some forty different sorts are grown, which,
with the exception of the main crop table varieties.
Green Mountains, and two or three others, are
used almost wholly for seed purposes, and dis-
tributed from New England to the Gulf of Mexico.

"The industry of potato growing in Aroostook
began to develop in the early '70's, when it was
found the soil was especially well adapted to the
raising of fine flavored and mealy table potatoes as
well as the most vigorous and virile seed, and the
demand quickly became general and pronounced.

"The soil in the main is of a rich, gravelly loam,
underlying which there is a strata of lime deposit.
This gradually disintegrates where near to or
exposed to the surface, and thoroughly impreg-
nates the soil, so that it becomes ideal for the grow-
ing and maturing of the Irish potato.

"Any up-to-date farmer that practises good
farming and adopts improved methods frequently
has under cultivation 100 acres or more, and counts
on a yield of not less than 275 to 300 bushels per
acre, according to varieties used and prevailing local
conditions, and it may here be stated that good
farming in Aroostook implies proper rotation, and
this in turn means to grow potatoes not more tlum
two seasons in succession on the same land, supply-
ing nitrogen with clover, alfalfa, or other nitrogen-
ous plant food as rotation is made, together with a
sufiicient amount of humus.

"It may here be stated that improved methods
of cultivation as well as conservation of soil re-
sources are being sought for and closely followed
where proved valuable. Of course commercial
fertilizers are still being largely used. They luivc

330 THE POTATO

no doubt been used too much in the past, but intel-
hgent farmers are coming to reahze that more fre-
quent rotation, together with an adequate supply of
nitrogen and humus to be grown on the land with
stated periods of rest, is vastly more profitable for
a series of years. These matters are being earn-
estly discussed by the different granges and farmers'
ckibs, to the end that the best and most approved
methods may be practised.

"With the beginning of digging and harvesting
of the crop (about Sept. 1st), the potatoes are
usually sorted in the field, the merchantable stock
being taken direct to the shipping station or to the
farmer's cellars, according to his idea of the then
prevailing market, and the small and refuse stock,
to the starch factories, of which there are some
sixty odd in the county. The price obtained for
this starch material is of course somewhat elastic,
according to the value of the finished product, but
at all events there is no waste allowed, and
frequently the amount received is such as to
materially add to the net profits of the farm
operation.

"Where the farmer gTows a larger quantity than
he has storage for, a part of his crop is hauled
direct to the shipping station, where cash is paid
on a basis of the prevailing markets, less freight
charges, and a fair compensation to the buyer and
shipper for the amount of labor required in the
marketing and handling of same.

"Such a part of his crop as he decides to hold for
later marketing is usually stored in an outdoor
farm cellar, built especially for the purpose, and
to be hauled during the winter at leisure, accord-
ing to his idea of what the market may afford as
the season advances.

THE POTATO 331

"The buyer or shipper owns or controls large
storehouses at the difFerent shipping stations, and
the stock he purchases is promptly forwarded to
the different markets in full carloads or held in
storage, according also to his judgment and knowl-
edge of the markets, visible supply, and the law of
supply and demand, with the result that the im-
mense track storehouses are often completely
filled during harvesting, to be gradually emptied
according to demand later in the season, artificially
heated cars being used as weather conditions de-
mand.

'*The construction of these storehouses is such
that they are practically frost proof. In fact, some
of the more thoroughly built seldom, if ever, use
artificial heat.

"Such varieties as are to be used for seed pur-
poses are carefully assorted and placed in large Vv ell
ventilated bins, the light excluded and tempera-
ture kept at as low a point as outside conditions
will admit of and be safe.

"The seed shipments begin to move into more
southern territory with December, and continue
for six months or more, gradually working north
with the advance of the season, until the New
England States are supplied. In the meantime of
course the main crop, or table varieties, are being
moved out to the many different markets, this part
of the business beginning with harvesting, and
continuing for ten months or more. Indeed, slii])-
ments are generally made every month in the year,
though of course very light in July and August.

"The future of potato growing in Aroostook
should be regarded as in no sense problematical.
With a large part of the county still undeveloped
agriculturally, a soil admittedly almost ideal for

332 THE POTATO

the production of the Irish potato at its best,
improved methods and a quahty continually being
bettered, a rolling surface well adapted to the use
of improved farm machinery, and a product that
of itself cannot be matched for either seed pur-
poses or table use, together with competing trans-
portation lines to tidewater, the next decade should
see the present output more than doubled. '*

The following interesting mf ormation is from the
Bangor Aroostook Railroad, Bangor, Maine:

"Maine has long been famous for its wealth of
timber-lands, its summer resorts and great game
country. The preeminence of the Aroostook po-
tato is winning for the state new and constantlj^
increasing fame. Because of the remarkable yield
and exceptional quality of the crops, the Aroostook
potato country has come to be known as the gar-
den spot of New England, and in many ways it is
attracting more attention than any other agricul-
tural section of the country.

*'The Aroostook potato is known the country
over. Millions of bushels are shipped to Boston,
New York, and other centres for domestic use, while
thousands of carloads are called for from all parts
of the country for seed purposes. Wherever it is
planted the Aroostook potato varieties retain the
characteristics which have made them famous, and
they also adapt themselves to conditions of soil
and climate supposedly much different from those
of Maine. In Virginia, for instance, where the
paramount object is to hasten the early crop, the
Aroostook potato matures from a week to a fort-
night earlier than other varieties.

"The development of the Aroostook country, a

THE POTATO 333

great area of 4,000,000 acres, has gone hand In
hand with the expansion of the Bangor & Aroos-
took Railroad, and it is by this road that the pota-
toes are sent forward to the metropoHtan markets.
Although the number of new farms increases each
year, there are still thousands of acres of desirable
land. Aroostook has seen a marvellous growth in
the past decade — a growth which bids fair to be
even more remarkable within the next few years.
Dozens of stations along the line of the Bangor &
Aroostook Railroad are potato shipment points
for farmers, while the thriving towns of Houlton,
Presque Isle, Caribou, and Fort Fairfield sent out
hundreds of potato trains each season.

"The standard size of the Aroostook farm is the
regulation 160 acres. At the present time this is
considered a large farm. Near any of the business
centres of the county, in a locality easily accessible
to a railroad shipping point, under good cultivation
and with ample buildings, such a farm will range in
market value from $10,000 to $20,000 according to
the percentage of good potato producing land it
contains. The buildings on an Aroostook farm
must comprise, among other things, ample barn
room for the storage of hay and grain, a good frost-
proof potato storehouse capable of holding from
2,000 to 3,000 barrels. The equipment must in-
clude all appliances for planting, cultivating and
harvesting the potato and other crops, such as
seeders, planters, diggers, sprayers, mowing and
reaping machinery, etc. Usually from four to six
heavy draft horses are required, and the invest-
ment outside of the land runs from $2,000 to $3,000
and many times much more.

"The average price of good, cleared land in
Aroostook, well located and under good culti\'ation

334 THE POTATO

is not far from $100 an acre. The appreciation in
value of Aroostook farm land has been steady since
the beginning of the potato raising industry, and
particularly marked since the opening of the Ban-
gor & Aroostook Railroad, as has also been the
increase in wealth and population in almost all
sections of the county. Within fifteen years, or
covering the period the railroad has been in oper-
ation, many towns have doubled their population
and trebled their valuation.

"The phenomenal success of farming in Aroos-
took from the financial viewpoint has been a strong
magnet in attracting the public eye. Numberless
instances can be pointed out where successful
potato growers have risen from smallest beginnings
to possessors of considerable wealth. Statistics
show that in no section in the country is the potato
yield greater per acre than in Aroostook and also
that as a class the farmers are nowhere more
prosperous.

"The energetic and enterprising methods of
farming in Aroostook County suggest strongly the
widely commended Western spirit. Farms are
conducted as business establishments. Modern
methods are employed and buildings, equipment
and paraphernalia are orderly, well-kept and al-
ways up-to-date. For the person whose idea of a
farm is the depressing picture of the oft talked of
' abandoned ' farm, a visit to Aroostook County will
be a joyful awakening.

"The Aroostook farmer believes in having every
possible city advantage. He believes in making
life worth living. His crops make it possible for
him to follow this idea. A trip through Aroostook
is replete with interest whether it be in the summer
when the fields of blossoming potato plants stretch

THE POTATO 335

far away beyond the reach of the eye or at the har-
vest time when the farms take on a new activity.
The mechanical potato digger has revohitionized
the work and the crops are taken from the ground
in surprisingly^ quick time. Potato growing in
Aroostook is already a business of big proportions
and the constant development promises to make
it one of the greatest agricultural industries in the
country."

During the winter of 1910 the senior author
visited the Aroostook district, and his impressions
follow :

This one county is like a Colorado county in area.
It is on the northern boundary of Maine and bor-
ders on Canada.

Apparently the whole idea of the farmers in the
county is centred on the growing of potatoes to
the exclusion of all other crops as much as possible.
The potato dominates every sentiment and idea.
It is the sole topic of conversation where two or
more men are gathered together. They are apt to
be discussing machinery and wagons for potatoes
and the cultivation of potatoes. And you see men
haulmg potatoes in every direction in barrels
to and from warehouses, from farms to markets.
They talk of them in the streets, in the offices and
in the banks; and, I have no doubt, in the schools
and churches, and even in their sleep. At Car-
bondale and Greeley, Col. they think and talk
of other things than potatoes, because their
crops are diversified. At Houlton, ^Nlaine, the cen-
tre of the potato work, is the only place where I
have been talked to a standstill on the subject of
potatoes. I never met people who were so eager
for knowledge m comicction with potatoes.

336 THE POTATO

The yield in this district is three times that of
any single district in the United States and quite
double that of the irrigated states

Mr. E. L. Cleveland, pioneer and father of the
seed potato industry in Houlton, Maine, has for the
past thirty years been growing seed potatoes for
shipment over the United States, but largely for
the Southern market. They are growing sixty
varieties of pure seed and their shipments amount
to from eighty to one hundred thousand barrels an-
nually.

Their growing season is very short, much shorter
than w^e have in Colorado. It is only about one
hundred days between killing frosts from June to
September. The first week of April the fields were
still covered with snow and it was known as a mild
winter and a light snowball. They almost univer-
sally practise fall plowing owing to their short sea-
son. They plant their potatoes much closer than
we do in Colorado, rows from twenty-eight to
thirty inches apart, and the hills from ten to twelve
inches apart. This method produces more uni-
form and smaller potatoes than are grown in the
irrigated West. They use about 700 pounds of
very small, cut seed to the acre.

The implements for cultivation are very similar
to those used in the best districts of Colorado.

Owing to their lack of livestock they have little
or no barnyard muck. They place their whole
reliance on commercial fertilizers and it is from this
and the extravagant use of it that gives them such
wondrous results in eclipsing other potato com-
munities, but the cost has been high. They com-
menced the use of commercial fertilizers twelve or
fifteen years ago, using 400 to 500 pounds per acre
at a cost of $7.50 per acre. They have been com-

THE POTATO 337

pelled to increase this amount from year lo year,
and to date they are using 1,800 to 2,000 pounds
per acre. This, coupled with the expense of spray-
ing with Bordeaux mixture two or three times in
the season and the added expense of combating the
potato beetle, brings the expense of growing po-
tatoes to from $70 to $75 an acre, but a yield of 240
bushels per acre is produced.

These lands are valued at $80 to $120 an acre, and
the tenant farmers pay $10 to $20 an acre rent for
growing potatoes, according to the richness of the
soil and distance to railways.

Their proximity to large and populous cities, the
cheap and rapid transportation facilities, with the
splendid edible qualities of their potatoes (that
their natural soil and climatic conditions give), as-
sures them a good business.

The growers of this district can, however, well
pay more attention to livestock and diversified
farming in connection with their potato work.

POTATO CULTURE IN NEW YORK STATE

The information that follows is by Mr. T. E.
Martin, Superintendent of Demonstration Farms
of the New York Central Lines.

''For best results in potato culture in New York
State tile drainage is as much of a necessity in soils
that contain excess water as is plant food.

"In my personal experience at farming in west-
ern New York, thirteen miles south of Rochester,
latitude 43 degrees, elevation 550 feet, fifty-seven
acres, Dunkirk series of soil, a thorough drainage
system of 3,265 rods (over ten miles) was estab-
lished at a cost of about $2,000. This work was

338 THE POTATO

done under adverse and hostile conditions while
carrying a heavy mortgage on unfertile soil much
against the proffered advice of self-appointed au-
thorities and established doctrines. However, the
drainage has paid for itself several times over.

*'As sweet memories of quality and good work
linger long after the cost is forgotten, it is there-
fore essential that only the best thought, effort,
and material be allowed to predominate. There
is no work of importance in which this truth is
more applicable than in tile drainage, because of its^
permanency, as everlasting as the hills. Often the
first crop increase from potatoes repays the entire
expenditure, together with handsome annual re-
turns and a heritage imperishable handed down to
posterity more valuable the one hundredth year
than the first.

"All sewer pipe and round tile were used. No
boards under pipe. Mains are two to four inches
lower than laterals. Drains are of good length and
depth and so placed that the drainage reaches
laterally from drain to drain on time. Standing
water is fatal to the potato yield. Three-inch
lateral drains are placed fifty -five feet apart and
four feet deep. Some soils need aeration as much
as others require drainage. For such four-inch
tile give better eflSciency. The drainage usually
costs 50 cents per rod, or $25 per acre. Intakes are
provided with silt basins. Outlets and intakes are
established in cement abutments. Special screen
pipe prevents animals or trash from entering. Ac-
curate location maps give all data in detail.
Horses and an ordinary three-horse plow were used
for the opening and closing of drains. Under
average conditions a traction ditcher will lessen the
cost one third to one half.

THE POTATO 339

We attribiiLc to drainfige largely the gradual
increasing pot<xto yields of sixty bushels in 1892 to
an average of 417 bushels per acre, or 7,510 bushels
on eighteen acres in 190G. No irrigation.

"Crop rotation is a. three-year one, growing
aniuially eighteen acres each of wheat, clover, and
potatoes. The last of September or early October,
after potatoes are harvested, the potato vines are
raked and burned to destroy lurking disease, the
ground twice disked, leveled with spring-tooth har-
row and sown to Klondike wheat.

"The spring following from April 1st to 10th,
when certain conditions are present and favor-
able and the wheat ground is well checked up,
one half bushel of high grade medium red clover
and alfalfa seed, previously carefully mixed, is
sown per acre with a broadcaster, preferably dur-
ing afternoons, when the surface is dry. Experi-
ence only teaches when these conditions exist.
The next forenoon a three-section, lever-sets, spike-
tooth harrow, teeth set straight up and down, is
run over the field. Teeth should be sharp. Such
valuable seed should be covered as much as garden
seeds.

"From 1907 to 1909 six and three fourths bush-
els clover and two and one fourth bushels alfalfa
were sown — a 75 and 25 per cent, mixture; 1910-
1912 four and one half bushels each, equal parts,
or 50 per cent, of each has been and will be used;
1913-1915 the mixture will be 25 and 75 respec-
tively, just the reverse of first three-year cycle;
1916 and following, alfalfa only will be grown. No
lime or inoculation has been used. The former is
dangerous in a short potato rotation. All things
being equal alfalfa gives us more hay the following
year at first cutting than clover. Second cutting

340 THE POTATO

has decidedly more alfalfa, and third cutting is all
gain. Besides, the alfalfa is richer both as a feed
and soil enricher. Roots are larger and go deeper.

" First crop of hay is cut June 15th to 25th, and
put up for feedmg and sale purposes. Several times
the first crop was left on knolls and thin places. If
first crop was heavy and hay cheap the second crop
was cut August 1st and left on the ground for the fol-
lowing potato crop, and it pays as well as livestock
feeding, with little work connected thereto. Third
crop is cut middle of September and always left
on the land. Teed the land and the crop will feed
you. * Cutting is preferred, as stray weeds are de-
stroyed. The next crop comes up through this
mass of organic matter and it decomposes sooner.
Next year as a moisture retainer it has valuable
qualities.

"Manure from the stock, four horses and two
cows, is made in box stalls and drawn direct to the
field and spread on the thin places on the clover
and alfaKa. No straw is sold. The surplus is
spread and plowed under.

"Potato ground is fall-plowed ten inches deep.
In springtime the field is prepared with a four-
horse, double-acting, cutaway harrow, which is run
over field four times, lengthwise, diagonally twice,
and crosswise lastly, and leveled with the spring-
tooth harrow.

"For available fertility we rely mainly on drain-
age, preparation, tillage, clover and alfalfa and the
farm manure.

"Commercial fertilizers were first used in 1901,
increasing from 400 to 1,500 pounds of 4, 8, and 12
per cent, in 1907, costing $32 per ton for home-
mixed goods, using nitrate of soda, blood, tankage,
bone, 14 percent, rock, and sulphate of potash. A

THE POTATO 341

careful farmer can mix fertilizer constituents as
perfectly as the elaborate mixing machinery does
in a large fertilizer factory. Home mixing costs
about 50 cents per ton, and the saving ranges from
$2 to $8 per ton. A better and purer grade of
goods is secured with no filler in them, conse-
quently no worthless stuff. The fertilizer is ap-
plied with an eleven-hoe grain and fertilizer drill,
preferably between the first and second cutaway
work. Tests have been made with the various
fertilizer ingredients separately and in combina-
tion in varying quantities. On our farm potash
paid the best. Fertilizers used in connection with
a good supplj^ of organic matter in the soil gives
better results.

"If wheat lodges, that is an indication of alack
of potash. Dw^arfish growth signifies lack of ni-
trogen, shrunken grain shows lack of phosphoric
acid. However, the only sure way to determine
such questions is to test out the fertilizer in plats
and let the behavior of the plants and results deter-
mine which form of plant food will pay best to
invest in. Excessive growth of potato vines with
few potatoes represents a shortage of potash.

"The past spring (1911) the fertilizer was cut
down to 800 pounds per acre, using the minerals
only, lOj per cent, phosphoric acid and 12J per-
cent, potash, costing $20 per ton.

"Good, healthy, vigorous potato seed is one of
the most important factors in the growing of the
crop; and the simple fact about it is that every
farmer can have such first-class seed stock by a
little extra study and work; by land digging, for a
start, say 500 to 1,000 hills of potatoes, where they
are the best in the field, and selecting individual
high yielding hills for next year's seed and breed-

342 THE POTATO

ing. By hand digging and rejecting the low yield-
ing hills next year and years following, a good
variety of potato is found to gain both in quality
and quantity from 10 to 50 per cent. This is worth
looking into. Up-to-date authorities and live-
stock breeders do not perpetuate the scrubs. If
there is an abiding law in the animal kingdom, there
certainly is a similar one in the vegetable. Vio-
lation of this and similar laws invariably brings
disaster.

"Do potatoes run out? They surely do. There
is no question about it, but it is man's standard of
seed selection and culture that 'runs down and
out.' The following are some of the causes of
potatoes deteriorating: (1) Wet, infertile soil, (2)
half preparation and fertilization, (3) late planting,
(4) first sprouts destroyed, (5) diseased stock, (6)
low vitality, (7) poor storage.

"Another way is to maintain an annual seed or
breeding plat large enough for the requirements.
When seed plat potatoes are in full foliage, ten days
before they die down, go over them and remove
every diseased hill, that such stock will not be a
menace to future yields. At harvest time the seed
plat product should be carefully handled and put
into cold storage. Assort these into two grades —
specials and selects — enough of the former (ideal
shaped typical tubers) to maintain the annual seed
plat and of the latter enough to plant the annual
crop. Treat the specials with formaldehyde, one
pint diluted with thirty gallons of water, and po-
tatoes immersed two hours.

"Potato ground is rolled ahead of potato planter
to insure uniform planting depth. Especially im-
portant is this if soil varies. At digging time, if
season is wet and potatoes are in deep, the digging

THE POTATO 343

is a sort of horse-killing job even for four strong
horses.

"Potatoes are planted 4 inches deep, 11 inches
apart in the row, and rows 3G inches apart, 15,840
hills per acre. One pound per hill would yield 264
bushels per acre; two pounds per hill, 528 bushels;
twenty bushels of large potatoes are used per acre,
cutting to about two eyes per seed piece. Plant-
ing is usually completed about May 12th.

"For the cultivation of the crop a riding, pivot-
wheel, double-row cultivator is used exclusively.
Cultivator is started same day or week the plant-
ing is finished, endeavoring to get three times over
field before potatoes are up. Potato row ridges are
fallowed. The row middles should be thorough
and deeply broken up. It is safe to cultivate deep
at this stage, but not after potatoes are four inches
high, as roots extend over halfway from row to
row. By deep cultivation at this time roots are
torn off, and the potato root system is interfered
with, with a corresponding lower yield.

"Next, the walking seven-foot weeder is run
twice over field, first crosswise the rows and the
last time straight with row, which leaves plants in
a narrower row, and aids in closer cultivator work.
If storms follow and weeder went crosswise last, the
potato row would be wider from being pounded
down and elbowing up. For weeder work, dry,
hot weather is chosen, if there is a choice, and not
starting same until after nine o'clock, as potatoes
will stand more abuse when warmed up.

"The cultivator is now adjusted with narrow
teeth, one and one fourth inch on the two central
ones, and set as close to the row as it is possible to
run it; in fact, so close, the operator says, that
every time he sneezes out goes a hill of potatoes.

344 THE POTATO

Go twice over field with cultivator so adjusted.
Then cultivator is arranged with a pair of seven-
inch side steels on the two central teeth, and a
small ridge of soil, about three inches high, is
thrown on to the potato rows, and twice over field.
Up to this time the cultivations number seven.
Balance of cultivation, usually twelve to fifteen all
told, is done with cultivator, gradually widening
apart the side steels as the vines develop. Every
cultivation is equal to a light dressing of nitrate of
soda — forty pounds per acre. Earth mulch is
provided, evaporation prevented, aeration and
ventilation of soil is established, and lastly weeds
are destroyed. Level culture is the plan, but these
frequent cultivations ridge up the field consider-
ably, which ranges around four inches out of level.
The more surface the more evaporation. Culti-
vation is discontinued the last of July. Care is
taken to go astride alternate rows at each cultiva-
tion. With this construction of cultivator the
gang bars are each side of wheels. After vines
commence to lop, four teeth are placed forward on
gang bars. These teeth raise vines up and prevent
damage from wheels and teeth. For stray weeds
two hand weedings are given during the middle of
July and August.

" Bordeaux mixture is used freely and vigorously.
Stock solutions of copper and lime are kept in
readiness; 1,000 to 1,500 gallons Bordeaux applied
per acre annually, 125 to 150 pound pressure.
Arsenate of lead is added to Bordeaux for the po-
tato bugs and larvae. Nozzle angle should be
changed from straight to right and left and go re-
verse directions at each application. Flank an
enemy and he is in a dangerous condition. Bor-
deaux is a protection insurance only. Only a film

THE POTATO 345

of it is required. On time and thoroughness are
virtues. First appHcation should be made about
the last of June, when potatoes are about one
foot high. Spraying should be discontinued
from September 1st to 15th, depending on the
season.

"The results of spraying for 190G to 1911 follow:
This is the net profit, not gain: 190G, $42.07; 1907,
$32.42; 1908, $48.80; 1909, $20.08; 1910, $24.00.
The total cost of thorough spraying ranges from
$8 to $15 per acre.

"Inside measurements of potato crates are
12 X 14 X 15} inches. Outside 12| inches high,
14 J inches wide, and 17 inches long. They nest
up and fit endwise a three-foot wagon box. They
contain 2,562 cubic inches, and hold sixty pounds
potatoes level full. Ends are |-inch pine or white-
wood boards, 12 inches wide, cut to length; sides
and bottoms are f -inch basswood. We have 500
crates.

"For harvesting the crop the Hoover digger is
used, digging every other row, beginning on lower
side of field and digging in divisions of four rows.
Four rows of potatoes are picked into two rows of
crates. The truck wagon passes to farther end of
field, distributing the empty crates. The wagon
is loaded on return by driving between the two
rows of full crates. One or two men on each side
set on to the wagon the crates of potatoes without
stopping. The truck wagon platform is 6 x 19
feet and only 30 inches above the ground. It
holds sixty crates, one crate high. Often 100 to
110 bushels are drawn. In 1906, 1,501 bushels
were dug and picked up in one day and over 1,000
bushels drawn one mile and loaded on to cars.
Selling direct from field to car is highly satisfac-

346 THE POTATO

tory. During 1901 $2,013 worth of potatoes
were sold direct from field to car with only the
initial handling. Potato crop for 1907 totaled
$2,807.89."

The cost of growing potatoes in these districts
wiU be found in Chapter XIII.

CHAPTER XXX

SOUTH ATLANTIC AND GULF STATES

THE states in this classification grow large
acreages of sweet potatoes. This subject
is covered in a separate chapter. The
Irish potato situation is also discussed in the chap-
ter on "Specialties — Early Potatoes.'*

The mild climatic conditions make the produc-
tion of a crop of very early potatoes — and a later
crop — possible, and furnish opportunities for the
marketing of an " out-of -season" product at a high
price.

There is no reason why the local supply of
"white" potatoes for the South should not be
grown locally. The fundamental things to be
considered are soil, season, and seed.

If the soil in which it is intended to gi'ow the
crop is not naturally mellow, easily worked, and
sufficiently stocked with fertility to make a crop
possible, steps must be taken to bring this about.
Heavy, hard lands need cover crops and barn-
yard manure to lighten their texture; sandy soils
require the same things to add fertility.

As far as climate is concerned, it must be re-
membered that the potato is a "cool- weather"
crop, as distinguished from corn, cotton, and the
"hot-weather" crops. It must be planted so as
to make its greatest growth during the early or
late part of the crop season.

Growers of potatoes in warm climates generally

347

348 THE POTATO

find it profitable to use Northern -grown seed. Seed
from districts where the tops are killed by frost
makes the surest and strongest growth. It is
only in such places — like Chile and the western
slope in Colorado — that potatoes endure with-
out cultivation for centuries. This is a reason for
getting seed from these north latitude or high
altitude districts, but is no reason why potatoes
should not be grown in the South.

Potatoes to be held for use should be stored in
a dark place, as cool and dry as possible.

Following is a description of conditions in one
district in Florida that has been made quite famous :

The growling of Irish potatoes in the Hastings
district in Florida was begun about ten years ago.
It has grown steadily until in 1911 the production
was 300,000 barrels, or 800,000 bushels.

The conditions that obtain at Hastings are dif-
ferent from anywhere else in the world.

The soil is a very light sand and the subsoil a
stiff, impervious clay at varying depths. This
sand is claimed to be very low in available fertility,
and annual fertilization is necessary. This fer-
tilizing seems to be quite as essential on land just
cleared of timber as on that cropped continuously
for ten years.

A commercial fertilizer costing $30 a ton and
containing 4 per cent, nitrate, 7 per cent, acid
phosphate, and 7j per cent, potash is in common
use. It is applied at the rate of one ton per acre,
being sown in rows previous to planting the
potatoes. Some growers claim that barnyard
manure cannot be used for fertilizer because it
"poisons" the land and causes potato scab.

Potatoes are planted on what are called "beds,"
in ridges thrown up with implements similar to a

THE POTATO 349

"middle breaker" plow or lister, or by a double
disk with two small sixtcen-inch disks in front,
followed by two twenty -four-inch disks that throw
the furrows together.

The ridges are forty -two inches apart and about
ten inches high; the fertilizer is then put in the
furrow and the potatoes planted in this ridge.
They are planted two to six inches deep. When
planted, the fields have the appearance of a field
ridged after the final cultivation in other dis-
tricts. Very little cultivation is done in this dis-
trict. Only disk cultivators are used. These
cover up the potatoes deeper than they are planted
and destroy such weeds as are between the rows.

One grower objected to the use of barnyard
manure because it was the cause of many weeds.

The land in the Hastings district is very flat.
The heavy rainfall at some seasons of the year
makes it imperative that all lands for potato grow-
ing be drained. During the dry season irrigation
is necessary to insure profitable crops.

This part of Florida is fifteen to twenty miles
from the ocean. The St. John's River bounds it
on the west. Between the ocean and the river is
an artesian water belt. The depth of the wells
that furnish this artesian flow is about 200 feet.

At the T. E. Bugbee farm, near Hastings, where
land is seventeen feet above sea level, the artesian
flow is twenty feet above the surface. At the
other end of the farm, two and three fourth miles
away, the land is six feet higher and the artesian
flow is fourteen feet above the level of the land.

A four-inch well gives a sufficient flow for ir-
rigating forty acres of potatoes. At a cost of
$200 for the installation, this system affords per-
petual irrigation. It is probably the cheapest ir-

350 THE POTATO

rigation known in the world. All that is neces-
sary to work it is to open or close the valve. The
farm homes and barns are supplied with pressure
water.

This system of irrigating is similar to that in
the San Luis Valley in Colorado. In Florida,
however, the sub-laterals or deep trenches are only
forty feet apart, while in Colorado they are about
200 feet apart.

The impervious clay subsoil and the flatness of
the land permit this system of filling the land with
moisture from the clay floor up to the surface or as
near the surface as the farmer desires. The top
soil is so loose and porous that the soil spaces fill
with water readily. These narrow beds in the
Hastings district allow the planting of about ten
rows of potatoes, forty-two inches apart to the
bed. Then, there is about six feet of land re-
quired for the trench in which the irrigating water
is held until it "subs" or seeps to the centre of the
forty-foot bed. This is a waste of land.

Northern-grown seed potatoes are used ex-
clusively. They come from New York or Maine
growers. One successful Florida grower says that
partially matured seed from Maine gives the
strongest plants and growth with less rot in un-
favorable cold and wet seasons.

The Spaulding No. "4" Rose, a variety that is
regarded as a late sort in the North, is the earliest
large yielding sort they have ever grown exten-
sively at Hastings. Fully 95 per cent, of the plant-
ing is of this variety. Last year, however, an
acre of "Polaris" gave the best yield ever grown.

From ten to twelve bushels of seed are used per
acre. From 65 to 90 per cent, of a perfect stand
is generally secured, although occasionally a

THE POTATO 351

whole planting is lost from excessive cold and
heavj^ rains, unless the best possible drainage or
ditch facilities are made.

Planting on flat ground without ridging would
almost always be a failure because of the heavy-
rains. This is because the land is so flat and the
subsoil so impervious. The water could not be
carried off until the crop was scalded by the hot
sun, or the seed rotted.

From one to four, generally two to three, irri-
gations are usually necessary to mature a crop.

The yields are about forty barrels, or 112 bushels,
per acre. The range is from 75 to 250 bushels per
acre.

The busy harvesting season is from April 10th
to June. Harvest hands come long distances to
work in the potato fields. The labor is all colored;
$1 to $1.50 per day is the wage paid. Forty to fifty
cars a day are sent out during the season. Forty
to fifty buyers from Northern cities are on the
ground during this short harvesting season. The
potato-growing area can be about quadrupled.
Considerable capital is required to clear the land of
pine trees and stumps — about $30 to $75 per acre.

Ten days before potatoes are harvested corn
is planted in the furrows, and when digging time
comes the corn is six to ten inches high. The po-
tatoes are "lifted" or dug by hand. The com is
cultivated once or twice and one and one half
bushels of cow peas are sown per acre. The corn
is harvested in November and the cow peas cut
for hay. The cow peas are cut about eight inches
above the ground. The stubble is then plowed
under. This makes it possible to grow a crop of
potatoes every year. The cow-pea stubble and
the root svstem furnish humus to the soil.

352 THE POTATO

Land values have advanced in ten years from
$25 an acre to $200 an acre for best improved
farms.

Potatoes are graded and shipped in barrels.
The No. 1 grade is two and one fourth inches or
more in diameter. No. 2, one and one half to
two and one fourth inches in diameter. The No.
1 grade usually sells for one dollar per barrel above
the No. 2 grade. When the potato crop is short
and prices are high, the culls are also shipped.
Average prices received by the grower for five
years has been $3.25 per barrel net. Barrels hold
eleven pecks (two bushels and three pecks).

When the potatoes are dug, three rows are
thrown into one and one set of pickers pick out the
No. 1 grade, another set of pickers follow and sort
out the No. 2 grade. This seems a very crude and
expensive way.

At the beginning of the harvest, potatoes are
only partially matured. They are soft and full
of sap and must be taken out of the hot sun within
thirty minutes from the time they are exposed.
Otherwise, they scald and heat. No sorter or
grader has been devised that will grade without
bruising the skin.

This season (1912) the best growers are spray-
ing extensively for blight.

The cost of growing potatoes m Florida is given
in Chapter XIII.

In a report of Ed. R. Kone, Commissioner of
Agriculture of the State of Texas, the following
in regard to the Texas potato situation is sub-
mitted:

** Potatoes are a profitable crop in Texas. Our
soils and climatic conditions appear well suited to

THE POTATO S53

them. The principal supply of this crop, which
goes to the markets of the country, is grown in
eastern Texas, though it grows well in much of our
soil from the Gulf coast to the northwestern boun-
dary of our state.

"The sweet potato is especially adapted to
Texas soils and climate. Usually the yield is much
greater per acre than that of the Irish potato.
In 'Farmers' Bulletin No. 324' of the United States
Department of Agriculture, on sweet potatoes, this
crop is placed among the five greatest commercial
truck crops, and ranked as third on the list. No
truck crop in Texas has increased in volume so
much as this. It is one of the great commercial
crops and can be grown over as wide a range of
territory as any of the other vegetable crops.

*'As long ago as 1899 Texas ranked tenth in the
value of all vegetable crops grown that j^ear. This
is according to the twelfth census report of the
United States, 1900. The average value per acre
for Irish potatoes for 1899 was $33.25, and
for sweet potatoes $38.77. The average yield per
acre for Irish potatoes was 61.5 bushels and for
sweet potatoes 75.7. The average value per bushel
was 54 cents for Irish potatoes and 51 cents for
sweet potatoes. Hence it will be noted that the
sweet potato gives the greatest average value per
acre, and explains why there has been such a
marked increase in the development of the sweet-
potato industry in our state during the last ten-
year period."

CHAPTER XXXI

THE MIDDLE WEST

A LARGE tonnage of potatoes is grown in
the states comprised in the territory known
as the Middle West.
There is so much similarity in conditions and
methods that for the purpose of this work a dis-
cussion of two states (Wisconsin and Kansas) is
taken as being typical of the territory.

WISCONSIN

The following very comprehensive information
about the potato industry of Wisconsin is furnished
by Prof. J. G. Milward of the Horticultural De-
partment of the University of Wisconsin. He is
a graduate of that institution and a very capable,
earnest worker for the upbuilding of the agri-
culture of the state. It is the work of such men
as Professor Milward that has been one of the
principal factors in agricultural progress during
the past decade. He says:

"The main or late crop of potatoes in this state
is usually planted between the dates June 1st and
June 15th. The early potatoes for early market
are usually planted May 1st to May 15th. A
number of growers in this state who raise early po-
tatoes for seed for southern trucking centres
practise planting as late as July 1st and gain what

S54

THE POTATO 355

is sometimes an advantage of having the vines
mature during the cool fall months. The season
for harvesting the main crop ranges from October
1st to October 15th. In unusual seasons of
drought or blight the late crop may be dead as
early as September 15th5 in which case the har-
vesting season is earlier.

"Potatoes are grown in Wisconsin on both the
clay loam and sandy loam tj^ies of soil. The large
potato belt of the state, comprising Waupaca,
Waushara, and Portage counties, runs quite largely
to the sandy loam type of soil. There is also con-
siderable sandy soil in the newer potato sections
in the northwestern part of the state. In this
section, where clover grows luxuriantly, the set-
tlers seem able to secure very good yields of po-
tatoes from the lighter grades of sandy soil. The
soil in every potato section of the state varies con-
siderably both in mechanical conditions and in
fertility, and a wide range of yields is obtained in
every section of this state, due quite largely to
these varymg factors.

"The central potato district of this state com-
prises Waupaca, Waushara, and Portage counties.
The counties of secondary importance in this state
are Adams, Juneau, Columbia, and Sauk. The
three counties mentioned above rank among the
thirteen leading producing counties in the United
States. The newer sections in this state, especially
under development at the present time, are found
in the northwestern part of the state and com-
prise sections in Washburn, Burnett, Barron,
Chippewa, Rusk, and Eau Claire counties. This
section is especially adapted to the growing of
early varieties, and it is our opinion that north-
western Wisconsin will become one of the leading

356 THE POTATO

potato sections of the United States. Consider-
able attention has been given in this section to the
development of the seed-growing phase of the
industry.

"Most of the potato stock grown in this state is
raised from home-grown seed. There has been
considerable deterioration in potato seed in the
last few years, and there is a great need in this
state for more uniformity in varieties grown.
Very often the standard sorts in demand on the
markets have been supplanted by coarse, imi-
tative sorts. The Wisconsin Experiment Station
through its extension service is endeavoring to
remedy this matter by encouraging community
centres w^here one variety can be gro\\ii. The
important commercial varieties in this state are,
for late. Rural New Yorker, Sir Walter Raleigh,
Carman No. 3, Burbank, and Peerless; early va-
rieties, Early Ohio, Early Rose, and Triumph. A
number of growers are becoming interested in the
Irish Cobbler, but this variety has not been grown
on a wide enough scale to judge its adaptability.
The Rural New Yorker, Sir Walter Raleigh, and
Carman No. 3 are mixed in car shipments. Most
buyers grade potatoes according to type rather
than variety, and round white varieties are usually
graded together in car shipments. In many lo-
calities the standard Burbank has disappeared,
and especially on the poorer soils a coarse variety,
the Late Pride, has taken its place. This substi-
tution has caused considerable difficulty both at
the loading stations and on the markets.

"On the heavy types of potato land in this
state fall plowing is often practised. On the
sandy loam soil potatoes are usually planted on
spring plowed land. Especially in places where a

THE POTATO :357

good catch of clover has been secured sprmg plow-
ing is satisfactory. The clover is allowed to grow
until about May 20th to 25tli. The land is then
plowed, well disked and harrowed and firmed with
a planker, and the potatoes planted fron June 1st
to 15th. The most successful growers make an
application of manure to clover sod in this state.

*' Potatoes are planted usually in drill rows, the
rows about three feet apart and the seed pieces
fifteen to seventeen inches apart in the row. On
the heavier land a number of successful growers
practise checking the rows three feet apart each
way. Very little difference in yield has been
noticed in a comparison of the two systems in this
state. In the sandy loam soil the potatoes are
planted about four to six inches deep. In the clay
loam soil the depth is a trifle more shallow.

"The fields are harrowed well at the time of
planting and also about the time the potatoes
come up. Wlien the rows are visible the culti-
vator is started and the potatoes are given from
three to five cultivations during the season. Level
cultivation is practised. Very little hilhng is
done except to ridge the rows slightly at the last
cultivation.

*'A good percentage of the potato crop of this
state is sold direct to warehouses from the field.
If the price is as high as 40 cents per bushel, a
large percentage of the crop will go into ware-
houses and be shipped to the markets during the
fall months. The potatoes of this state are han-
dled quite largely through the hands of buyers who
ship to commission men in Milwaukee, Chicago,
St. Louis, Minneapolis, and St. Paul. All of the
large commission houses in Chicago have a num-
ber of warehouses in this state. A number of the

358 THE POTATO

large growers ship direct to commission houses in
Milwaukee or Chicago. In some potato sections
the farmers have organized and have warehouses
of their own. They hire a man at a salary to
handle the stock and ship direct to commission
houses in the large cities.

"A good many progressive growers in this state
have built small storage cellars costing approxi-
mately from $300 to $500. In a good many cases
excavations have been made in side hills and ar-
rangements have been made to load the potatoes
into these cellars directly through openings in the
top, or in some cases provision has been made to
back the wagons right into the storage cellars.

"It costs from $20 to $25 per acre to grow pota-
toes in this state. Profits necessarily vary con-
siderably, due to the fact that conditions vary so
throughout the state. A net profit of $30 per
acre would be considered satisfactory in sections
where an average yield of 150 bushels per acre was
secured. In sections where the yield runs as high
as 300 bushels the profit should be increased pro-
portionately. There are a good many growers
on the light, sandy soils who do not average a net
profit of $25 per acre.

"Artificial fertilizers are not used to any extent
by the potato growers of this state. The best
potato growers use the following crops in three
or four year rotations: Clover and some grain
crop corn, and potatoes. Liberal applications of
manure are made on farms where considerable
livestock is kept.

"A system of rotation in this state has been
found necessary to maintain the fertihty on po-
tato farms. Where rotation has been neglected,
along with the failure to handle livestock, the

THE POTATO 359

yields of potatoes have deteriorated in the past
ten years both in quahty and quantity. There
are sections in this state which originally yielded
from 200 to 300 bushels per acre which now yield
below 100 bushels per acre.

"The largest acreage of potatoes reported in
this state on a single farm is 400 acres. In the
important potato sections of the state the average
acreage would probably run to about ten acres.

"This station (Wisconsin Agricultural Experi-
ment Station) is pushing as hard as possible the
extension work along the line of potato improve-
ment. There is a great need in this state for better
seed, both in regard to uniformity and conformity
to type."

KANSAS

Secretary, F. D. Coburn, of the Kansas State
Board of Agriculture, most admirably sums up the
potato situation in that state in "Report 91," as
follows :

"The potato is probably more generally grown
and utilized than any other vegetable, and every
county in the state, with the possible exception of
six or eight in the southern and western portions,
devotes greater or less acreage to its production.
As many conditions within the state's 82,144
square miles of area are widely variant, yields hke-
wise differ; thlis the potato grows prosperouslj'-
luxuriant in the rich, sandy loams of the formerly
timbered river * bottoms' and the upland prairie
limestone soils, while flourishing in a more modest
degree where altitude, longitude, soil and climate
present conditions quite dissimilar yet no less
suited to various other crops. However, regard-

360 THE POTATO

less of adaptability, potatoes, as in the past, will
doubtless continue to be grown on practically every
farm and in every considerable garden; conse-
quently yields per acre for the state may seem to
average low, comparatively; but in the real po-
tato districts in the more favoring seasons returns
of over 400 bushels per acre are realized, and an
output of 300 bushels or more is not at all un-
common.

*'The portion of the state proved most admi-
rably adapted to potatoes as a commercial crop is
known as the Kaw Valley potato district, in east-
ern Kansas, where large quantities are growTi and
shipped each year. In the main, this consists of
sandy loam 'bottom' land, tw^o to six miles wide,
adjacent to the Kaw or Kansas river, in the coun-
ties of Wyandotte, Johnson, Leavenworth, Doug-
las, Jefferson, Sha^vnee, Pottawatomie, and Wab-
aunsee, and extending westward 100 miles from
its joining with the Missouri at Kansas City. Of
the total Kansas area planted to Irish potatoes in
recent years more than one fourth is in these eight
counties, Wyandotte ordinarily leading in acres
and production. Nearly a third of the state's
crop, or practically all potatoes raised in Kansas
for export, is frequently the product of the coun-
ties named.

*' Early varieties for summer marketing are
planted mostly, and of these the Early Ohio is by
all odds the favorite, followed to a small extent by
the Early Rose and Triumph, as named. The
small proportion of late sorts planted are the Bur-
bank and Peachblow. Even for winter use the
early varieties are grown, and left undisturbed in
the ground until fall. While some home-grown
stock is planted, Northern-grown seed is found

THE POTATO 361

best, and each year Uiousaiids of bushels are
shipped in by planters and dealers, who buy from
Minnesota and eastern North Dakota, in the Red
River Valley.

"Kaw Valley potatoes find their market in all
parts of the country; early in the season Chicago
and northern points claim many, and some go in
the direction of New York and Pittsburg, but prob-
ably the bulk are sent south and southwctst, especi-
ally to Texas, and preferably sold at digging-time.

"The consensus of opinion of Kaw Valley
growers reporting suggests that they consider in
the neighborhood of 37 cents a bushel a fair
price for potatoes on board the cars, and the
range in the past ten years has been from about
14 cents to $1.15 per bushel.

"Two striking features of Kansas potato grow-
ing as compared with that in other states surpass-
ing her in aggregate yields are absence of need for
expensive fertilizers and freedom from insects and
fungous diseases. Of the Kansans reporting, none
mention using commercial fertilizers, although the
majority apply more or less manure, or sow some
crop such as cow peas or turnips for plowing under
when green, thereby enriching the land and in-
creasing its subsequent yields.

"A most interesting and suggestive fact is the
possibility of profitably irrigating, in the more
western counties, small areas for potatoes, and
other vegetables as well, where underground waters
are made available by wind or other power.
Several correspondents have realized gratifying
success by such means. By it the home demand
in such territory may not only be supplied with
certainty each year, but the markets of nearby
cities and towns would offer for any surplus at-

362 THE POTATO

tractive inducements in prices, usually quite in
excess of those realized by growers elsewhere.

"The foregoing pertains to Irish potatoes ex-
clusively, but sweet potatoes are likewise grown
more or less in about four fifths of the counties,
most extensively and successfully, however, in
the valleys of the Kansas and Arkansas rivers.
The six counties of Pottawatomie, Riley, Wabaun-
see, Shawnee, Wyandotte, and Sedgwick yield
annually about one half or more of the state's out-
put, which in the past twenty years has varied
from 779,783 bushels m 1889 to 212,468 bushels in
1897."

The cost of growing potatoes in these districts
is found in Chapter XIII.

CHAPTER XXXII

COLORADO

THERE are a number of districts in Colorado
that produce potatoes of very high quahty.
Among these are: Greeley and north-
eastern Colorado, San Luis Valley, the Grand River
country, in which Carbondale is located; the ter-
ritory along the North Fork of the Gunnison River,
the La Platte and Montezuma country, and the
Routt County territory.

Colorado potato growers have made a name for
their product, which is now generally know^n as
"Greelevs" for the section north of Denver and
east of the mountains, and "Western Slope" for
all the districts west of the mountains.

GREELEY

Greeley, Col., and vicinity, was settled by a
colony of professional and business people who
were attracted to the West and to the soil by the
forceful writings of Horace Greeley. The early
history of the colony chronicles considerable of
that element which the Western cow-puncher calls
"grief.'* They had a new business to learn under
hard, pioneer conditions. Those who stayed,
however, prospered. This has been true of all
who have brought to the business of farming
trained minds and broad experience.

Many of the advanced cultural methods used

363

364 THE POTATO

to-day by the best potato growers originated at
Greeley.

The story of the Greeley district is to be told by
Senator H. C. Watson, one of Greeley's most in-
fluential men and one of the first in the business;
by Lord Ogilvy, agricultural editor of the Denver,
(Col.) Post, one of the best informed men in
agriculture in the world and an old-timer at
Greeley; and I. Rothschild, the leading dealer in
the Greeley market. Senator Watson says:

"The colonists commenced to arrive here early
in May, 1870. I came on the first day of May of
that year, and am now the oldest inhabitant in
point of continuous residence. The necessity of
raising something to feed the people was very ap-
parent, so I hired a man who had a yoke of oxen,
to plow up some lots on the higher ground but
under the ditch we proposed to dig, and bought
some Early Rose potatoes of a merchant in Evans,
Col., the town which was, at that time, the ter-
minus of the Denver-Pacific Railroad (now the
Union Pacific Railroad), about four miles from
Greeley. I paid 3 J cents per pound; had them
planted, but unfortunately for the success of the
experiment, I joined a party of men who proposed
and did go to the mountains for the purpose of
floating logs down the river to supply the very
great need of lumber to house the people. The
man I left in charge of the crop did not do much,
and as a result I did not get much of a crop, al-
though I did demonstrate the fact that we could
raise potatoes on the uplands of Colorado, and
received enough money from my venture to pay
the actual cost of raising. I believe these were
(with the exception of some that were raised on the

THE POTATO 365

Ames place near Fort Collins the same year) the
first potatoes raised on the uplands of Colorado.

"In the years following 1870 there were in-
creasing acres planted around here, principally
Early Rose. A little later, Morten Whites (these
did not make a good potato; they seemed to be
lacking in starch and w^ould not cook soft), a few
Peachblow^s, and some Snow Flakes were planted.
The latter were the very best eating potatoes, as,
in fact, they are yet, but they did not yield heavily
enough to be profitable.

"In the course of five years or -so we had suf-
ficient potatoes to sell to make it necessary to do
something to market them. I was then employed
as clerk in a large store here. We built a ware-
house on the railroad track, which stands there
yet, and went at the business systematically. I
had charge of that department and had to make
frequent trips to Denver to sell our stuff. On one
of those trips I wrote about a column article de-
scribing how we handled potatoes in Greeley — •
took them in loose, sorted, and sacked them our-
selves. I published this in the News of Denver.
The result was that Greeley * spuds ' got a reputa-
tion that was of value.

"In the year 1881 1 went into business for my-
self. A part of this business was the handling of
potatoes, which by this time had become an in-
dustry of larger dimensions and kept increasing
every year. In the season of 188G a number of
business men and bankers concluded that the po-
tato business had become so large that it was nec-
essary to organize the selling end, so that we could
extend our markets. To that end, the Greeley
Mercantile Company was organized with a capital
of $40,000. Mr. O. P. Gale was president and I

366 THE POTATO

was vice-president. We paid cash and handled
our product on its merits, as every business should
do. About this time, or in fact several years be-
fore, we found that the Early Rose were not grow-
ing in paying quantities, and some farmer shipped
some seed of the Rose Seedling variety from New
York; also some Mammoth Pearls, Carmans, Mam-
moth Prolifics, and Rurals. All of these varieties
were more or less successful, especially the Pearls,
which are yet the principal crop raised here. In
the summer of 1887 our president died and I was
compelled to take charge of the business. We
sent a man to Texas and kept him there a whole
season at considerable expense, being careful to
ship only good stock. We did not make much, but
we created a market for the future. That year
there were about 1,500 cars of potatoes raised in
the territory north of Denver. We found that
we had about reached our limit, as the water from
the streams would not hold out for late irrigation;
that is, in August. This made it necessary to
build reservoirs to store flood waters and the win-
ter floods of the streams.

"We were not raising much over 100 bushels to
the acre, as the soil lacked humus and nitrogen.
A farmer from Iowa by the name of Bliss concluded
that he would try turning under alfalfa as they
did clover in the East. Now our farmers were of
the opinion that you could not get it to rot, as it
came right up again, but he managed, by putting
chains on the plows, to turn the plant under. The
result was astonishing, as it just about doubled the
crop, not only of potatoes, but of everything else.

"A number of years ago I conceived the idea
that we might increase our crop by shipping in
some seed from a non-irrigated country; so we got

THE POTATO 367

a car of Mammoth Pearl seed from northern Wis-
consin. We had some trouble in getting this car
sold, as we had to get $1.25 per cwt. for it, but we
scattered the potatoes over the country — five
and ten sacks in a place. The result was a very
large increase in the crop and very much better
stock. Now our farmers do not object to paying
$2.00 per cwt. for seed.'

Lord Ogilvy says:

"Whatever claims may be pressed by other
sections, it must be remembered that Greeley
is one of the best known districts in the potato
world.

"The soils in their natural state were not com-
parable to some of the mountain plateaus and
gulches, where grow the wild potatoes, in their
adaptability to potato growing. Alfalfa growing
and storage of water were necessary before potatoes
could be produced to the amount of 10,000 car-
loads and upward per year.

"There were no popple washes, leaf mould from
mountain slopes or accumulation of dead grasses
on the plains to furnish stored food for the crop.
Cactus of short growth as a rule indicated those
pliable rich loams containing granite sand as an
enduring base for the welfare of the potato.

"The soil, so rich in mineral elements, was de-
ficient in humus, and it was not until alfalfa had
been grown some years that any tonnage was pro-
duced except here and there. The breaking up of
alfalfa at first gave an excess of humus in that it
forced vine and early growth; the tubers set on and
matured during the excessive heat of summer.
An occasional run or two of river water at the

368 THE POTATO

right time gave heavy tonnage and indicated what
was to be. It became plain that regulated supply
of water must be served; that in this district late
potatoes must be held back to make their tuber
growth during cool weather.

"Even though the first reservoirs of magnitude
were completed by the farmers at a time to in-
crease production — which found a light demand
during the panic period of 1893 — yet the results
were so satisfactory that the building of reser-
voirs has been continued ever since. Except in
those districts where potatoes can be allowed to
mature during the heat of the summer, or in those
rare instances where the river supply is continu-
ous, reservoirs are a necessity. Once potatoes
have set on they must be kept moist so their
growth be continuous. If arrested growth takes
place and they are then watered the further de-
velopment will be in the form of knobs that make
rough potatoes.

"Those who believe that potatoes must have an
exactly suitable soil for successful culture should
visit the Greeley district. Not only do the soils
vary from heavy clay or adobe to sand, which
need entirely different handling, but also the same
fields that have raised potatoes for forty years in
rotation with other crops are now handled in other
ways than were formerly expedient. A rising
water table due to pressure from irrigated lands
at higher levels has necessitated more aeration by
thorough cultivation of the soil.

"Had we been told twenty years ago what was
needed to raise good potatoes — brains and hard
work — we likely would have quit right there, but
we gradually grew into it and perfected the sys-
tem which can best be studied in all its varieties

THE POTATO 369

ill the Greelej^ district, where work is thorough and
intense; varieties of potatoes studied for their
particular adaptations, and the method of culture
also made to fit the potato.

"The growing of potatoes begins with seed
growing or its purchase. The selection is only
partly carried out before the seed is cut, and must
continue through that process, rejecting every-
thing that shows badly under the knife. The
preparation of the ground has begun years before
with the seeding of alfalfa to enrich it with manure,
and by its root contents. When the specially
built alfalfa plows turn the sod we are nearer the
last end of potato growing than the beginning, for
we have the seed selected and the medium in
which it is to be grown full of stored fertility, the
result of forethought. The good seed is planted
at the right moment and the land is not allowed
to rest, for the heavy horses in harrowing, leveling,
and planting have compacted it too much and lack
of air circulation breeds disease. The cultivators
at once follow the march left by the planter and
should run as deep as a plow sole stirring and
aerating the soil.

"From then on clean, absolutely clean, cultiva-
tion until the time when the ditches are put in to
guide the water through the rows. The depth of
these will vary according to the fall of the land,
and what is known as the Kersey, a wooden mold-
board ditcher, is much used. This has an attach-
ment for distributing earth on top of the rows, to
keep potatoes from frost and sun-scald. Just
when the water and how much, whether in every
other row or all, is something which every farmer
must know for himself, for the time will vary ac-
cording to the condition of the soil, altitude, and

370 THE POTATO

variety of potato, and it will also vary with the
changing seasons.

"Besides the remarkable energy of Greeley
people in perfecting their system of potato growing
and originating tools and methods of culture,
something must also be credited to their system of
storage and marketing. Probably nowhere else
are such perfect potato cellars to be found upon
the farms, or as convenient and large a supply
of potatoes along the tracks which can be dis-
patched at a few hours' notice. Besides this,
there is always a large number of cars the
routing of which can be changed to meet urgent
demands.

"Many varieties of potatoes have been experi-
mented with and discarded, and changes have only
been made when a variety has thoroughly proved
itself. The Early Rose gave way to the New York,
Rural, or Carman group on heavy soils or those
with a cool subsoil. Pearls in one form or another
are a great standby. The Rose seedhng, or, as
it is sometimes called, the Greeley Red, fills the
demand for red potatoes. The Early Late Ohios
are also largely grown, and for all these there is a
general score card of perfection in the grower's
mind when he has an order to fill, which enables
him to satisfy his customers."

There is no one in a district in closer touch with
affairs than the dealer. I. Rothschild says :

"There is planted this year (1911) 35,000 acres,
and for the past eight years there have been
planted 25,000 to 35,000 acres each year, the crop
running from six to fourteen thousand carloads
each year.

THE POTATO 371

"Most of our farmers grow potatoes in pref-
erence to any other crop, and the only reason
more are not grown is because the land is not in
just the right condition, and then again it is an
expensive crop to grow.

"As to markets, we have Texas first. This is a
short haul and quick service; that is, the Texas
people can get 'spuds' from Greeley quicker than
from any other section and the freight rates are
as low and some lower than in a great many of the
potato districts. Again, we have onions which
we are privileged to ship with potatoes, and the
smaller towns which would not use a car of
onions will buy the potatoes in order to get
twenty or thirty sacks of onions in the car with
their potatoes.

"Different locahties use a different style of po-
tato. For instance, Chicago wants a rather large,
long potato, while St. Louis wants a round, med-
ium size, and Kansas City demands the very
largest. Then, there are a few places that will
take them " mixed, and it all depends on the
strength of the market as to whether they will
take them at all.

"As to yield, we have. one section of the Greeley
district that last year averaged 200 bushels to the
acre, and another section not fifteen miles away
where the average was less than fifty bushels to
the acre. Altogether, the average last year was
100 bushels to the acre, and we had one year
when they averaged 250 bushels for the entire
district.

"Rurals and Pearls are our standard varieties,
with 6 per cent, planted to Pearls, but Rurals are
gaining. It seems that some of our growers are
just learning how to grow Rurals."

372 THE POTATO

The following table shows the cars sold at vari-
ous seasons, the price, and total cars produced

Prices
Cars. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr.

1. 1. 1. 1.

fc. i''lfo£.:::-:::::::::::::::2:ZJ^iio ^^-^^ $105 $1.25

Jan. 1. 190S 1.800 \ „n -,. _. _„

Feb. 15.1903 1.090 1 ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^

Jan. 1.1904 4.000 to 4,500 \ _^ „„ .„

Mar. 1. 1904 1.800/ ^" "" ^"^ ^ ^"

Jan. 13. 1905 6,030 \ „„ ,„ »

Mar .124, 1905 4.000 to 4.500 / ^" '" *^ '^^

Feb. 1. 1906 3,500)

Feb. 24, 1906 2,575 -'- 75 65 65 60

Apr. 12, 1906 1.020)

Mar. 11. 1907 1,627 \ -„ ^- -,- -^

Apr. 12. 1907 550/ ^^ ^^ ^* '^O

Feb. 1. 1908 3.000 to 3,500 \ -,. g^. „, ,„„

Apr. 7. 1908 500 / '^^ ^^ ^^ ^'^^

Jan. 5.1909 5.000 1 j., „q ,. ,„

Feb. 1,1909 3,000/ ^^ **" ^^* * "^^

Mar. 1.1910 2.000 60 G5 45 25

Jan. 1.1911 2,500\ _- „. q.

Feb. 1,1911 1,400/ '^ "* ^^

. Season 1910-11 6,500 cars.

1909-10 8,000 "

1908-09 11,000 "

1907-08 9,000 "

" 1906-07 10,000 "

" 1905-06 11.000 "

" 1904-05 14,000 "

" 1903-04 6,500 "

" 1902-03 4,500 "

" 1901-02 5.000 "

THE WESTERN SLOPE COUNTRY

The districts that supply the markets with
Western Slope potatoes are Carbondale, Rifle,

THE POTATO 373

New Castle, Eagle, Gypsum, Montrose, Delta,
Olathe, Grand Junction. The conditions in all
of these are very similar and a description of one
serves to describe all.

Because it was a leader in making the present
popularity of the product, the Carbondale ter-
ritory will be described most in detail.

Carbondale is just off the Roaring Fork of the
Grand River. From the Frying Pan — a small
tributary at the head of the Roaring Fork — to
Glenwood Springs, where it joins the Grand, the
Roaring Fork is about thirty miles long, and the
valley is about one mile wide. It is a rough,
mountainous country, with an elevation of from
5,000 to 8,000 feet.

The farming land in this valley is not in one
continuous body, but in scattered areas along the
river and its tributaries and on the bench land ad-
jacent.

It is in this sort of country that the potato is
found growing wild. The soil is open and well
drained and the native vegetation consists of rich
grasses, sage brush, and trees.

The excellence of the potatoes grown at Car-
bondale first attracted the interest of the partic-
ular hotel and dining-car trade. Seven years ago
(1905) Mt. Sopris Farm contracted to furnish
the New York Central Railroad with potatoes.
Baking and cooking tests were made at the farm
by the buyer. The business grew, and Carbon-
dale had the first growers' association on the
Western Slope. Now this product is known from
the Atlantic to the Pacific.

In an interesting publication regarding the
country is the following descriptive matter: "Ly-
ing within the shelter of high mountains at an alti-

374 THE POTATO

tude slightly over 6,000 feet, shielded from severe
storms and extremes of temperature, with pure,
dry, invigorating mountain air and the purest of
mountain water, entirely free from alkalies, it is a
natural health resort and an ideal place in which to
make a home — an unpeopled valley, luxuriant
in wild vegetation and threaded by crystal streams
fed by the inexhaustible snows of the giant Mt.
Sopris and surrounding ranges, transformed in less
than twenty-five years into one of the garden
spots of the globe. This, in brief, is the story of
the Carbondale district, a story that typifies the
highest achievement of natural resources and hu-
man resourcefulness and cooperation."

One of the most popular booklets ever published
about the potato, if popularity can be judged by
demand, is that issued by Mt. Sopris Farm en-
titled "A Modern Delicacy." Because that pub-
lication is not now obtainable it is being practically
reproduced in the following:

A MODERN DELICACY MT. SOPRIS

FARM POTATOES

Next to bread and meat, the most important
article of food to the Anglo-Saxon race is the
potato. Notwithstanding its importance as a food
product, comparatively little attention has been
paid to the development and improvement of the
potato until recent years. The writer, having spent
a number of years in trying to grow varieties of
potatoes that would be of such quality and perfect-
ness in economical conformation as to command the
highest market prices, and having met with a fair
degree of success, is constantly appealed to by
growers for information as to methods and by con-

-6
3

C/2

Lord Ogilvy, agricultural editor Denver Post, Denver. Colo

THE POTATO 375

sumers for a history of the operation in producing
the three varieties that I am now growing and
which are rapidly attracting the attention of the
trade all over the country because of their merit.
In order to answer these questions intelligently, I
have in this manner explained, as briefly as pos-
sible, something of the methods now being suc-
cessfully used in the Carbon dale potato district
and on Mt. Sopris Farm, and a history of the prin-
cipal varieties grown.

In order to produce a perfect specimen of any
article one must first have in mind an ideal. We
must therefore understand w^hat constitutes a
perfect potato, both from the standpoint of the
consumer and the trade. The consumer desires
a potato that when cooked will be dry, mealy, or,
when crushed, like flour. The trade wants a potato
that is clean and dry, with a rough skin, not easily
bruised or broken, as a broken sldn provides the
nucleus for rot.

Uniformity. — One of the most important speci-
fications in the production of an ideal potato is
uniformity in size. It is, of course, impossible to
grow potatoes all the same size, but I make it a
point to grade the potatoes before marketing into
nearly uniform sizes. In cooking the tuber this is
important, as ^vhen a small potato is cooked with
a large one, either the small one becomes overdone
or the large one underdone. With nearly equal
sizes, they all cook alike.

Quality. — Potatoes are like fruit in one respect :
they are best when fully ripe. A well-ripened
potato, matured in proper soil, is a luxury for an
epicure when properly cooked. The unripe po-
tato when cooked is wet, soggy and clammy. The
starch molecules have not been transformed as

376 THE POTATO

they should be and the potato is not as digestible.
The well-ripened potato cooks dry even in water
and crushes into a flaky, powdery mass, with the
starch in fine, granulated form.

Conformation. — It is only within recent years
that potato breeders have paid much attention to
the formation of the potato. The ideal potato
must be regular in shape, round or oval, with eyes
nearly flush with the surface. Large hotels and
restaurants are compelled to use machines for
paring. With the old-fashioned, irregular shaped
potato, the loss in paring was often equal to a third
of the weight of the tuber. The Mt. Sopris po-
tatoes can be handled very economically in a par-
ing machine, the loss being practically nothing
but the tough skin. In the matter of economy,
therefore, the regular conformation of the potato
is highly important.

The original potatoes were found growing wild
in the mountain districts of North and South
America. In looking for ideal climatic and soil
conditions, therefore, we have but to study the
environment of the wild potato.

An important effect of the climate is the uni-
formity in the quality of the product from year to
year. Climatic conditions in the mountain sec-
tions of Colorado do not apparently vary enough
to materially affect the quality of the crop from
one year to another, and the crop this year is as
good in quality as last year, and will be the same
next year. This is highly important in estabhsh-
ing a commercial demand.

My experiments in improving and developing
the varieties of potatoes grown on Mt. Sopris
Farm cover a period of about fifteen years. My
first work was with the Perfect Peachblow. This

THE POTATO 377

is an improved type of the old Peachblow, a
variety grown in this country for over fifty years,
and is one of the oldest varieties in existence.
Originally it was yellow fleshed, often hollow and
bitter of taste. Peter Henderson, a well-known
New York seedsman, developed this variety, and
in 1883 some of his Perfect Peachblows were
brought to Colorado and planted in the lloaring
Fork Valle3^ The perfected variety was of white
flesh, never hollow nor bitter, and proved an ideal
potato. It was round and slightly flattened on one
side, with few eyes and a tough skin. It became a
great favorite and is still the leading variety on the
western slope of Colorado.

Perfect Peachblow. — My first efforts were in
the direction of increasing the tonnage yield of
this varietv. The trouble most found was that
the hills produced one or two potatoes of great
size and many small ones. The large potatoes
often cracked open and the crop as a whole lacked
uniformity. My method was first to plant the
size of potato I desired to produce and later to
select my seed from hills producing not less than
twelve potatoes of uniform type and size. By
this method I have been able to secure a crop of
uniform and fixed type characteristics. This plan
resulted. in greatly increased production, but sub-
sequently I found it advisble to sacrifice some of
this increased yield to quality. I have succeeded
in producing a uniform type of Perfect Peachblow,
of fine quality, fixed type characteristic and fairly
uniform size.

Dalmeny Beauty. — Several years ago I had an
opportunity to see the work being done in type
breeding of potatoes on the Earl of Kosebery's
Dalmenv Farm in Scotland. Since then I have

378 THE POTATO

imported twelve different varieties of these fine
Scotch bred potatoes, but have found only two
varieties that proved adaptable to the Roaring
Fork district. Of these the Dalmenv Beautv has
proved very promising. It is a white fleshed,
medium to large potato, oval to oblong, shallow
eved, with a clean and attractive skin. The vines
grow from three to five feet high, and it is one of
the heaviest yielders known. One stalk in the
Carbondale district produced twenty-five tubers
weighing eleven and one half pounds. Four
acres in the same section produced 307 sacks per
acre, IIG pounds to the sack. It is a strong feeder
and needs rich soil.

Challenge. — This is another Scotch variety im-
ported from Dalmeny Farm. It is a medium late
variety of high quality. It is white fleshed and
mealv. The skin is smooth and white. The
tubers are oblong, medium to large, with scjuare
shoulders. A good cropper. This year one plat
of ten acres at Carbondale yielded 277 sacks per
acre, IIG pounds to the sack. It is a very high
quality potato, and those grown in Carbondale
have been used for the past four years on the
Vanderbilt system dining cars.

In my opinion the Perfect Peachblow, as de-
veloped in the Carbondale district of Colorado,
is about as near the ideal potato as has yet been
grown. One difficulty most potato growers have
had to contend with in other sections is the fact
that the various varieties "run out" in two or three
years, or, in other words, deteriorate in quality.
The Perfect Peachblow is an exception. Notwith-
standing the years of injudicious methods in seed
selection and cultivation, the variety is as vigor-
ous and healthy as ever and is steadily improving.

THE POTATO 379

It has an astonishingly strong constitution, and
seems to easily resist the many diseases that
afflict potatoes elsewhere. Much of this is due
to the ideal conditions that exist here. It is im-
possible to grow a firm texture, high quahty po-
tato in a hot soil. The soil here is always cool and
the tuber has plenty of time to mature.

The consuming public has not yet learned to
discriminate in the quality of potatoes. Grad-
ually the demand for the high quality potato is
increasing, however, and the time will come when
the people of the East will insist upon having the
fine tubers grown in the mountain valleys of
Colorado. When that time comes Colorado will
produce twenty million bushels annually instead
of six million, as at present, and the fame of the
Carbondale potato will be equal to that of the
Rocky Ford cantaloupe.

The important requisite in securing the best
results m potato growing is to plant in an open,
porous, well-prepared soil. The soil must be well
supplied with humus, or vegetable mould, so that it
is open and easily accessible to air, as the best po-
tatoes must have air, especially when maturing.
Excessive irrigation contracts and solidifies the
soil. I practise frequent cultivation, and with
special machinery ridge the hills high and wide,
with a deep trench for the irrigation. For at least
two months previous to maturing I do not irri-
gate, allowing the tubers to mature in a soil
almost dry, the tap and feeder roots providing
all the moisture needed for the tubers. Bv this
method the tubers when ripe come from the soil
in a clean, bright condition; the skin is tough
and the potato keeps better.

The Perfect Peachblow is the best keepmg po-

380 THE POTATO

tato known when grown in this manner, often
keeping until the middle of August. It is an ideal
potato for the early spring and summer market,
being in prime condition.

That a cool, porous soil is largely responsible
for the best quality in potato growing was evi-
denced at the Aspen Fair this year, when the first
prize potatoes in a most wonderful exhibition were
found to come from an altitude of 8,100 feet above
the sea.

Probably the most important item in securing
a high quality potato is seed selection. Carbon-
dale growers are now exercising the greatest care.
We are trying to secure fixed characteristics, and
the seed potatoes from this district will do well
in most any potato section where proper conditions
can be had, and the crop will be found to possess
the uniformity as to size and quality that is so
necessary to success.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. So is
the proof of a high quality potato to be found at
the table. It must be properly cooked and served,
and thus the Carbondale potato will be found one
of the dehcacies of the world.

Few people know that a potato has a season of
best eating quality, the same as an apple or peach.
The Perfect Peachblow is best after the first of
January. The Dalmeny Beauty is best from the
first of November until April. The Challenge is
best from September to January.

No part of the world is better fitted by nature
for growing potatoes than the mountain districts
of Colorado. Those sections where the soil is
largely composed of ground granite and sandstone
are of course best adapted. The Roaring Fork
and Crystal River Valley section of Colorado is as

THE POTATO 3S1

nearly perfect in soil conditions as can be found,
and the potatoes grown there are not excelled
anywhere in the world, and are equalled in but few
places. With the requisite climatic and soil
conditions, and the use of careful and intelligent
methods in seed selection and the maintenance of
a uniform type, few crops can be grown that will
return better profits for the producer.

CHAPTER XXXIII

IDAHO TWIN FALLS COUNTRY UPPER SNAKE

RIVER

IDAHO is one of the newest states in the
Union, both in point of history and agricul-
tural development. As in most of the Western
States, mining caused the first immigration.

Lewis and Clark went through the Snake River
Valley in 1805, but in 1860 the state was inhabited
only by the Nez Perces, Palouse, and Coeur d'Alene
Indians in the north, and the Blackfoot, Bannock,
and Shoshone in the Snake River country.

Irrigation farming is making southern Idaho one
of the richest and most famous agricultm-al sec-
tions in the world. The first irrigation was along
the small streams where individuals took out
ditches to water their small farms and fields.
Local consumption took all of the first farmers'
produce and more. Even now the people of Idaho
import much of their foodstuffs.

The next stage in irrigation was the company or
community ditch system, where a few hundred or
thousand acres were watered by a number of farmers
working together, doing most of the work them-
selves. All of the work performed in these first
two stages of the business Vv^as done as cheaply as
possible, and comparatively little capital was re-
quired.

In the Twin Falls country the first irrigation was
along Rock Creek and Goose Creek on the south

382

THE POTATO S8S

side; along Wood River above and below Sho-
shone; on Clover Creek on the north; and from
springs in the north side of the Snake Kiver Cafiou
at Blue Lakes and along down the river to the
Hagerman Valley. Successful crops of fruit, grain,
hay, and vegetables have been raised in these
places by pioneer stockmen and miners for forty
years.

The great Snake River plains, the most fertile
and best drained agricultural section in the state,
were undeveloped because milhons of dollars was
required for large improvements before the settler
with ordinary means could find a place.

To I. B. Perrine of Blue Lakes is due the credit
for successfully starting the extensive irrigation
work in the Twin Falls country. He located the
dam at Milner from which water is diverted, and
interested capital in the possibilities of the countr3\
J. S. & W. S. Kuhn of Pittsburgh, Pa., have spent
and are spending twenty million dollars in develop-
ing the possibilities of this agricultural empire.
Five years ago sage brush and coyote reigned
supreme; now 40,000 people have their homes in
the Twin Falls country.

There are 54,000,000 acres of land in Idaho. Of
this amount about 2,500,000 are irrigated. Over
450,000 acres are contained in the irrigation pro-
jects already built and being built by the Kuhn
interests.

At the present time the tracts reclaimed in Idaho
by J. S. & W. S. Kuhn of Pittsburgh and their as-
sociates include the first, second, and third segre-
gations of the Twin Falls North Side Land & AVater
Company, embracing 220,000 acres; that of the
Twin Falls Salmon River Land & Water Com-
pany, embracing 80,000 acres; and that of the

384 THE POTATO

Twin Falls Oakley Land & Water Company, with
50,000 acres; also pumping projects covering
100,000 acres.

The achievements of these organizations are
among the greatest in the history of irrigation and
agriculture.

To develop in the desert one of the richest
agricultural districts in the world is to produce
wealth for the state and nation, and make it won-
derfully fast.

More development per acre is made in five years
under these big projects than was the case in the
fertile corn belt in thirty. More capital is being
used in developing farms now than ever before, and
nowhere is this condition more marked than in
this section of Idaho.

The water supply of the greater part of the west-
ern slope of the Rocky Mountain system is far in
excess of the land available for irrigation. There
can never be any question of an abundance of
water for the irrigation of all of the lands in south-
ern Idaho if it is properly cared for, and never any
possible question about those with the first water
rights.

By actual test products grown in the irrigated
districts of the West have a higher food value than
those of any country where conditions are less favor-
able for crop perfection. Soil, sunshine and moisture
control are responsible for this. For instance, the
average weight per bushel of the oats grown in the
Middle West and East for 1908 and 1909 was
twenty-four to twenty-six pounds. In the irri-
gated Twin Falls country oats weigh thirty-eight
to forty-nine pounds per bushel. A legal bushel is
thirty-two pounds. Oatmeal manufacturers have
found that oats produced bj^ irrigation contain 7

ToLato di^'ging near Twin Falls

Planet Jr. fuiixjwer or ridger lor hilling }>otatoes.
attached to cultivators. Manulaclmcd hy S. F. A!
Philadel])hia. Pa.

These

are
Co.,

Polatoes near Jerome — junior author in field. Photo taken

August 10, 1000

Irrigating potatoes near Wendell
SCENES IN THK TWIN FALLS COUNTRY, IDAHO

THE POTATO 385

per cent, more meat as compared with hull than
any other oats they have milled. Idaho sugar-
beets have a high sugar content, and Secretary of
Agriculture James Wilson, the father of sugar-beet
industry on this continent, has said that it would be
possible for Idaho to supply the United States with
its sugar. Idaho fruit is high in nutriment and
sugar content, because these elements are elabo-
rated by the plant in the presence of sunshine. Its
delicious flavor and fine texture are very marked.
Meat produced from rich grasses is in turn high
in food value.

One of the most important factors in the estab-
lishment of a market for all high class agricultural
products is the uniform permanency of supply.
The conditions are under such perfect control, and
the Twin Falls country is of such extent, that this
is absolutely provided for.

The Twin Falls country of southern Idaho is in
about the centre of what is commonly called the
Snake River lava plains. Until the recent appli-
cation of water to large tracts of land here it has
been known as the Snake River desert. It was
never a barren desert, however, but covered with a
growth of desert plants and grasses, making an
excellent winter stock range.

Geologists report that southern Idaho was orig-
inally a rough, rocky country, the rocks being
granite, rhyolite quartzite, and limestone. The
valley of the ancient Snake River was broad and
several valleys opened out from it into the moun-
tains to the north and the south. After the river
had worn to a deep channel, a flow of lava or a
volcanic upheaval obstructed it in the western part
of the state, and a lake covering a large part of the
Snake River plains was formed. This lake was

386 THE POTATO

gradually filled up with wash and sediment, and
with dust blown from volcanoes. In places this
sediment is known to be 1,000 feet deep. Flows of
lava from numerous vents, and deposits blown in
by the wind, added to the superstructure of the
country. The lava flows to the eastward of the
lake region have been covered with wash from the
mountains, dust blown from the old lake bed and
lava dust from old volcanoes. The disintegration
of lava rock has also probably added to the present
soil. While in one way a plain, the Snake River
country is more or less broken, making soil drain-
age perfect. The valley is surrounded by moun-
tains rising from a few hundred to 6,000 feet above
the plains, and 7,000 to 10,000 feet above the sea
level.

The lava ash soil of the Twin Falls country is fine
in texture. It is classed as an arid or desert soil in
comparison with those of the rain belt. Soils
found in a country of light rainfall, where irrigation
is absolutely essential for the production of maxi-
mum yields of most crops, are high in the min-
eral elements of fertility because the soluble
salts have never been leached out bv the rains.
Muck, peat or sour acid soils are not found in the
Twin Falls country. A large number of tests of
samples of arid and humid soils shows that the
average arid soils contain three times as much
potash, thirteen times as much lime, and six times
as much magnesia as the humid soils. There is
less humus in an arid soil. Humus is one of the
chief sources of nitrogen, and nitrogen is one of the
principal elements of plant food. The humus of an
arid soil, however, contains three times as much
nitrogen as the humus of a humid soil. Limestone
soils are usually rich in phosphorus, and it is

>»

— r.

- =0

o -

y -

THE POTATO 387

proverbial that "a limestone country is a rich
country." The average per centage of lime in
clay soils is .617. In the lava ash soil of the
Twin Falls North Side tract there is 4.5 per cent.
An acid soil is almost invariably a hard soil to grow
crops on. As a general statement, all good soils
show an alkali reaction — that is, they contain more
alkali salts than acids.

The fact that the soil f)f the Snake River plains
is partly an seolian or wind deposit classes it with
the richest soils in the world. It is the deposits
of the dust of ages swept from a desert country in
addition to the lava dust from volcanic eruptions.
The fine particles of soil are those from which the
rootlets of the plant obtain their chief food supply.
The Twin Falls North Side soil classes as 100 per
cent. fine. In the regions embracing these fine,
rich deposits there are dust storms while the coun-
try is a desert, but after irrigation and cultivation,
with the consequent filling of the soil with moisture
and vegetation, dust storms do not occur. The
great plains of North America, including a large
part of the Mississippi Valley, is a wind deposited
loess or loam. The fertile loess soil region in
northwestern China, which supports a dense
population, is of seolian origin. The soil of the
Twin Falls country consists of a mixture of the
finest particles of the deposits from the disintegra-
tion of the rock of the mountains and plains, the
wash of the same, and dust blown off the lake de-
posits to the west and south.

The altitude of the Twin Falls country is from
2,800 to 4,800 feet. It lies just south of the 43d
degree of north latitude, almost centrally north and
south in that section around the globe in which has
been made the major part of the world's prog-

388 THE POTATO

ress. It is about 400 miles east of the Pacific
Ocean, 1,320 miles west of Lake Michigan, 432
miles south of the Canadian line, and 700 miles
due north of the mouth of the Colorado River
at the Gulf of California. Three mountain ranges
separate the Snake River Valley from the Pacific
Ocean. The main range of the Rockies protects
it on the north and east from the moisture-laden
winds of the Japan current and from the fury
of winds and bhzzards that are common in the
plains country of the eastern slope. This makes
the air dry, and while not free from winds or from
some rain and snow, destructive wind is not known.
The freedom from blizzards and excessive changes,
and the perfect altitude, make possible the greatest
perfection in all crops.

The growing season is comparatively long and
the combination of cloudless, hot days, rich soil, and
irrigation water in the growing season matures
crops of quality and great quantity. The annual
precipitation is about fourteen inches; the number
of clear sunny days average annually 300; the
highest temperature 101 degrees; and the lowest
12 to 20 degrees below zero. The dry climate
makes prostrations from heat unknown. There
are some snowstorms in winter, as everywhere in
this zone, and in the transformation of the desert
wind and dust storms occasionally occur. Almost
all of the rainfall is in winter and spring, making
the growing and harvesting season practically free
from profit losing storms. The last killing frost in
the spring is about May 15th, and the first in the
fall about September 25tli.

Southern Idaho soil has demonstrated that it
contains the elements required to make deliciously
flavored potatoes, especially where the quality of

THE POTATO 389

water applied is under absolute control, as with
irrigation.

Potatoes grow best in a mellow, deep, easily
worked, rich soil, one that docs not bake and is
well drained. Soils classed as sandy loam and
volcanic ash are excellent. Drainage is important,
as the water table should be at least three feet
below the surface. With the gradual but marked
fall of the Twin Falls North Side tract to the south
and wTst toward the Snake River, and the numer-
ous draws and coulees, it is one of the best drained
tracts of land in the world.

A light, fine soil is easily worked. It responds
more quickly to culture, and the potatoes at digging
time come out clean and free from dirt, and keep
better. Soil and crop experts, without exception,
class the soils on the Twin Falls North Side tract
as perfect for the growing of potatoes. It is chem-
ically right, and has produced crops that have
never been equalled in quality anywhere. The
tubers grown in it are smooth, clear skinned, con-
tain a high per centage of solid matter, are firm, of
excellent flavor, and when dry come out of the
ground as clean as new dollars from the mint.
Besides that, the yield per hill and per acre is very
large.

The principal shipping points in this territory
are Idaho Falls, American Falls, Rupert, Burley,
Turn Falls, Buhl, Jerome, Wendell, Gooding,
Bliss, Mountain Home, Pampa, Boise, Caldwell,
Payette, and Weiser — all in Idaho.

In the Burley potato contest in 1910, L. A. and W.
L. Snyder of Twin Falls, Idaho, won the first prize of
$500. The production on one acre was 38,685
pounds gross weight. The weight of culls was 4,150
pounds, making 34,535 pounds, or 575§ bushels, of

390 THE POTATO

marketable potatoes. The variety was Dalmeny
Challenge.

Following is the story of how the first prize po-
tatoes were grown, as told by the growers:

ce-

lt will be necessary to give a brief account of
our previous experience and observations along
this line in order to impress upon the farmer the
fact that he can do equally as well if he will use his
powers of observation and a little study along with
his work.

"We partly owe our success to attending farm-
ers' institutes and demonstration trains, and mak-
ing a study of the different farmers' bulletins and
articles on potato culture by E. H. Grubb and
others. We do not mean to infer that we followed
any set rules, but whenever we read an article we
always compared it with our methods and acted
accordingly; so that in reading this, all we expect
the farmer to do is to compare it with his con-
ditions and methods. We are confident that our
record will be broken within a year or two, still we
are pleased to be the first to prove it possible on our
soils.

"W^e came to the Twin Falls tract in the fall of
1905 and have raised a few potatoes each year
since. Our first experience was with mixed run-
out seed, and it kept getting w^orse each year. We
had about decided to quit the potato business when
Mr. Grubb shipped in some seed from his farm in
Colorado in the spring of 1908. In this car were
Red and White Peachblow, Dalmeny Challenge,
and Dalmeny Beauty potatoes. The Peachblow
had been grown in Colorado for years, while the
Challenge and Beauty were imported from Scot-
land two years previous by Mr. Grubb. We sold

THE POTATO 391

our run-out stock at 70 cents per 100 pounds and
bought some of this seed at $2.80 per 100; and can
say that it was the best investment we ever made
in the potato hne. The crops raised from this seed
were superior in quahty and yield; still the yield
w^as far from what was claimed for them in Scot-
land. In the fall of 1909 we had one patch which
yielded 430 bushels per acre. This crop was raised
on sagebrush land, which had been cropped twice,
but had had a light manuring.

"By this time we were curious to see what we
could do on alfalfa land. So in the fall of 1909 we
'crowned' four acres of alfalfa as shallow as possi-
ble, plowing with sharp plows to cut alfalfa crowns.
This alfalfa w^as planted in the spring of 1906.
The first two years (including the summer of 1906)
it was cut for hay, the next year it was pastured by
hogs, about ten head per acre, and the next year
it was again cut for hay. We had intended to
harrow the crowns to the surface, but we had a
wet spell and a freeze immediately after and as a
consequence all the crowns were alive next spring.

"When the Burley prize w^as offered last spring
(1910) W'C decided to enter this contest. We en-
tered for several reasons. In the first place there
was nothing to lose; there was a great opportunity
to learn by comparing our methods with those of
the winner; and, again, there was a chance to win.
In trying to decide how to proceed in order to get
the best results, a great many questions confronted
us, as for instance: How much manure can we
apply without getting scab.'^ How close can we
plant without sacrificing the size of the potato and
the yield .^ What size seed will give the best re-
sults.^ How is it possible to get a perfect stand?
Realizing that the practical educational value of

392 THE POTATO

the contest would be lost, so far as a yield crop was
concerned, if the winner did all the work by
hand on a single acre, we decided to use horses
and machinery in all our operations.

"In order to break the crust which had formed
over the field during the winter we used a double-
action disk harrow, which always leaves the surface
level, being a marked improvement over the ordi-
nary disk-harrow. This was followed with a drag
harrow and was harrowed several times at inter-
vals of one week. By the time we w^ere ready to
plow nearly all the alfalfa was dead. All this disk-
ing and harrowing had thoroughly mixed the
manure with the soil, and had created a dust
mulch over the field. Being afraid of scab, we had
only applied twelve loads of manure per acre.
This was put on in the spring while we were killing
the alfalfa. Being so thoroughly mixed with the
soil and plowed under so deep, we had no scab, and
could have apphed more and still have been safe
so far as scab was concerned. Before plowing we
corrugated and irrigated. We did this for several
reasons: First, to help get a better stand; second,
to carry the crop as long as possible without any
further irrigation, as we have found that the longer
the plants can grow and develop without needing
any further irrigation the better the results ; third,
to cause the manure to rot and get in a shape that
the plants could use; fourth, to supply enough
moisture so that the soil would pack (not bake)
after it was plowed. It is always better to irri-
gate before plowing, as the plowing replaces the
air that the water has driven out.

"As soon as the ground was dry enough it was
plowed from ten to twelve inches deep. As the
surface soil had been worked many times before

THE POTATO 393

plowing, it was very fine and made a perfect C(3n-
tact with the bottom of the furrow. This is verv
important and w^e find it pays to disk before plow-
ing for any crop. After plowing, it was harrowed
twice in order to pack the soil and create a dust
mulch on top. This harrowing was very beneficial,
as a soil which is comparatively compact with a
dust mulch on top will hold moisture longer than
one which is loose clear to the bottom of the fur-
row.

"WTiile we were preparing the soil we had been
getting the seed ready. The seed w^as selected true
to type, and as near the same size as possible. We
cut the seed more to conform with the needs of the
planter than to our own ideas. Part of this seed
had been hill-selected. We found that the planter
planted a piece about the size of a hen's egg to best
advantage, so we cut our seed in squares about that
size. In cutting a potato we always used as manj'^
cuts from the seed end as possible, each piece hav-
ing one or two eyes. The seed was treated with
formaldehyde as per directions.

"As we had decided to do all the work with
horses and machinery, w^e w^ent to considerable
expense and delay to get a planter which would
plant a perfect stand in preference to planting by
hand. An Iron Age Planter was used. Acre No. 1
was planted from four to five inches deep with
Dalmeny Challenge, the rows being thirty-three
inches apart and the sets eight inches in the rows.
Acre No. 2 was planted the same distance, with
White Peachblow. Being doubtful as to results of
planting eight inches in rows, we planted acre No.
3 with Red Peachblows, the same as acre No. 1,
except that the sets were twelve inches apart.
The eight-inch planting required 1,750 pounds of

394 THE POTATO

cut seed per acre and the twelve-inch planting
1,250 pounds.

"The planting was commenced May 21st. The
planter was set to ridge the hills quite high. Im-
mediately after planting, the land was 'packed'
with a float made from four two-inch planks ten
feet long. These planks are nailed together
parallel to each other, overlapping about two
inches. This float runs over the high ridges in
the same direction the planter ran, presses the
dirt around the set, and being that it leaves the
surface smooth has a tendency to bring the mois-
ture up to the seed. The ground should be har-
rowed in a few days, or too much moisture will
be lost.

"Acre No. 1 yielded 645 bushels, which was over
100 bushels more than No. 2, and was of a superior
quality, showing the difference in variety. Acre
No. 2 yielded more than No. 3, which would indi-
cate that planting eight inches in the row was bet-
ter than twelve inches on this particular piece of
ground. The percentage of small potatoes was no
greater in the eight-inch planting than in the
twelve-inch planting. On the whole, the per-
centage of small potatoes was less than in the
average crop.

"Too much cannot be said of the importance of
a good stand. It costs no more to irrigate and
cultivate a perfect stand, and the line between
success and failure often depends on this point.
A more uniform size is produced with a perfect
stand, as big, over-sized tubers are more apt to
develop where they have too much room."

Seed potatoes from Mt. Sopris Farm have given
good results in Idaho. Mr. Alan P. Senior of Twin

THE POTATO 395

Falls, in a letter to H. A. Stroud, recites the fol-
lowing :

"I purchased from you last year (1908) some
seed Red Peachblow potatoes that you secured for
me from Eugene H. Grubb of the Mt. Sopris
Farm, Carbondale, Col. I planted these potatoes
on May 15th, and had a perfect stand. My yield
was 530 bushels to the acre. I irrigated twice, the
first time when the blossoms were on and the
second time about a week later. I believe in
thorough cultivation, and went over my potatoes
five times. I hilled these potatoes up just as high
as possible to get the ridges with the cultivator, and
am going to get them higher next year by the use of
a machine that will throw the dirt higher than a
cultivator.

" I also planted a few of the Dalmeny Beauty and
Dalmeny Challenge potatoes, and liked them so well
that I intend to try them further next year.

*'I took from one row, 1,100 feet long, of Red
Peachblows, twenty sacks of potatoes that ran
over 100 pounds to the sack — over a ton of
potatoes. I sold these potatoes for $27.40.

"Any one can raise potatoes in this country —
potatoes of the highest yield and finest ciu;dity.
It is only a question of intelligent cultivation and
not too much water.

*'A11 of my potatoes and garden produce were
grown between rows of young apple trees that
I planted three years ago next spring."

CHAPTER XXXIV

THE NORTHWEST

IN THIS classification we have arbitrarily
grouped the states of Washington, Oregon,
and Utah. Idaho, Colorado, and California
are considered separately. Conditions in Wyom-
ing and Montana are very similar to those in
Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and Idaho.

There are great possibilities for enlargement of
the industry in districts in the states covered in
this chapter.

UTAH

Utah has a comparatively large acreage that is
admirably adapted to the growing of potatoes.
Both soil and climate are suited to the crop.
Prof. L. A. Merrill, agronomist in charge of arid
farms for the Experiment Station of the Utah
Agricultural College, and Director of Agricultural
Extension Work, furnishes the following infor-
mation :

*'The average date of planting potatoes in this
state varies from May 1st to 15th, and the average
date of harvesting is from September 5 th to Oc-
tober 1st, making the length of the growing season
about four and one half months.

"Potatoes require for their proper development
a deep, rich, sandy loam. We have found that
they do not thrive on a heavy clay or lumpy soil,

396

THE POTATO 397

neither do they do well on a rocky soil. We have
in our state large areas of the very best type of
soil for the production of potatoes. In 1910 Utah
produced 2,432,000 bushels of potatoes on 16,000
acres, or an average of 152 bushels per acre.

*'Most of the potatoes in the state are grown in
the following counties and I am giving them in
their order of importance as potato-growing sec-
tions: Salt Lake, Utah, Davis, Sevier, Weber,
Morgan, Cache, Wasatch, Emery, San Pete,
Boxelder. The seed is mostly home-grown and is
as a rule not well selected. The main factor con-
tributing most to the discouragement of the potato
growers of this state is the lack of good seed. In
this state this year we have a number of illustra-
tions. On the farm of Mr. H. J. Cannon, West
Jordan, Utah, recently I observed a field of home-
grown side by side with potatoes grown in Colorado,
and it was certainly an object lesson favorable
to the imported seed.

**The following varieties are grown: Eureka,
Six Wrecks, Early Roast, Early Ohio, Royal Duch-
ess, Dalmeny Challenge, Russett, Peerless, Free-
man, Twentieth Century, Uncle Sam, Sir Walter
Raleigh, Hammond, Maggie Murphy, Peachblow,
White Pearl, Majestic, Farmer.

"As a rule the ground for potatoes is prepared
by manuring it for winter, plowing it as soon as the
land is ready in the spring, harrowing immediately
after the plowing. When planting time comes the
land is marked off with a marker and a furrow is
made some four to eight inches deep with a shallow
plow. In this furrow the seed is dropped; it is then
covered with the regular plank or log leveler, and
usually two harrowings are given the patch before
the plant appears above the ground. The field is

398 THE POTATO

cultivated three or four times after the plants are
up, the cultivation being done with a regular horse
cultivator and with a small shovel plow. They
are usually irrigated four times. During the first
two irrigations which are given, one before blos-
soming and one just after blossoming time, the
water is run in every other row, the second time
running the water in the row alternately with the
rows in which the water was run the first time.
The last two irrigations are given as the plants
show need of water. As a rule twenty acre inches
of water are applied during the season.

*'In harvesting I have noted that those who are
growing early potatoes use the centre-draft hand-
plow and gather by hand to prevent peeling the
thin-skinned tubers. In many localities regular
machines for digging are used, and wherever used
are giving entire satisfaction.

"Potatoes are stored both in pits and cellars.
Pits are made by digging a trench four feet wide
and one foot deep and as long as necessary. The
bottom of this is then covered with four inches of
straw. The potatoes that are being stored are
then placed in the pit and covered with about six
inches of straw, about six inches of earth is then
put on the straw, leaving ventilation holes about
every eight feet. These ventilation holes should
have an extra whisp of straw in them. A trench
is now dug around the pit to insure good drainage.
Where cellars are used care is taken that they shall
be particularly well ventilated.

*'Utah potatoes last year were shipped to Chey-
enne, Wyo.; Butte and Helena, Mont.; Denver and
Pueblo, Col.; Topeka, Kan.; Kansas City, Mo.*
Austin, Houston, and Galveston, Texas; San
Francisco, Sacramento, and Los Angeles, Cal.;

THE POTATO 399

Portland, Ore.; Spokane, Seattle, and Tacoma,
Wash.

"The potato fields in the state are usually small,
ranging from one acre to about thirty. The aver-
age size field is about five acres. Around Smith-
field the people rotate, planting sugar-beets one
year and potatoes the next. This rotation can be
practised onl}^ when the ground is well fertilized
each year. In many places potatoes follow a
leguminous crop, generally alfalfa; others have po-
tatoes follow peas or beans, and still others have
potatoes follow corn. Potatoes do best when they
follow a leguminous crop.

"Potatoes should receive more attention from
the irrigation farmers of the state than they do.
My opinion is that the potato is destined to become
one of our leading crops and is bound to take its
place in our permanent rotations for the land under
the irrigation canals. We have the fertile soil,
good climate, moisture control, and are fairly near
to good markets, so that with the good quality
which our properly grown potatoes have, the in-
dustry in Utah ought to grow and prosper. "

WASHINGTON

R. W. Thatcher, Director of the Agricultural
Experiment Station of the State College of Wash-
ington, at Pullman, Wash., says that the industry
of growing potatoes is a very extensive one in that
state, and potatoes are grown commercially at every
elevation from below sea level to ncarlv the snow
line; and with every variation of rainfall from so
little that irrigation is necessary up to 120 inches
annually; and on almost every type of soil known
to agriculture.

400 THE POTATO

"The peculiar climatic and soil conditions of
Washington are especially favorable for the pro-
duction of potatoes," writes A. G. Craig, Assistant
Horticulturist of the same institution in 'Bulletin
11.'

"In many large sections of the state the atmos-
phere is so dry during the summer that conditions
are very unfavorable for the growth of fungous
diseases on the foliage. We do not have in this
state the Colorado beetle (potato bug), which is so
destructive a pest in other potato-growing dis-
tricts. There is little danger of overstocking the
market for potatoes here. The Eastern demand
for Washington grown potatoes is good and has
rarely allowed the price to fall below $10 per ton in
car lots in the past. In addition to this there is a
rapidly increasing market for our potatoes in
Alaska. There is no crop now grown in Washing-
ton which shows greater variation in yield per acre
than the potato. This is largely because of an
erroneous idea that the potatoes as a crop do not
need much attention. Many farmers give time
and care to the potato crop only when there is
nothing else to be done, and as a result the potato
is neglected. This crop responds to good treat-
ment to as great a degree as any other, and the
grower who exercises proper care with his potatoes
is always repaid in the yield and quality of his crop.

"There are thousands of acres of land now de-
voted to summer fallow which might produce
good crops of potatoes with very httle additional
expense, and yet leave the soil in better condition
for wheat than it is under the present methods of
summer fallowing. The average cost of producing
potatoes in eastern Washington is a little less than
five dollars per ton. The plowing and harrowing

THE POTATO 40i|

which would have to be done on the summer, f^HtiW)
land if potatoes were not grown is included, in itb^.
cost. Therefore, the potatoes grown in th^^.p|q,o0
of summer fallow can be sold for a very lo\y pi^iCei
and still leave a good balance. If the matk^t-.
remains as high as it has been for many years ^, Dil^tl
profit of $15 to $20 an acre from what w^ouldQ;thfirrt
wise be idle land can easily be secured. ; ',i|j '\[

"A deep, friable, mellow loam, rich in l^i^nwiSn
is the ideal soil for potatoes. Heavier soil$i'|liay
give good results if well manured or by plp|vvii|g|
under a clover or alfalfa sod. If the soil h(^$,rai^l
tendency to pack, the tubers are restricted in.JI}|^f#j;
growth and are often misshapen. Supplying jhu^^jUj^ I
to such soils not only remedies this difficulty,, Ip^j
making them more friable, but increases^/ thmV]
water-holding capacity, thus insuring largeij |y^f J[^}
per acre. The soil should always be put in] ^iQo4>,
physical condition, as potatoes respond very f^-pflt?/
ably to good soil conditions. Light soils q^n/J^j
worked earlier in the spring than clay soils ai)fii^]^Qr
favor early maturity of the crop. They are,4tQri?rf
fore, better for early potatoes. Potatoes $t4({>ji44i
not be grown repeatedly on the same soil, ^q.;i?|io^t^!
of the potato diseases live over in the soil. ,,,''! "

*' Potato land should be plowed in the f^lV^^r
allowed to lie rough during the winter. TJyis , [f)^7;^
vors the catching of winter moisture and all9[s>^i^ ,ih^ ,
subsurface soil to settle, and the surface (jap.,pq'
worked earlier in the spring. If fall plo\vir^g; i^(
impossible, the land should be disked in the)faH,^i
that the surface may be rough and open tj||^9|Ugj^j
the winter. Deep plowing usually gives ilby^t-er
results than shallow. The plowed land shq^|(jtli^)
well harrowed early in the spring and if not ^^i;]m^p4|
diately planted it should be frequently harro\>]vii.Ha|

402 THE POTATO

order to conserve moisture and kill the weeds which
start after the first harrowing. Spring plowed
land should be harrowed immediately after the
plow, to prevent loss of moisture. In the drier
sections, some form of subsurface packer should
follow the plow, and this should be immediately
followed by the harrow to work up a surface mulch.
If the soil plows up cloddy, a plank clod masher
may profitably be used.

*'The time of planting should be governed
largely by the climate and the purposes for which
the potatoes are grown. The potato plant needs
ample moisture when the tubers are "setting,"
hence the grower should endeavor to have the
plants reach that stage of development at the
time when the moisture supply is likely to be
favorable. For early new potatoes, the seed
should be planted as early in the spring as the soil
will permit, on light, warm soil. For late potatoes
they may be planted as late as the middle of June,
provided the moisture supply is ample and con-
tinuous, but where summer rains cannot be de-
pended upon, the earlier the potatoes are planted
the better, if danger from frost is guarded against.

"Enormous yields of potatoes have been secured
under irrigation, but their cultivation is attended
with some difiiculty. No other crop is so much
dependent upon the skilful use of artificial water.
The quality of irrigated potatoes may, or may not,
be as good as that of those grown without irriga-
tion. Good varieties, if well grown, will be good
in quality either with or without irrigation.

"Winter irrigation may be practised very suc-
cessfully in potato growing. The fields should be
flooded before plowing, and allowed to dry to a
tillable condition. This insures perfect condition

THE POTATO 403

of the soil for working and for the early growth of
the potato plants. The ordinary methods of eul-
tivation may then be followed, without further
addition of water, until about the time the plants
blossom. At this stage of development the tubers
are set, and it is then that an abundance of water
is needed to give them good growth- After the
water is once applied to the soil, it should not be
allowed to become dry again until time for the
crop to mature. If the soil is allowed to become
dry at any time after the first apphcation of water
and a subsequent irrigation is given, the tubers are
sure to make a second growth and become knobby.
Water should not be applied too late m the season,
or the potatoes will not ripen properly. In all
applications of irrigation water, care must be taken
to avoid bringing it in direct contact with the
growing tubers, as under such conditions the ten-
dency for the potatoes to become scabby is in-
creased.

"If winter irrigation is not practised, the first
water should be applied immediately after the seed
is planted. Irrigated potatoes should be hilled,
and the water applied between the rows. In ordi-
nary soil, water applied in the middle of rows three
feet apart satisfies the requirements of the grow-
ing potatoes. The cultivator should follow each
application of water.

"'Sub-irrigated' lands, when not too wet or too
strong with alkali, are most satisfactory for rais-
ing potatoes. There are some localities where soils
receive just enough seepage from irrigation ditches,
or other water supplies, to keep in moist, friable
condition throughout the season. These, with
frequent shallow cultivation, produce the finest,
smoothest tubers, with the least trouble and ex-

404 THE POTATO

pense. To produce uniform moisture conditions
in the soil is the secret of successful irrigation, and
this is the absolutely essential condition for the
most profitable potato growing under irrigation."

OREGON

Oregon has earned an enviable reputation for
quality of potatoes produced, and Oregon Bur-
banks are very popular as seed tocks in California
and elsewhere.

The following description of Oregon conditions
is by Prof. H. D. Scudder, Professor of Agronomy
in the Oregon Agricultural College at Corvallis:

*'The length of our growing season for potatoes
is about seven months. Potatoes are generally
planted the first two weeks in April and harvest is
completed during the month of October.

"The soils most commonly used for the potato
crop here are sandy loams along the river bottoms
and silt loams on the valley floor and on the hill-
sides. Both these types of soil produce a very fine
quality of potatoes and, where properly handled,
nearly the same yields, the sandy loams, of course,
maturing the potatoes earlier and giving a larger
yield if anything, as a rule. The silt loams, on the
other hand, especially on the red hill lands, pro-,
duce a very fine quality of potato.

"The chief potato district in the state is the
Willamette Valley, especially at its lower or north-
ern end. The Umpqua Valley and the Rogue
River Valley also are potato-growing districts, al-
though of lesser importance.

"All our potato seed is home-grown. The chief
varieties are the Burbank and American Wonder,

THE POTATO 405

which are grown as table varieties, and the Early
Rose, which is grown as a seed potato and shipped
to Cahfornia. The Garnet and Peerless are also
growTi to a lesser extent for the same purpose as the
Early Rose.

"The preparation of the land here generally con-
sists in early spring plowing, harrowing and disking,
then seeding immediately to the potatoes. On the
smaller fields the potatoes are generally planted by
hand and covered by the plow or with the hoe. In
all the fields of any size, how^ever, the planting is
done with a planting machine. The more careless
farmers give but little cultivation to the potato
crop, sometimes merely harrowing the land a
couple of times before the potatoes are up. The
more successful growlers, however, not only harrow
the potatoes two or three times before they are up,
using the weeder after they are up, but then use a
row cultivator two or three times to complete the
cultivation. Where such thorough cultivation Is
given the most excellent results are obtained.

"Irrigation Is not required at all for potatoes in
western Oregon. They are never irrigated In the
Willamette Valley at the present time, although in
years to come there Is no doubt that the yield may
be slightly increased by Irrigation when more
intensive farming methods require the highest
yields obtainable. In the Rogue River Valley the
potatoes are sometimes Irrigated, but this Is not
the common practice. Of course. In eastern
On^gon wherever potatoes are grown on a commer-
cial scale, at least, Irrigation is used, as a rule.
Potatoes in eastern Oregon, however, are grown
only, as a rule, In amounts sufficient to supply the
local markets. On the dry-farming wheat land
in eastern Oregon the farmers are just beginning

406 THE POTATO

to produce potatoes for home consumption, and
they are obtaining very fair yields of very high
quahty tubers. In fact, potatoes, grown under
dry-farming conditions in eastern Oregon on the
silt loams, or volcanic ash soils, as they are called,
I believe to be the finest flavored and finest quality
that I have ever seen.

"Potatoes are harvested in all the large com-
mercial fields by a machine digger, in the smaller
fields by hand with the spade, or sometimes merely
by plowing them up. Those potatoes which are
stored are often merely dumped in bins in an
ordinary w^arehouse, but the best growers, in those
cases where they make a practice of storing them,
are putting up specially constructed warehouses
which are properly insulated w^ith saw^dust in the
w^alls and with special ventilation to keep the po-
tatoes in the best possible shape over winter.
Practically no protection is required here against
freezing, as that rarely occurs with our mild cli-
mate. What protection is used is generally merely
to maintain equable temperature and humiditj^

"The Oregon potato crop is practically all
marketed at Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco,
all the Early Rose and other varieties raised as a
seed crop, being marketed in the last city.

"The cost of growing, of course, varies a great
deal, but under good methods it will average from
twelve to fifteen cents per bushel in the bin, this
figure including interest on the investment. The
profit, where the potato crop is grown as a regular
part of the rotation, will average $40 or $50 per
acre net.

"No artificial fertilizers are used, the only fertil-
izer of any kind so far used or recommended being
a cover crop of vetch and rye or vetch and oats

THE POTATO 407

sown in the fall and plowed under when twelve or
twenty inches high early in the 8j)ring. The vetch,
on account of its very high nitrogen content and
nitrogen gathering ability, makes, of course, a
wonderfully good covering and green manuring
crop.

"The size of the farms on which potatoes are
grown in Oregon is about 100 acres, and the
potato field is anywhere from five to sixty acres
in size. A ten-acre field is generally considered
a pretty good size field of potatoes, and forty
or fifty acre potato fields are only had by those
growers who are making a speciality of this
product.

"The big growers are beginning to use system in
the culture and marketing of this crop, as well as
using rotations which will keep the ground in the
best condition. One of our best growers is using
that old and everywhere very successful rotation
of clover, followed by potatoes, followed by wheat,
the first crop of clover being cut and left on the
ground, and the second crop harvested for seed, the
field being plowed early in the spring for potatoes.
There are other rotations equally as good, but there
are no special ones that have as yet been widely
adopted.

"Altogether, potato growing in Oregon is a very
profitable industry, especially so where modern
methods are employed and rotations are used.
Year in and year out the market is high when com-
pared with the potato market elsewhere and as yet
no such thing as a potato disease or insect pest is
known. As time goes on I think this crop will be
more widely and intensively grown and one which
will always prove excellent for including in rota-
tions throughout Oregon."

408 THE POTATO

'lO '>yf') NEVADA

})(iljii94 very fine book on Nevada, published by the
Hprneseekers' Bureau of the Sunset Magazine, San
Jiriaiwigco, CaL, in an article by C. A. Norcross,
Commissioner of Agriculture of Nevada, it is
stated that the potato is the principal export of the
stfc|tei.Mi The Nevada potato has taken the first
;aw^d/ at several fairs, international expositions,
b^d [produce shows. It grows evenly, when prop-
^T^y! cultivated, of uniform size, clear and healthy
4k\Xii firm texture, free from disease, is not watery,
iftrt^ when cooked is dry, mealy, and white as a
snowdrift. It is no mean agricultural art to get
jljhei I biest results in potato growing. It requires
^Ofp^rJence and intelligence to know when and how
'tKJipAant the crop, how deep the irrigation furrows
shewed be and the precise quantity of water re-
K^iiired* But where the art is mastered, the profits
Ironi/ potato growing one year with another are
Vtryngreat. The average yield is about six tons
'tic>itjl^<e>acre, or 200 bushels, under any reasonably
^killul: handling, but the leading potato growers of
the! ist^te grow from eight to fifteen tons per acre.
'JThlei average selling price is about $20 per ton, or
60 cents per bushel. A net profit of $200 per acre
^n the crop is not unusual in seasons of good prices.
ii"r>bo((
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A lx')q
')d Hi//
il')irl// '

CHAPTER XXXV

CALIFORNIA

CALIFORNIA occupies a similar position on
the Pacific coast of the United States to
that of the territory lying between Charles-
ton and Boston on the Atlantic coast. There are
158,360 square miles or 101,350,400 acres within
its borders. A large part of this is mountain or
desert, but the territory is so great that the total
acreage of the arable valleys w^ould make a good-
sized eastern state.

The great interior valley in which the Sacra-
mento and San Joaquin valleys lie is about 420
miles long and has an average width of forty-five
miles.

California's greatest agricultural asset is its
climate. Throughout southern California and the
Great Central Valley the growing season is prac-
tically^ twelve months long. During the winter
there is some cold weather, but the thermometer
rarely registers lower than freezing. Pastures pro-
duce feed in the winter season, although less lux-
uriantly than in summer; oranges ripen, and all
kinds of vegetables make satisfactory growth.

Potatoes will live over winter in the ground and
make a volunteer crop the next season.

Even though fruit and vegetable growing, dai-
rying, and other lines of agriculture are highly
developed in some sections of the state, the re-
sources and possibilities for agricultural pursuit are

409

410 THE POTATO

of such magnitude that they can be said to have
been hardlv touched.

The potato industry has been most largely
developed in the vicinity of Stockton in the San
Joaquin Valley, and in the Salinas and Lompoc
valleys along the coast. The crop is grown every-
where in the state, but not in a large commercial
way, except in the places mentioned.

There are splendid opportunities for developing
an early potato proposition in the Sacramento
Valley and elsewhere throughout the state.

The first potatoes on the market alw^ays bring
the high prices, and by the use of European meth-
ods of storing and starting seed, the crop could be
sold four to six weeks earlier than any now pro-
duced.

In the following are brief descriptions of Cali-
fornia conditions:

THE LOMPOC VALLEY

The Lompoc (little hills) Valley is a very nar-
row strip of country that extends up from the
Pacific Ocean. The mainland juts out into the
ocean somewhat at this point, so that the climate is
tempered by the ocean both from the front and
sides. The valley is about nine miles long and
not over five miles wide at the widest part, having
a total area of something less than 15,000 acres.
It is in Santa Barbara County, 172 miles north of
Los Angeles and 303 miles south of San Francisco.
Lompoc (1,500 population), the only town in the
vallev, is nine miles from the sea on a branch of
the Southern Pacific Railroad connecting with the
main coast line at Surf.

All of the land in the valley and the surrounding

THE POTATO 411

foothills was originally embraced in a Mexican
land grant. In 1874 this was bought by the Loni-
poc Valley Land Company, subdivided and the
town laid out. The land was sold in compar-
atively small acreages, principally to people from
Santa Cruz — a town farther north on the coast.
One of the old Franciscan Missions (La Purissima)
is in this valley.

The Lompoc Valley is surrounded by hills 200 to
300 feet high. At the coast, or at the mouth of the
valley, the elevation is forty-five feet; at Lompoc,
nine miles inland, it is ninety-three feet. Because
of the ocean breezes the climate is cool and moist
during the entire year. The highest average
monthly temperature for twelve years is 75 degrees
(for August), and the lowest 44 degrees (for De-
cember). The average annual rainfall is eighteen
inches, practically all in the winter. There are dry
spells some years when irrigation would be bene-
ficial, but good cultivation, in connection with the
cool climate and sea breezes and fogs, is generally
sufiicient to mature maximum crops Grains,
potatoes and many seed crops grow to perfection,
because there is no excessively hot weather.
Mustard (German and English) is gro\\Ti com-
mercially, and W. Atlee Burpee, the Philadelphia
seedsman, selected this as ideal for growing sweet-
pea and other seeds. A farm, with Edwin Lons-
dale in charge, has been started by this concern for
growing seeds commercially.

The Pacific Garden of July, 1910, says that the
summer temperature is so low that Lima beans do
not mature seed. A temperature of 85 degrees is
considered very high and 20 degrees very low.

The district is one of small farms, forty acres
being an average size. L. F. Shanklin is one of the

412 THE POTATO

largest potato growers, and he considers fifty acres
a good size planting. Many growers have five
to twenty acres.

The total annual acreage of potatoes is from
4,000 to 6,000. The average yield is 75 to 100
sacks (150 to 200 bushels) per acre, making the
production about 50,000 sacks (100,000 bushels),
or about 165 cars. The other principal crops of
the valley, those with which the potatoes are ro-
tated, are:

Mustard seed about 300,000 sacks of 100 pounds each

Barley about 60,000 sacks of 100 pounds each

Beans about 125,000 sacks of 90 pounds each

Onions about 25,000 gacks

There are places in the valley where orchards
have been taken out for the growing of potatoes
and other field crops, even though with proper care
orchards pay well. In other places the Sugar
Beet Company has bought land devoted to beans,
potatoes and onions, for growing beets. These
things show nothing but some of the inconsisten-
cies of American agriculture. It is certainly not
economically right that an apple orchard be torn
out just because the owner does not like to "fuss"
with fruit, or because he has changed his mind
about growing apples.

Lompoc is unique in that potatoes of the
very highest quality are grown here at a low
altitude and a southern latitude. The moist,
cool atmosphere and the sea breezes make this
possible.

Potatoes have been grown at Lompoc ever since
the first settlement, but it is only during the past
five or six years that modern methods have been
introduced. Now the cultural methods are strictly

THE POTATO 413

up to date, and improvement in seed work is com-
ing very rapidly.

Like almost every agricultural section in the
"West, the soils are spotted. Here they range from
a very heavy clay, locally called "blue mud," to
pure drift sand. In tlic grades between these are
the fine, well-aired, well-drained, fertile, easy-work-
ing sandy loams that are known as the "potato
lands. " The total area of such soils is not over
7,000 to 8,000 acres. The water table on most of
this best potato land is about twelve feet below the
surface of the ground.

The preparation of land for potatoes is most
thorough, three important factors being kept in
mind :

'1) Conservation of moisture.

(2) The making of a deep, mellow seed nest.

(3) Killing weeds.

After the crop is off the land in the fall, a heavy
growth of volunteer grain and weeds starts up.
In January, when this is one to two feet high, it is
plowed under, generally eight to twelve inches deep.
After this the ground is kept thoroughly w^orked
and free from weeds until May. One of the pop-
ular tools for making a mulch and killing weeds
is a knife weeder and cultivator, consisting of
blades attached under a solid frame. It is a local
tool patented at Ventura, Cal. The cutaway disk
harrow is also used for this winter working of the
soil for killing weeds and conserving moisture.
Another local tool is a jointed plank drag filled with
harrow teeth.

The plowing in January opens up the soil,
permitting the easy absorption of the largest
possil)le (juantities of winter rainfall. The almost
continuous cultivation following this breaks the

414 THE POTATO

capillary, holding the moisture in the subsoil, and
by killing the weeds keeps them from sapping
moisture from the soil. The nettle is a bad weed
for this, and growers state that wherever this weed
is allowed to grow there is a dry spot the coming
summer.

About May 10th the ground is plowed again,
this time ten to twelve inches deep. After this the
cultivation is continued to keep weeds down and
hold moisture. Potatoes are planted May 20th to
June 20th. The Iron Age planter with a heavy
press wheel behind is now quite generally used,
although until the last four or five years the work
was done largely by hand. The rows are thirty -
six inches apart and the pieces dropped fifteen to
seventeen inches apart in the row. BurbaJik ig
the only variety grown in the valley, and the best
product is a most beautiful potato, absolutely
clean and clear-skinned, with a very fine netting
that indicates a mature potato of excellent quahty.
The best growers now want a medium-sized potato,
with shallow "eyes" and square shoulders, a
"spud" that nicely fills the "fist" of a good-sized
man. Some extra large potatoes are grown, and
"Peerless" (a big, rough variety here) yields up
to 400 sacks per acre.

The seed is almost entirely imported from
Oregon. Seed is generally used two years follow-
ing the introduction before another change is made.
The theory is that seed from a cold northern cli-
mate is necessary, but L. F. Shanklin believes that
the greatest cause of the so-called "running out"
of seed is poor selection. The practice is to sell all
the best potatoes and select seed from the seconds
and culls or "cow feed" remaining on the fann in
the spring. He is planning to select his seed from

THE POTATO 415

staked and selected hills that produce healthy
tops and satisfactory hills, then by planting whole
seed from such hills he expects to increase yields
rather than have them decrease.

Seed is greened with sun and generally cut in
very small pieces, sometimes to one eye, about 600
pounds per acre being the average amount used.
Because of this the stand is often poor and all of the
plants do not always start as strong and vigorous
as they would if a larger seed piece furnished more
nourishment for the starting of the plant. Mr.
Shanklin believes the yield can be increased 30 to
50 per cent, by seed selection and the use of larger
seed with the same good cultivation methods now
used. From one hill that volunteered from a whole
tuber he dug seventeen big potatoes.

Lompoc potatoes are grow^n by the high ridging
system, the aim being to get as high and big a ridge
as possible. A heavy soil mulch is kept all over
this ridge and there are heaA^ dews and fogs almost
daily. This moist, open, well-aired ridge is an
ideal place for the perfect development of the
tubers.

The ridging begins with the first cultivation
after planting. There are generally two culti-
vations and the final ridging. This is done with a
special ridger which is illustrated.

Potatoes are harvested in November with horse-
power diggers, the Douden and O. K. Champion
being generally used. A long apron and low wheels
on the digger are good things in this very loose
soil.

Potatoes are stored in long ricks in the field and
in big warehouses in Lompoc. The climate is such
that when piled loose in big ricks twelve feet wide
at the base, six feet high and often several hundred

416 THE POTATO

feet long, the potatoes keep with no other protection
than mustard .straw or some other hght covering
that simply keeps off the light frosts. It must not
mat or shed water, or it will mold. These piles
are soaked through repeatedly with the rains and
no damage is done tliereby to the potatoes. They
keep all right until well into the spring; if piled
east and west instead of north and south, some
potatoes on the north side always frost.

Ten Japanese laborers will pick up the potatoes
as fast as one digger will take them from the gTound,
or six acres per day of eighty sacks per acre. The
Japs cost $1.75 a day, or $17.50 for picking up 480
two-bushel sacks — a little over 3 cents a sack.
Potatoes are sacked as fast as dug, but the sacks
are left in the field to dry out for a day before being
piled in the ricks.

A large part of the crop is sold to brokers at
digging time. The quality of the Lompoc and
Salinas potatoes is such that they generally bring
$1 to $1.50 per hundred as they come from the
field. The crop is graded into firsts, seconds, and
"cow feed. " The firsts are smooth, even, medium-
sized potatoes, the pick of the crop; seconds con-
tain more small and large and the uneven potatoes,
but are all sound; "cow feed" includes all cut, bad
and very small tubers.

A popular rotation of crops at Lompoc is pota-
toes, beans, onions, potatoes, potatoes, beans, etc.
The soil is naturally very Tich, all recent alluvial,
and there are frequent overflows from the streams
depositing silt. For tliis reason there has been
practically no commercial fertilizer used. Green
manuring with legumes is not done (the weather is
too cool for affaffa to do well), and animal manures
iire not used to any extent. In fact, there is very

THE POTATO 417

little stock kept in the valley except for work. Of
course, range cattle are kept in the hills. It is
essential!}" a special crop valley, but some day
fertilization will be given more attention.

The authors are indebted to T. L. Harris, L. F.
Shanklin, A. G. Balaam, Secretary Chamber of
Commerce, and others for valuable information
and many courtesies shown during a visit to
Lompoc.

THE SALINAS VALLEY

In many ways the Salinas Valley is very similar
to Lompoc. It is on the coast, between Lompoc
and San Francisco.

The maximum temperature is about 91, the min-
imum 28, or a little lower. Citrus fruits are not
grown commercially.

The principal crops are potatoes, sugar-beets,
deciduous fruits, and dairy cow feed.

The methods of cultivation and harvesting are
not as good as at Lompoc.

Seed is imported from Oregon every third year
by many growers. The seed stock is best the
second year, or that following its introduction.
The Burbank variety is grown exclusively.

The potatoes grown at Salinas are as smooth as
eggs — average from four to twelve ounces in size,
and have a beautiful, clear, netted skin.

The best soil is a sort of sandv loam, verv mellow
and easily worked. There are but a few himdred
acres of this character, however, the balance being
heavier.

When potatoes are not grown continuously on
the land, the system is, grain, potatoes, sugar-
beets. No fertilizing is done, and cover crops are
not used.

418 THE POTATO

The land sells for $100 to $500 an acre when of-
fered, but there is practically none for sale. The
entire valley was originally taken up by Mexican
land grants and some of these have not yet been
subdivided.

The seed stock is stored in straw-covered ricks,
and sprouted once or twice before planting.

The land is plowed twice with a three-gang disk
plow, ten inches deep; harrowed twice, cultivated
twice, and hoed twice. The crop is dug by hand,
Japanese labor being used. They do the hand
labor for 30 per cent, of the crop.

Growers estimate that it costs $25 an acre to
produce the crop. Seed cut to two to four ounces
is used.

The crop of the valley is about 25,000 sacks.
The yield is thirty -five to seventy sacks, of 100
to 110 pounds each, to the acre.

STOCKTON

The Stockton district is now one of the biggest
potato-producing sections in the world, area con-
sidered.

The crops are grown in the lowlands in and along
the San Joaquin River, in a rich alluvial soil, some
of it containing a large percentage of decayed vege-
table matter.

The " tule " lands on the islands in the San Joa-
quin river are made up of the decayed vegeta-
tion of many years, and being subject to overflow,
this has had some silt incorporated with it. In re-
claiming these lands they are surrounded by big
levees. Deep drains are cut through the land,
with shallower drains emptying into them. These
smaller drains are about 40 feet apart. During

THE POTATO 419

high water time in the river an excess of water on
the land is pumped out of the ditches and over the
levees by inunense electrically operated j)umps.
When irrigation is needed it can be let through
the dikes or the same pumps can be used to pumi>
water from the river back into the ditches. When
the ditches are filled the land absorbs the moisture
readily. When the land is dry there is danger
from fire, and this is very hard to control when it
gets into the subsoil. A complete fire fighting force
is maintained.

The potatoes are taken to railroad shipping points
on boats, and commission men and dealers re-sort
before selling to retailers.

Disease develops rapidly in this moist, rich soil.
Careful rotation of crops and perfect control of
moisture is necessary to control and prevent dis-
eases.

Practically the entire crop in the district is
grown by Japanese and Chinese, Portuguese, and
Hindus. Large areas are rented at from $12 to
$30 per acre, and sublet in smaller lots to the Japs
or Chinese on a share basis, the landlord furnishing
land, implements, and seed for 49 per cent, of the
crop.

Seed of the Burbank variety from Oregon is
universally used. New seed is secured every two
years, so that the only home-grown seed used is
that produced the first year from imported stocks.

The planting period extends from January loth
to July, and the harvesting is continuous from
May to January.

Eight sacks (about 100 pounds to the sack) of
cut seed are planted per acre, and the yield is from
80 to 150 sacks per acre.

The potatoes are planted when the land is

420 THE POTATO

plowed, the seed being dropped by hand in e very-
third row.

The crop is irrigated four to five times and cul-
tivated twice.

The digging is all done by hand.

The men are paid $50 per month and board, and
they work eleven hours a day.

The rotation of crops practised is potatoes,
then barley or onions. Potatoes are never planted
twice in succession on the same ground.

The Piatt Commission Company of Stockton
handles a large tonnage of potatoes. Their chief
buj^er is a Chinese '*boy " who has been with them
since 1878. He is considered the most competent
buyer in California and draws a salary commen-
surate with his services.

Potatoes are often shipped from Stockton
before they are fully ripe. They are then loaded
in double decks in the cars, but the sacks are set on
end instead of being corded up lying flat. By
loading on end the air circulates all around the
sack. The crop marketed from June to Septem-
ber is handled in this way. It costs $10 to fit
up a car for this kind of shipping.

Potatoes known as *' leaky,'* because when
bruised by rough handling, water runs out of them
and wets the sacks, are produced in the delta or
tule lands. These contain an excess of moisture
because they make a rapid, soft growth. These
potatoes often turn blue.

The excessive growth of tops that these po-
tatoes make in the field indicates a soil rich in
nitrogen, but deficient perhaps in potash and
phosphoric acid. The addition of the two elements
last nam.ed might increase yields and earliness
very much and make a firmer, better table potato.

THE POTATO 421

Closer planting would also increase yields, as
would larger seed and the starting of seed, as in the
British Isles.

The quality of the tule land potatoes could also
be bettered by more perfect control of the water
table.

The potato crop in San Joaquin County (on
which Stockton is located) was valued at $2,145,000
in 1910.

A good deal has been written about a Japanese
potato king, Shima, but at Stockton Sing Kee, a
Chinaman, is accorded that honor. He grows
from 3,000 to 4,000 acres of potatoes every year.

In the following by Forrest Crissey, in the
Saturday Evening Post, a description of his methods
is given :

" And speaking of potatoes — there is Sing Kee,
the real potato king of the Stockton District. His
bona-fide Chinese name is Chin Lung, but he is Sing
Kee to his American friends. It is passing strange
that the publicit}^ men of the railroads and big land
companies, who are so eager to prove that the city
business farmer is a success w^hen transplanted
from the pavement to the soil, should have over-
looked Sing Kee, of San Francisco Chinatown.
This remarkable Mongolian first slapped his san-
dals on the pavements of San Francisco about
thirty years ago. He slipped quietly into the
ranks of the loose-frocked toilers and plodded along
for several noiseless years. Then there was a store-
opening in Chinatown in which Sing Kee was the
central figure. He had saved until he was able
to promote himself into the merchant class.

"Sing Kee drove a good trade with his coun-
trymen and built up a respectable following among

422 THE POTATO

the Chinese farmers and gardeners that came Into
the San Francisco market with their truck. Hav-
ing the same inquisitive tendencies as the great Li
Hung Chang, he pHed his farmer friends with
questions and came to know almost as much about
their business as he did about his own. One year
trade in Chinatown was depressingly poor. His
thoughts then recurred to the tales of farming
profits that his customers had brought him, and he
was not long in deciding that he could make more
money on the soil than he could over the counter.

*'Consequently Sing Kee struck out for the soil
and carried all his business instincts with him. He
made his first big hit in 1889 on 1,200 acres in po-
tatoes. White men had repeatedly gone broke on
this very tract of land, owing to their inability
to cope with the overflow. But the clever Orien-
tal watched the water with shrewd eyes, and at
just the right moment after it had receded he put
in his plows. The result was an average of 160
sacks to the acre. At the outset of the har^-est
season that year the prevailing price of spuds was
50 cents. But his land rental was cheap — only
$7 an acre — and so was his labor. Even at
20 cents there was a fair profit in the enterprise.
But Sing Kee, the merchant, studied the market
in his stoical way and looked far ahead. All of
his experienced field neighbors were selling their
whole crop at this price, but the buyers could get
nothmg more out of Sing Kee than a shake of the
head. Prices went up to 65 cents and from that
they eventually climbed to $1.65. Between these
two points the slant-eyed Oriental merchant-
farmer unloaded his bumper crop and made a tre-
mendous profit.

"In spite of the fortune that he realized from

THE POTATO 423

his single crop of potatoes, Sing Kee is too shrewd
a farmer to put all of his eggs into one basket, al-
though he still makes spuds his main crop. An
American who is his close business confidant makes
this statement of Sing Kee's present farming opera-
tions: He has four thousand acres in potatoes;
100 acres in onions; 400 to GOO acres in beans; 560
acres in asparagus; and 300 to 400 acres in seeds.
It will be hard to beat that combination.

"No part of his farming operations indicates to
the uninitiated the skill and daring of Sing Kee as
a cropmaker so much as the simple fact that he
has 200 to 400 acres devoted to the production of
seeds. Seed-raising may be said to be the su-
preme test of farming skill. The seed for this part
of his operations is sent to him by a seed house the
head of which makes this statement in comparing
the average American farmer with the alien, and
particularly with the Oriental:

*'*I should not think of letting a seed contract to
many American farmers. Experience has taught
me that failure would be the almost certain result.
But the men who have been raised in the Old
World traditions of intensive cultivation are able
to qualify in this highest refinement of field hus-
bandry. I wish that it were otherwise, but it
isn't. The average American farmer has more to
learn from the alien farmers of every race now rep-
resented on our own soil than he can possibly
realize or appreciate. The first step toward as-
similating the skill and the knowledge that these
alien and intensive tillers of the soil have brought
to his door is a realization of his lack of their mar-
velous mastery of plant life, their intimate and al-
most intuitive understanding of the secrets of
plant production.' But Sing Kee isn't afraid to

424 THE POTATO

put 400 acres into the growing of seeds; and the
seed house is not afraid to back this shrewd mer-
chant-farmer in so extensive and difl&cult an under-
taking."

Following is an article from the Stockton (CaL)
Independent of August 26, 1911:

** Stockton, though known to-day throughout the
world as a potato centre, is destined to make such
strides in tuber cultivation as to make the delta
regions adjacent to this city universally famed as
one of the leading spud regions of the world, and in
many distinctive particulars to stand out in a class
by itself in points of merit from a potato stand-
point. Such was the general statement made by
Eugene H. Grubb, of Colorado.

"While in this section in search of information as
to the local product, Mr. Grubb has been the guest
of P. E. Piatt of the Piatt Product Company, and
yesterday he visited the delta regions and selected
samples of the delta tuber from the Rindge prop-
erties.

"Explaining the potato of this section and the
crop condition generally Mr. Grubb stated that
the one outstanding feature as compared with all
the world that signalized the Stockton delta re-
gions was the fact that tubers are in the ground
here every day in the year, and that shipments are
made from Stockton covering a wide area 365 days
continuously year in and year out.

"The continuous crop feature, says Mr. Grubb,
is phenomenal and gives Stockton a unique dis-
tinction throughout the world in the potato in-
dustry.

"Speaking of the improved cultivation of the

TIIE POTATO 425

Stockton tuber as compared to five and ten years
ago, Mr. Grubb states that the local product has
gained wonderfully in point of quality and that its
standard to-day is of the highest mark. This, he
said, was due to the fact that such shippers as
Mr. Piatt have come to learn that the trade de-
mands the best obtainable and that anything less
than the best is overcome by competition and to
that extent unprofitable. The exact conditions
imposed upon the shipper by the trade necessi-
tates the shipper holding the grower unrelentingly
to the best possible qualities obtainable from the
soil.

"Those things which make for quality have been
bounteously provided the Stockton delta regions.

"'Here, he pointed out, is found the wonder-
fully rich, fertile, light peat soil so peculiarly
adapted to the highest cultivation of potatoes. The
sun shines from a growing standpoint every day
in the year, the climate is all that could be desired.

"Discussing the local tuber from a distribution
and supply phase, Mr. Grubb called attention to
the fact that Stockton to-day is shipping practi-
cally all points west of the Missouri River and only
yesterday shipped two cars to Kansas City, the
very centre of a much boasted potato area long
since famed among the tuber fields of the country.
That the wonderful breadth and scope of Stock-
ton's supply territory might be better emphasized
the visitor directed attention to the fact that
the Piatt Produce Company alone as a single firm
ships out of Stockton annually more than one half
as large a crop as the noted Greeley district of
Colorado. So extensive, says Mr. Grubb, are the
fields of patronage for the Stockton product that
the Easterner cannot grasp the immensity of it

426 THE POTATO

all, nor appreciate the vast population fed by the
delta regions adjacent to this city.

"Pointing out the merit features of the local
spud the distinguished authority on the tuber says
that in point of attractiveness, size, shape, smooth-
ness of skin, quality and all that goes to make a
potato perfect, the delta regions produce the most
nearly perfect tuber known throughout the world.
Such potatoes, said Mr. Grubb, could not pos-
sibly be grown on a heavy soil nor under general
conditions less ideal than characteristic of Stockton.

"Taking up the subject of distribution and sup-
ply aside from the quality of the potato itself the
visitor pointed out that this section invariably has
a normal crop and that for this reason the trade
throughout the area covered by the local supply
feels that it can always depend upon Stockton for
receipts, and places orders here deeming it the most
likely of satisfactory deliveiy. This confidence
of the trade is a most valuable asset and goes a
long way in establishing Stockton's high standard
of reliability as a potato shipping centre. Added
to this very" important feature is the fact that the
local delta regions yield early and at such seasons
as famine, so to speak, is characteristic of other
tuber districts.

"Of the many variety of spuds grown in this
locality the visitor observes that the Burbank is
the best adapted to local conditions, and in this
connection, Mr. Grubb added, that no section of
America is so famed for its Burbanks as are the
California potato fields.

"From the standpoint of quantity Mr. Grubb
says that Stockton is but a drop in the bucket.
Throughout the tuber fields of America there are
this season about 300,000,000 bushels. All CaH-

THE POTATO 427

fornia will produce but 8,000,000 bushels. And it
is estimated that the local delta regions, which
have an acreage planted to potatoes amounting
to about 44,000 acres will yield on a general aver-
age 100 sacks to the acre. This in dollars and
cents will represent about $5,000,000 for the total
harvest revenue.

"After returning from the delta regions Mr.
Grubb met a number of the business and pro-
fessional men of this city, all of whom heard with
delight the announcement that Stockton will be-
come world famous in a greater degree than at this
time seems at all probable as a tuber district."

SACRAMENTO VALLEY

The Sacramento Valley is watered and has
been made by the Sacramento River and its tribu-
taries. It is a vast, alluvial plain, comprising over
2,500,000 acres of land.

The annual rainfall in the valley is about eigh-
teen inches, and it comes entirely during the winter
months.

Without irrigation the principal crop has been
grain — wheat and barley. This is sow^n in the fall,
gets the benefit of the winter rains, and is ripened
in early summer. From June until the rains come
in October the country is dry and brown.

With irrigation, every crop of the temperate or
semitropical zones can be grown.

The Sacramento Valley Irrigation Project of
150,000 acres is the most important undertaking
in the valley. Water is taken from the Sacra-
mento River under an Act of Congress.

There are wonderful possibilities for early potato
growing on some of the lands in this valley.

The potato being a cool weather crop, in hot

428 THE POTATO

countries it is grown to the best advantage during
the cooler parts of the growing season. For in-
stance — in the Sacramento Valley there are two
growing seasons each year: Potatoes planted in
February or early in March are dug in July or
August and those planted in August are dug late in
November. Many failures are recorded when the
crop is planted in May or June because of the too
intense heat of atmosphere and soil during the
period that the tuber should be forming and de-
veloping.

This climatic situation makes two crops of po-
tatoes possible where soil conditions are right and
cultural conditions are properly managed.

It should be possible to make early potatoes one
of the largest per acre revenue yielding crops in
the valley because of the possibilities of getting
the crop on the market when high prices prevail.

The potato-growing business is a very profit-
able one nov\" on the bottom lands along the Sacra-
mento and San Joaquin rivers and on the islands
and deltas.

The easiest kind of soil in which to grow po-
tatoes is a sandy loam, or one well filled with
humus or decayed vegetable matter.

The reason for this is that such a soil is easies^
to work; it does not bake when it becomes dry, il
takes water from irrigation in sufficient quantity
but does not water-log, it drains readily, and is a
mellow, friable medium in which the tubers can
develop symmetrically and quickly without too
great resistance

In order to grow potatoes on heavy clay and clay
loam soils, in which the percentage of sand or vege-
table matter is very small, it is necessary to do
such preparatory work as is necessary to make

THE POTATO 429

them open and friable; In other words, to better
the mechanical condition.

These heavy clay loam soils are among the rich-
est known in agriculture. This is because they
have been made of the finer particles that have
been washed out of hills and mountains over a
large area. The valleys in which such soils are
usually found are really the cream of an entire
watershed. A soil that is easier to handle may be
very much less rich, because the finer soil particles
are held apart by coarse sand of little or no fer-
tility, or by large quantities of decayed vegetable
matter.

For this reason about the only problem con-
nected with potato growing on the heavier lands
in the Sacramento Valley, is to add sufficient vege-
table matter to the soil to hold apart the fine soil
particles and make it more loose, open, friable and
easily worked.

This can be done by growing alfalfa for several
years, filling the soil and subsoil with roots and
when it is plowed up turn under a big crop of the
green alfalfa to further add to the vegetable con-
tent.

Another way would be to grow and turn under
successive crops of peas, vetch, or other cover
crops.

The addition of large quantities of animal ma-
nures is another way to loosen up heavy lands.

In Scotland, one large potato farmer has hauled
sand onto heavy clay land to a depth of five inches,
incorporating this and large quantities of stable
manure into the soil.

On a small, intensely cultivated farm in the
Sacramento Valley, where large quantities of
animal manures are returned to the soil, and alfalfa

430 THE POTATO

and other deep rooted crops grown, it will be easy
to have a plot in fine condition for growing po-
tatoes each year.

The Burbank is the most popular variety of the
potato in California. For early planting it would
be well to try Bliss Triumph and Early Rose.
New early varieties should be experimented with.
Only by trial can the most profitable varieties be
determined. In a warm climate the best seed is
generally that imported from colder or high alti-
tude districts.

Preparation for the early crop of potatoes
should begin the year previous to that in which
the crop is grown. If stable manure is to be ap-
plied this should be done the first or second year
prior to the raising of the crop. The presence of
too much manure before it is thoroughly decom-
posed or rotted makes a favorable condition for
the development of diseases, like scab.

If the land to be cropped in potatoes has been in
alfalfa, it is a good plan to first plow it shallow,
with a sharp plow, to cut all the crowns, then plow
it ten to fourteen inches deep. Land for early
potatoes should be fall plowed.

As soon as the ground is in condition in the early
spring, it should be disked and harrowed, to
make a good seed bed and to "warm it up" as
much as possible in preparation for the seed about
to be planted.

A practice not now followed, but one that could
be used to advantage, would be to plant nothing
but whole seed, and start the sprouts in a green-
house or sheltered spot, so that there is a sturdy
sprout developed on each tuber before it is put in
the ground. This will advance the maturity of
the crop from twenty to twenty -five days.

THE POTATO 431

The furrows may be opened up a few days in
advance of the planting, so that warm soil will
surround the seed when it is dropped. The seed
should be dropped by hand and carefully covered
with a shovel plow or ridger.

As soon as the first crop is out of the ground, the
ground should be thoroughly worked in prepara-
tion for the second crop, if another crop of po-
tatoes is to follow. If potatoes are to follow^ grain
or some other crop the ground should be deeply
plowed and a good seed bed made. The ground
is warm at this time, so that no sprouting of seed
is necessary before planting. Seed from the pre-
ceding crop, or northern-grown seed that has been
kept dormant in storage may be used.

Cultivation should begin soon after the seed is
planted. The first cultivation should be deep,
to thoroughly open up a deep root nest in which
the tubers are to form. On irrigated land the
high ridge system of growing potatoes is usually
used, because it makes it possible for the po-
tatoes to develop in a loose, open, w^ell-aired soil,
the moisture supply coming through the bottom
of a fairly deep furrow into the base of the ridge
and being drawn up by capillarity.

The number of irrigations, and the number of
cultivations, must be determined by the needs of
the soil and the growing plant. No fixed rule can
be set, because conditions may change daily.
Irrigation water must be used with suiHcient fre-
quency to furnish all the moisture the crop needs.
Too much is as bad or worse than too little. A
shortage of moisture makes a short crop. Cul-
tivation is required as often as is necessary to keep
the soil open and mellow.

In the Sacramento \'alley the first crop starts

432 THE POTATO

out with a sufficiency of moisture in the soil
from the winter rains. Late in the spring
one — or perhaps two, irrigations might be re-
quired while the potatoes are making the greatest
growth. After the tubers are full size they are
dug.

After the first crop is taken from the ground
(whether this be potatoes, another root crop, or
grain) the ground should be thoroughly irrigated
before a seed bed is made in which to plant the
second crop of potatoes. The irrigation of the
second crop, during its early growth, will be more
important than the early irrigation of the first
crop, because the weather is hot and plenty of
moisture must be provided for greater evapora-
tion at this season. Irrigation of the second crop
must be discontinued in time to permit the ripen-
ing of the tubers in dry ground.

The moisture supply to a potato crop must be
constant. If the ground is allowed to become too
dry, the tubers begin to mature, and when an-
other supply of moisture is provided, a new growth
is started, making little wart-hke growths on the
already formed tubers.

Practically all of the crop in the Sacramento
Valley would probably be sold almost direct from
the field, making storage unnecessary. If it was
desired to store potatoes, a cool, underground eel-
car, or a regular cold storage room, should be pro-
vided. Heat, rather than cold, is the factor to
guard against here.

The potato crop requires deep, thorough prepa-
ration and cultivation of the soil; consequently,
is a good crop in a rotation. After a crop of po-
tatoes has been grown the soil is in fine mellow
condition for a succeeding crop, for in addition to

THE POTATO 433

the fine mechanical condition produced, much fer-
tihty has been made available.

On heavy soil, small "patches" of potatoes are
sometimes grown under straw, or some similar
material used as a mulch. By this method the
seed bed is prepared (mellow and moist) , the seed
planted very close to, or just at the top of, the
ground, then the whole area is covered with straw
to a depth of six to ten inches. This settles down,
the plants come through it, and the tubers develop
beneath.

When planted this way the crop is not touched
from the time the straw is placed until the tubers
are dug.

CHAPTER XXXVI

THE ISLAND OF CHILOE, CHILE

IN THE history of the potato there are occa-
sional references to Chiloe. The senior au-
thor and Luther Burbank are planning to go
there soon to study conditions.

The following information has been secured
through the kindness of Secretary James Wilson of
the United States Department of Agriculture, and
Alfred A. Winslow, American Consul, Valparaiso,
Chile.

"It is generally understood here that the Island
of Chiloe, Chile, is the home of the potato and that
it was found there by Pedro Valdivia's expedition
in the first half of the fifteenth century, where
they were known by the natives as Poni. At that
time potatoes served as the principal food of the
Indians, who cultivated them to some extent, and
where they are still cultivated in a very crude way.

"The Chiloe Archipelago is situated off the west
coast of Chile between 42 and 46 degrees south
latitude, and is composed of many islands of which
the largest, Chiloe, is about 100 miles long by 38
miles wide and covers about 2,450 square miles,
with a population of about 40,500 persons, mostly
Indians or half-breeds.

" The farms vary from 50 to 500 or 600 acres, but
the island is covered with a dense forest, save
where small patches have been cleared for cul-

434

THE POTATO 435

tivation, scarcely ever exceeding fifty acres in
atea, and the potato patches rarely exceed six to
eight acres. According to the best information
I have been able to get, no machinery is used in
the cultivation of potatoes further than a very
crude plow and a spade or hoe. They are planted
in rows at irregular distances varying from eigh-
teen inches to three feet apart. On the larger
farms the seed is generally planted by dropping
whole potatoes into the furrow at distances of
from eighteen to twenty-four inches, and covered
by dragging a split log over the surface with the
face down, or by plowing a furrow on either side
of the row.

"As a general rule they are cultivated only once,
and then when they are three to four inches high.
The weeds are cut out with a hoe or spade, when
they are left to take care of themselves until it is
thought best to dig them, which may be at any
time after they mature until the following spring.

"There are many varieties of potatoes grown in
Chiloe, although no special attention is paid to this
matter. Each farmer may have his own variety,
since no attention is paid to changing seed, for
varieties do not seem to run out as at home. I
am told that the same variety is planted on the
same land year after year, by father and son, with-
out deterioration. No special attention is given
to the selection of seed, and still fine potatoes are
grown from year to year.

"In general the potatoes are dug by turning the
row over with a plow drawn by a yoke of oxen,
and the ground poked around with a crooked
stick. Of course in this way many are left m the
ground, but this makes but little difference, since
they are very prolific, and easily raised.

436 THE POTATO

" No special attention is given to storing potatoes
in that country. They are generally stored by the
producer in a building with a ground floor on a
level with the surface of the ground quite open to
the air. There are no cellars in that part of Chile.

"There is no way of ascertaining the yield per
acre, the cost of production, nor the profit per
acre, since no account of such things is kept.

"Potatoes are sold in Chiloe Island by the pro-
ducer, both to the consumer and the dealer, who
may be a grocer, baker, butcher, generally mer-
chant — in fact, almost every business house han-
dles them."

CHAPTER XXXVII

GREAT BRITAIN

AS HAS been indicated elsewhere, the senior
A\ author spent the season of 1910 in Europe
studying agriculture in general and potato
methods in particular.

In the various countries of Europe he found the
best growers using very advanced methods, while
as in this country the average grower could greatly
improve his operations to his own benefit and
that of the industry.

In the ultimate analysis of the situation the
principles which are responsible for the high j^ields
are simple. They are the essentials of good farm-
ing everywhere in the world.

The fundamental reasons for the successes of
the best growlers of Europe may be all broadly
classed as soil culture, but may be classified as
follows :

1. Drainage — good, careful, effective farm
drainage.

2. The keeping of livestock and the use of
animal manures.

3. The use of fertilizers of all forms to make
crops produce to the limit of fertility.

4. Seed selection, breeding and adaptation.

Preceding a description of impressions of British
agriculture and potato growing by the senior

437

438 THE POTATO

author, is the following discussion of the situation in
the United Kingdom by Walter P. Wright and Ed-
ward J. Castle, taken from their very clever book,
"Pictorial Practical Potato Growing," and used
with their permission and that of the publishers,
Cassell & Co. of London:

"Ireland has always taken more kindly to the
potato than the other countries of the United
Kingdom, and she still boasts a larger acreage
devoted to this crop than England, Scotland, and
Wales combined. From various causes, this
acreage has, however, been steadily decreasing
for some fifteen years, the decrease being chiefly
accounted for by the emigration of potato growers,
and changes introduced into the diet of the in-
habitants. Still, in 1904, Ireland could boast of
618,540 acres devoted to potato growling, as
against 570,209 acres ow^ned by England, Scotland,
and Wales. These figures showed a decrease for
Ireland, and an increase for the rest of the king-
dom, an increase which was augmented to 608,473
acres in 1905.

"It is gratifying to know that efforts are being
made to check the decrease in Ireland, chiefly by the
production of very early potatoes for the EngUsh
market, and of others suitable for seed purposes.
Experiments in growing early potatoes on a small
scale were made in Ireland in 1901, and proved so
successful that each succeeding year has seen an
increase in this direction. The climatic conditions
of the west coast of Ireland seem exceptionally
well fitted to the production of early potatoes,
and there are not wanting experts to prophesy
that Ireland may yet compete successfully with
Jersey and St. Malo.

oc/ifu^Ai> Ancus

Ctt^ftMCL ISLAM 03 I

Map showing districts in Great Hritjiiii wlicre tlirrc arc
prominent poliilo t'nruis

THE POTATO 439

"In the growing of seed potatoes, Irish pros-
pects would seem to be particularly rosy, especially
since Mr. J. F. Williamson, of Mallow, has demon-
strated that Irish grown seed of the variety Duch-
ess of Cornwall gives better returns than similar
seed from other parts of the kingdom. Hitherto
the great obstacle to the development of the Irish
seed potato trade has been the dogged pertinacity
with which the Irish growers adhere to their own
type of potato — a type which finds little favor
among English growers or consumers. With this
obstacle removed, progress may well be expected to
be rapid

*'The iyipe of potato, finding chief favor in Ire-
land is rather ungainly in shape, and possessed of
very deep eyes, Champion and Black Skerry being
two of the most popular varieties. Both of these
cook like balls of flour, and are very white in the
flesh, and flaky. As they are cooked and served
in their skins in Ireland, shape and appearance
matter little, the true criterion of a potato being its
flavor. In England, however, where potatoes are
generally peeled before cooking, shape is a great
consideration, and the deep-eyed, Irish varieties
have to yield pride of place to well-shapen, shal-
low-eyed varieties.

"England is easily next to Ireland in the matter
of potato growing, having about three times the
area of land devoted to potatoes that Scotland has,
and more than fifteen times as much as Wales.
Moreover, the acreage of potatoes in England
shows a steadv increase, it having been 402,725
acres in 1903, 402,760 acres in 1904, and 434,773
acres in 190.5. The average yield per acre is, how-
ever, slightly less in England than in Scotland,
though more than in Ireland and Wales, the aver-

440 THE POTATO

age of the ten years 1895-1904 being: Scotland,
5.90 tons; England, 5.84 tons; Wales, 5.36 tons,
and Ireland, 3.83 tons per acre (a ton is thirty-
seven-and one half bushels) .

"The bulk of English potatoes is grown in the
counties of Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, Lancashire,
Cheshire, and Cambridgeshire. In 1905 the fol-
lowing acreage was under patatoes in the respect-
ive counties: Lincoln, 79,564; Yorks, 57,364;
Lanes, 47,697; Cheshire, 26,642; and Cambridge,
26,039. Lincolnshire is the centre of the English
seed potato industry, and Lines seed potatoes
have a reputation second only to the best Scottish.
Cornwall, which has only an area of 4,822 acres
devoted to potatoes, has generally the honor of
placing the earliest English grown potatoes on the
market. These follow the supply from the Chan-
nel Islands, the latter, however, being preceded by
supplies from Malta and the Canary Islands. The
Maltese potatoes reach our shores in November,
and have recently become so popular that quite
a flourishing trade has been built up.

*'In Scotland, the acreage of potatoes has rap-
idly increased, 144,265 acres being required for
the crop of 1905, while 137,735 acres sufficed for
that of 1904. This increase is mainly attribu-
table to the enormous demand for Scottish seed
potatoes, a demand created largely by the results
of experiments conducted by scientists to deter-
mine the relative value of seed from various sources.
But Scottish ware potatoes also hold their own
against the world, the famous Dunbars frequently
being quoted at 20s. ($4.80) per ton above all
others. These tubers possess a remarkably
bright and taking appearance, combined with
high cooking quality, for which the peculiar kind

THE POTATO 441

of soil in which they are grown is deemed
responsible."

The notes which follow were 'UT'itten by the senior
author as he visited the various farms mentioned :

NEAR EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND

Dalmeny Farm, Edinburgh, Scotland, is one
of the most famous livestock and plant breeding
institutions in the world. It is the home place of
of the Earl of Rosebery. A large number of
specialists are employed and they have accom-
plished wonderful results with grains, grasses,
vegetables and livestock. The intricate details
of breeding have been carefully worked out and
the products of the farm go all over the world.

The Earl of Rosebery has bred and raced three
Derby winners (thoroughbred running horses),
and a great many famous prize winning Clydes-
dale horses, Aberdeen-Angus and Shorthorn cat-
tle, large Yorkshire and Berkshire hogs and Shrop-
shire sheep.

In the potato world this farm is famous for
having produced the largest yield of potatoes ever
recorded.

The place is visited annually by many dele-
gations of agriculturists and students from all over
the world.

Everything is made to pay. The Earl instructs
his factor or manager that unless he makes every
branch of the business pay he will be replaced by
a man who can.

The crop rotation on the potato lands is: Po-
tatoes, one year; grain, one year; grass, two years.
The grass consists of a heavy seeding of rye grass

442 THE POTATO

or red clover, alone, or rye grass with wheat, oats,
or barley as a nurse crop. I saw red clover seeded
with wheat. The grain was a very heavy crop,
(forty-eight to fifty-six bushels) and the red clover
was thick and fully eighteen inches high.

The rye grass meadows are fed off with sheep.
Cottonseed and linseed cake and some grain are
fed in addition. Then twenty tons of well rot-
ted manure are spread and plowed in during the
winter when potatoes are to be grown the follow-
ing year. Potatoes always follow grass. This
system combined with the northern latitude, has
always kept the potatoes free from blight and dis-
ease. Mr. George Sinclair, the farm manager
says: "There is no potato disease in Scotland if the
crop is grown only every fourth year, and on turf
or sod ground. This keeps the soil open, loose
and porous, and full of decayed vegetable matter."
The condition of the soil was ideal for potatoes. A
special artificial fertilizer mixture that has been
adapted to conditions after many years of experi-
menting by their soil experts and specialists is
sown at the time of planting at the rate of six to
seven hundred povmds per acre.

Whole seed is always used and increasing the
size has given satisfactory results in increased
yields. They are now using about 3,300 pounds
of seed to the acre. Formerly 2,000 pounds was
the rate. I saw as much as 5,000 pounds per acre
planted — seed up to three inches in diameter.

In some series of experiments for three years suc-
cessively with three varieties, 3,500 to 4,500 pounds
of seed to the acre gave an average of seven tons
per acre greater production than a 2,000-pound
seeding.

Late varieties are planted in rows twenty-seven

Sir MaLLliew \\allace — kni'slitcd l)y (Jooriie V for his work in the
interests of llu- |)uUilo induslry

Potato digging in Scotland

A potato field on the farm of Matthew G. Walhice, Terregleston,

Dumfries, Scotland

THE POTATO 443

inches apart, twelve inches apart in the row.
Early varieties are planted twenty six by eight
inches. This increases the number of hills per
acre, consequently the yields.

Deep cultivation is practised. George Sinclair
is the only farmer I have found who advocates
extra deep stirring of the soil between the ridges to
keep the soil loose, open and porous.

All potatoes for seed are stored in pits. He ad-
vises growing as large a crop as possible, rather
than digging green, as frost always cuts off the
growth sufficiently early to secure strong growing,
vigorous seed. There is no special boxing or storing
in cellar or houses. Seed is never cut, no matter
how high the price. He cannot afford to w^eaken
the plants by dividing the tuber.

Land rents for $20 an acre. It cost $105 an
acre to grow 600 to G75 bushels per acre.

Extra large seed planted whole gives best re-
sults for growing seed stocks, as so many more po-
tatoes set to the one big root system, they are
slower in growing, more miiform in size and of
more suitable size.

IN WESTERN SCOTLAND

The results of the work of Matthew G. Wallace,
Ter regies town, Dumfries, Scotland, in growing
potatoes are very remarkable. He is a tenant
farmer, and has been growing potatoes on a 300-acre
farm for the last twenty years. In January, 1911,
he was knghted by King George for his services
in the interest of the potato industry. This is the
first time in history that a man has received such
an honor for such service. It is a sign of the in-
creasing interest in agriculture.

444 THE POTATO

The soil in this section is peculiarly adapted for
growing certain varieties of potatoes. It is a
very light sandy loam and is naturally well
drained. The subsoil is of sand or gravel, and
some of the most successful crops are grown where
the soil is not more than eight inches deep.

Mr. Wallace's whole work is potato production.
His conditions are such that he has grown potatoes
every year for twenty years on the same land, and
out of a total of 300 acres, 260 are kept in potatoes.
The other forty acres are used for pasture and for
growing hay and grain for his horses.

On the 260 acres of potatoes he uses annually
5,000 tons of barnyard manure costing $7,500
and eighty tons of commercial fetilizer costing
$3,000. He compounds the latter himself. The
manure is apphed at the rate of twenty tons per
acre.

Mr. Wallace grows only two varieties of po-
tatoes: the Sutton's May Queen and Sutton's
Ninety -fold. The former is a capricious variety ,•
in its habits and nature of growth. In the soils
and weather conditions to which it is adapted it
gives maximum yields and endures from year to
year. This fact is true of every variety of potato
of which I have any knowledge, but it is a phase
of the subject that is very little studied by potato
growers. One of the strong habits of the May
Queen, which grows to perfection in the peculiar
conditions at Dumfries, is that it grows very
rapidly and strong, and has large leaves and stocks.
These are necessarily tender and will not with-
stand strong winds, which would whip it, weaken
the plant, make it apt to blight, and check the
growth of the tops as well as the tubers. This
variety is not a favorite on the coast where there

THE POTATO 445

are heavy winds, and it is never grown there. An
adaptation of this information can be well ap-
plied in districts in western United States, on open
plateaus where there are strong winds during the
early growing season of June and July.

The May Queen is one of the very best early
market sorts for the British markets. On June
first I saw one hundred acres that was a beautiful
sight because of the healthfulness, vigor and bright
green foliage of the plants. Mr. Wallace begins
to harvest early in July and the entire crop is
harvested during that month.

Potatoes that go over a two and one fourth inch
mesh are shipped to market, those between two
and one fourth and one and one fourth are sold
for seed or kept as seed stocks. When the po-
tatoes are dug they are practically about one half
to three fourths grown. They are planted about
March 25th and will yield about eight tons when
harvested July 8th. When ripe and matured they
would make twelve tons over a one and one half
inch mesh.

After being cured in long narrow pits, about
three feet wide and thatched with straw, they are
shipped to the seed houses for which they were
grown.

He is very particular to keep seed true. The
same variety is grown year after year in the same
fields so that any potatoes that might winter over
and come up as volunteers the next year would
not mix with those planted in the spring following.
He is so careful and painstaking that each storage
house is labeled w ith the name of the variety and
no other is stored in it.

Potatoes are harvested in July. They are dug
with forks and picked up by hand. If no disease

446 THE POTATO

which they spray to prevent is found, the vines
are spread evenly over the surface, plowed under,
and three bushels of Italian rye grass sown to the
acre.

Heretofore he has imported the rye grass seed
from France- It is stronger than the English or
Irish grown seed and has given the best results, but
this year Mr. Wallace is growing his own seed. He
uses an immense quantity of seed. It costs $1.50
a bushel or $4.50 an acre. The object is to get as
large an amount of grass as early as possible, and
to get the greatest amount of fibrous roots and
turf to plow under later to keep up the humus con-
tent and mechanical condition of the soil. Rye
grass gives more roots and turf in a shorter season
than any other grass they have used. One object
of sowing it immediately after the potatoes are
harvested is to pick up and hold any or all of the
expensive commercial fertilizer that has been used
in growing the crop of potatoes. Otherwise it
would be leached into the subsoil from the ex-
cessive rains. This rye grass is a second crop for
the year — following the early potatoes. The
grass makes a fairly heavy crop by the end of the
growing season.

Manure is piled up and rotted until it is almost
like black putty, then it is hauled out and applied
to the rye grass crop at the rate of twenty tons per
acre and plowed under about nine inches deep in
November or December. It has the winter's
snow, rain and freezing to decay this green cover
crop, to disintegrate the soil and make splendid
conditions for growing potatoes the following
spring.

His land is thoroughly worked in the spring, and
furrowed out in long, straight, deep furrows, six

THE POTATO 447

or seven inches deep and twenty-seven inches
apart. The potatoes are dropped by hand twelve
inches apart and covered with a horse plow. This
plow has a special form for splitting the ridge and
covering two rows of potatoes at the same time.

I consider his seed work, seed storage, and hand-
ling the remarkable part of his system and
methods. He is without exception using par-
tially grown or partiallj^ matured seed. The po-
tatoes that are lifted in July are kept over until
the next March for planting. He claims that he
gets less disease than when lifted at maturity, the
potato throws out a less number of sprouts when
planted, it makes a more vigorous growth, and the
sprout is stronger. Consequently the crop ripens
earlier.

As soon as cold weather approaches in October
the potatoes are taken out of the pits and stored in
trays of various sizes. These are from fifteen by
twenty -four inches to twenty by thirty inches, and
about three inches deep, with corner posts six
inches high, so that it makes an air space of about
three inches for the circulation of air between the
layers of potatoes. These trays are corded up to
the ceiling in the seed potato storage buildings.
These buildings are enormously large and eigh-
teen and twenty feet high. They are made frost-
proof, with a large part of the roof of glass, so as
to give an abundance of light, to keep the potato
from developing sprouts. Then when they want
them to develop sprouts, the rooms are darkened.
When one or two white, tender, delicate sprouts
appear at the seed end, these potatoes are
taken out into the sun and weather. This must
be done a sufficient time before planting so that
the sprouts become green and tough to withstand

448 THE POTATO

the handling in planting. The potatoes in the
trays are hauled into the field and dropped by
hand by women and boys. This method hastens
the crop fully two weeks at both ends of the growing
season. It makes it possible to delay planting un-
til the soil is warm, and danger of rotting in cold
soil is passed. This can be done with no loss in
earliness. The seed is never cut, always planted
whole.

Mr. Wallace uses 2,400 pounds of seed to the
acre. After this year he expects to use larger
seed than ever before. I saw on this farm one
twenty-acre field on which was planted five thou-
sand pounds per acre. The potatoes used were
as large as a man's hand. This large seed was
used this year because the market price of com-
mercial potatoes was very low. He thinks it
will make more net money than any acre of po-
tatoes on his farm this year. They were planted
next to potatoes where the ordinary amount and
size of seed was used with the same soil conditions
and culture. The result in the growth of the two
crops was very striking and in favor of the large
sets. The tops averaged fully 40 per cent,
better than the potatoes from the ordinary seed
size, and the yield should be correspondmgly
great.

In growing early potatoes they are very partic-
ular never to disturb or break the first sprouts off,
or, as some say, to disturb the first intention of the
potato to reproduce itself. When not disturbed
or broken only one or two sprouts develop. When
it is desired to propagate a great many plants from
high priced seed, the potato is allowed to put forth
sprouts about one half inch long from the seed end.
Then the sprout is broken off. The result is that

THE POTATO 449

all the eyes of the potato develop sprouts of equal
vigor and vitality, but none as strong as the first.
When only the first develop, the other eyes of the
potato remain dormant. When the potato is eut
in sections, one eye to a piece, the seed will go
much farther and plant a great many more acres,
although the crop will be less in yield and fifteen
days later in maturing.

On these three hundred acres Mr. Wallace pays
about $5,100 rent and about $13,000 for labor.
On this farm it costs $110 to grow an acre of po-
tatoes. The annual revenue is $175 making a
profit of ^65 per acre.

As near as I could determine in going with him
over the several lots, he had (1910) an average of
99.5 per cent, of a full stand.

He pays $4 to $5 a w eek and house rent to men
with families. Foreman and men handling teams
get $5 to $6 a week.

The potatoes are picked up in small baskets and
dumped on a screen, which is placed over the head
of a barrel. The dirt and small potatoes go
through; the others are put in other barrels. The
top is covered with green potato tops and netting.
All early potatoes are marketed in barrels, the
late or main crop potatoes in sacks.

GIRVAN, SCOTLAND

Girvan is a town on the western coast of Scot-
land, on the Firth of Clyde. It is the birthplace
of Hon. James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture of
the United States.

It is the earliest potato-growing district in
northern Great Britain. It is on the coast where
they have no severe late spring frosts, because of

450 THE POTATO

the protection from the Gulf Stream. Potatoes
are planted the first of March and they commence
harvesting in June. The soil is a wonderful light,
warm, sandy loam. The conditions here are the
best I have seen in Europe for potato production.

There are five thousand acres of early potatoes
produced annually in this district. They are,
without exception, of one variety, Sutton's Epi-
cure. This variety clearly fills all the requisites
of the climate conditions in that it is a low, sturdy
grower with tough leaves and vines. There are
stiff sea breezes and violent storms that come from
the sea. These do not injure or damage the plant
by whipping and beating. It is an early, strong
grower, the tubers form early, it is round and
white, and yields well. It is much in demand in
the cities throughout Great Britain.

I visited Mr. John Hannah, Girvan, Mains, the
leading and largest potato grower of the district.
His system varies little from that of Mr. Wallace
of Terreglestown. He has the same total acreage
of 300 acres, and has continually the same acreage
in potatoes — 260 acres. He differs from Mr.
Wallace in that his potatoes are all sold for market
in June and July, and he does not grow and save
his own seed. Every year Mr. Hannah buys his
seed in July from other growers in the district.
By selecting his seed from the best fields and crops
there is apparently no disease whatever, so far as I
could learn.

His potatoes are all sold to dealers in the dif-
ferent cities. The same merchants come back
year after year and buy the same fields at from
$140 to $175 an acre. The merchants lift (dig)
and barrel the potatoes, and Mr. Hannah puts
them on the cars. It is surely a novel system of

.. '• 1 z

■J-, o

* ■» O

r^.

tic

X o

— -^

THE POTATO 451

harvesting a crop. These city merchants harvest
the crop from day to day as their customers in the
various cities require them, and there is no loss in
shipping to commission brokers by overstocking
and breaking the market.

I had a very dehghtful time with Mr. Hannah,
going over his work and discussing methods. He
uses hirger sized seed than Mr. Wallace. Mr.
Hannah plants 3,000 pounds of whole seed per
acre, and, of course, insists that it must be only
partly matured when dug. It was very interest-
ing to go over the field, seeing in nearly every hill
examined the originally planted seed potato still
clinging to the roots as firm and sound as when
planted last March. I did not see a single col-
ored leaf or a dying or withered leaf in a field of
100 acres (June 25, 1910).

Mr. Hannah uses seaweed that washes up on
the beach for fertilizing. It is gathered and spread
on the field in the fall at the rate of forty tons per
acre. On the balance of the land he uses twenty
tons of well-rotted barnyard manure annually.
In fifteen years he has increased the application
of commercial fertilizer from some GOO or 700
pounds to about 1,200 pounds per acre, annuall3\
There is a steady increase in the use of commercial
fertilizer to keep up the maximum yields.

He had commenced harvesting the day I was
there, the 25th of June. The next morning the
grass seeder was out ready to start planting.
He used three bushels of French grown Italian
rye grass seed per acre and then I think a little
more was added for good measure, as he said it
cost $5 per acre. His 200 acres of potatoes will be
harvested in two weeks' time. Instead of plow-
ing the rye grass cover crop under as at Dumfries,

452 THE POTATO

Mr. Hannah buys 3,000 head of sheep. Ke usually
puts in forty acres of rape, although he can grow
rape only about one year in six on account of the fin-
ger and toe disease. He would grow more rape than
Italian rye grass if it were not on account of this.
These 3,000 sheep are started grazing about
August first. They cost $8 a head. When fin-
ished for market they are slaughtered on the farm
and the dressed carcasses sent to the London
market. Great care is taken that all the offal
from the sheep, except what can be sold, goes into
the fertilizer heap. Not even the blood is lost.
Nothing seems to go to waste on a thrifty Scotch-
man's farm. The slaughtered sheep give an in-
crease in value of about $1.75 per head. No
grain or cake is fed — nothing but rape and
Italian rye grass pasture. These sheep are pas-
tured in hurdled lots. They are slaughtered once
a week until the sheep and pasturage are all
gone.

When the grass is fed off, the forty tons of sea-
weed or twenty tons of manure are spread on the
stubble and plowed under in the late fall or early
winter.

This farm has been growing potatoes with this
same system for thirty consecutive years, the
son succeeding his father, and Mr. Hannah
sees no change in the yield. This is the most
favorable year and the best yield he has ever
produced. He sees no reason if this farm has
grown potatoes for 100 years why it should not
go on forever.

The cost of production is practically the same
here as at Mr. W^allace's, Dumfries — $110 per
acre. He plows about the same depth, nine inches,
and has the same system of boxing and sprouting.

THE POTATO 453

With his pccuHar conditions, plowing inicler the
cover crop has given no better resnlts than the
growing of forage crops and grazing it off with
sheep, and he has the additional projSt of $1.75 per
head for the sheep.

In this northern latitnde he is getting two crops
a year, one of potatoes, a cover crop of forage, and
an increased value in fattening a flock of sheep.
Surely this is a fine example of intensified farming,
that can well be imitated in many favored dis-
tricts of the United States.

While I was there a little incident came up that
is well worth recording. A golf club wanted Mr.
Hannah to release twenty-four acres of his lease-
hold. He had nine years yet to run on his nine-
teen year leasehold. After assuming the lease
on the twenty-four acres for the nine years, and
paying the annual rental to the owner and an
additional bonus to INIr. Hannah for the release,
they then paid him $1,000 for the unexhausted
manure that he had applied on the twenty-four
acres after removing the crop. A very large part
of this land had been tiled to three feet deep, the
lines of tile being fifteen feet apart.

Another piece of work he did on a piece of heavy
clay land was to cart pure, clean-washed sand and
cover ten acres five inches deep with it. He claims
that in the increased production and the ease of
cultivation it was a paying investment on leased
land. This is a good illustration of the great value
of the easv working lands of the Twin Falls conn-
trv in southeni Idaho, because it certainlv cost a
considerable sum of monev to have this land
covered five inches deep with sand. Mr. Hannah
is continuing this work on other land.

It was very interesting to see this scientific,

454 THE POTATO

practical, money -making potato grower doing ex-
perimental and demonstration plot work with the
various combinations of fertilizer. Barnyard ma-
nure had been applied to all of the plots.

The use of 1,200 pounds of commercial fer-
tilizer in addition to barnyard manure gave an
additional yield of seven tons per acre, at an ex-
pense of $22, or about $3 per ton for the excess
yield.

Mr. Hannah is a contented, satisfied, tenant
farmer. He has made a great success in special-
ized potato growing for the early markets, on
high priced, high rate, rented lands. He is prob-
ably worth over $200,000, and is living a life of
comfort in a beautiful home. He has servants,
beautifully kept lawns, parks and gardens, with all
kinds of fruits and flowers, and a conservatory for
growing hothouse plants and fruits out of season.
This is agriculture on ideal lines. The house he
lives in is 102 years old.

The popular opinion in America is that it Is dis-
graceful, undignified, and belittling to be a ten-
ant farmer. But here is a tenant farmer who has
acquired a quarter of a million dollars as a potato
grower, but he is a specialist and he specializes
to such an extent that he has more leisure for
travel and pleasurable recreation than merchants,
mechanics, or professional men, or any well-to-do
farmer in America who owns his land, occupies,
and farms it.

These tenant farmers are paying high land ren-
tals and for expensive fertilizers, $5.60 a ton im-
port duties on potatoes into the United States and
ocean rates, yet they can successfully compete
with the American farmer with all his Improved
implements and cheap lands.

THE POTATO 455

IN FORFARSHIRE, SCOTLAND

Thomas Buttar, Corston, Coupar Angus, Scot-
land, is a very successful breeder of Shropshire
sheep and Shorthorn cattle.

Mr. BuUar grows forty acres of potatoes for
seed annually for the soutliern England trade and
sells to seed dealers. He fertilizes heavily and
grows 370 bushels of seed stock and 110 bushels
of large potatoes and waste per acre. He plants
large sized seed whole. This gives more tubers
per hill and per acre and they are smaller and
more uniform in size. It is another corrobora-
tion of ^It. Sopris Farm methods and results
of planting perfect large tubers for growing seed
stocks.

Corston is a large seed-growing section. I met
six other large and successful growers. Every
one feeds livestock. They grow a very large ton-
nage of yellow Aberdeen turnips and Swedes,
which they feed with oil cake. Each and every
one declares they could not farm profitably with-
out grazing, cake feeding for making muck, and
the use of artificial manures. Their main re-
liance is cake made manures and crop rotation,
potatoes one year in three, sometimes two years in
seven, two years in grass for hay or pasture,
usually hay first year and pasture second, then
fall plowing after a coat of ten or twelve tons of
well-rotted muck or manure has been applied.
They have no disease, require no spraying with
this system, and it keeps the soil health}^ and free
from injurious germs. The soil is in splendid
physical condition, notwithstanding the fact that
there is both drought and excessive rains. It is in
such condition that it holds sufficient moisture for

456 THE POTATO

plants In dry times and drains well to the tiles if
there is excessive moisture. All the lands are
tiled to a depth of thirty inches with lines of tile
twenty-four to thirty feet.

Mr. Leybum of Kunochtry, Coupar Augus, is
another successful grower.

He feeds his land like his bullocks, giving the soil
all the barnyard muck and artificial fertilizer it
can use. His oats and barley make sixty-four to
eighty bushels per acre every year — he has no
bad years. He feeds no grain to bullocks or
sheep, just roots, chaff, cake, and potatoes. No
small potatoes are wasted in Scotland. They are
fed to hogs or cattle.

Mr. Leyburn grows the Epicure for early mar-
ket, and follows with British Queen for second
early. King Edward, Ever Good, and Langworthy
are the late varieties. Langworthy is not a
heavy cropper, but of such quality that it brings
$5 more a ton for Its table quahty. There are
300 acres annually in potatoes on a 1,000-acre
farm. Mr. Leyburn Is a tenant farmer and pays
$13 an acre rent.

I am sure he feeds his soil all It can utilize from
the solid look of the tops. I could not tell the
direction of the rows without going into the field.
When a hill was lifted eight to fifteen great po-
tatoes would be found. They were not nearly
grown and would continue to increase in size for
another four weeks.

The Epicure is his favorite for early market. It
is not of as good quality as some, but is a strong
grower and will stand dry or wet weather well. It
is round, of even size, and there are few small ones.
They were planted April 1st and harvested July
15th to August 1st. The British Queen is two

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THE POTATO 457

weeks later in marketing. I believe it would be
a desirable type for the United States.

Irish women and girls do the digging wllli forks.
Eight women take sixteen rows. Tliey walk Inick-
ward and fork them out deftly and other women
pick them up, two rows at a time. A man emp-
ties them into barrels. They are sorted to market
size and refuse as picked up. The land is left as
smooth and level as if it had been harrowed. The
tops from the sixteen rows are put in four winrows.
They dig and pick up seventy-five bushels a day
at a cost of $1.20. They get a cabin, firewood,
and what potatoes they can eat. Women work
better and sort better than men.

AT DUNFERMLINE, SCOTLAND

A. Burns and Sons, Dunfermline, Scotland,
farm 1,000 acres and crop 300 to 500 acres in po-
tatoes annually.

They grow one variety of early potatoes ex-
clusively, the British Queen. This outsells all
other early varieties on account of its extra fine
table qualities, good shape and medium size. It
is a strong grower and makes large yields. The
quality is corroborated by the extra gain of steers
fed on the waste of British Queens as compared
with softer varieties witli less starch, like Epicure
and Up-to-Date. Mr. Burns says cattle relish
them more, consume more, and they give 25 per
cent, more gain on the British Queen.

Mr. Burns grows and saves his own seed. It is
screened out of the small potatoes when they are
picked up by the harvesters. All the refuse is
run over a one and three eighths inch screen.
The seed potatoes are boxed and stored in seed stor-

458 THE POTATO

age cellars if he has time; otherwise they are
stacked up outside. They wilt and green in the
sun and air and get quite soft. He says this is
not advantageous for seed vitality. He uses
smaller seed than most growers in Great Britain
advise.

He sow^s rye grass (two bushels per acre) and
rape seed (twelve pounds per acre) as soon as the
potatoes are lifted. He grazes this off with sheep
from August 15th to December 15th. He feeds
cake to the stock he is pasturing. Cake is his
great reliance for keeping up soil fertility. He
applies twenty tons of well-rotted manure in
December and plows under as deep as possible.
He has grown potatoes successively this way for
fifteen years. Potatoes are sometimes followed
with wheat or Swedes. The roots get the same
treatment as the potatoes. He grows thirty-five to
sixty -five bushels of w^heat per acre and from thir-
ty-five to forty-six tons of Swedes. There is noth-
ing sold off the farm but finished cattle and sheep,
potatoes and wheat. All roots, straw, rye grass,
hay, oats, and small potatoes are fed in covered
sheds for making muck. No fertilizer is used the
year he grows wheat, but 1,200 pounds of ground
lime is plowed in. Lime costs $3.50 a ton.

He uses 2,300 pounds of seed potatoes per acre,
planted wdiole. They are boxed and sprouted.
All potatoes are harvested before they ripen and
are sent to market from July 15th to August 15th.
If any of the crop is matured it makes 600 bushels
per acre. The average w4ien marketed unripe
in July and August is 375 bushels.

Mr. Burns uses 1,200 pounds of commercial
fertilizer. This is 10 per cent, ammonia, 12 per
cent, potash, 25 per cent, phosphates. The secret

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THE POTATO 459

of his success in fertilizing is in getting the proper
proportion of barnyard muck and artificial fer-
tilizer.

The crop is cultivated twice and hoed once.

The head lands in the fields are not planted, so
it leaves room at the ends of rows without tram-
pling the crop.

The seed is stored in stone buildings. There are
windows in the roof and sides that can be fully
opened and there are large doors in the ends.

The potatoes begin to throw out sprouts about
December. He keeps these from developing too
rapidly by opening doors and ventilators. He
says the sprouts will not grow if there is a cir-
culation of air at 45 degrees to 50 degrees F.
When the sprouts are one and one half inches long
he checks their growth, and greens and toughens
them by circulation of air and Hght. One of the
great problems of early potato growing is to hold
back the development of the sprouts until the
time of the planting. Another great secret im-
parted by Mr. Burns is that if seed potatoes are
boxed at once and put into storage before wither-
ing or greening, and if only partially matured when
dug, only the terminal bud or eye develops. One
sprout gives the best crop, and it is ten days or more
earlier. There is no disease and no spraying. He
had the best 300 acres of wheat I have seen, except
an irrigated crop. It was as heavy as would
grow without lodging. For this crop he used from
180 to 200 pounds of seed per acre, and it will
make a sixty-four-bushel yield.

He has Irish help for harvesting — 100 of them
now( at time of visit). It costs $11 an acre to dig
and pick up. They commence work at 4 a. m.
and work ten hours.

4G0 THE POTATO

He feeds 400 bullocks a year in stone-wall
stables, under cover, bedded every day with straw
and peat moss to hold the liquid manure. They
are fed from 100 to 160 pounds of small waste po-
tatoes and ten pounds of cottonseed cake per day
with rye grass, hay or straw. He has 100 bullocks
on feed. They weigh about 1,040 pounds and cost
$100 each. He says that in forty days they will
weigh 1,200 pounds and bring $125. He never
grazes steers, but always feeds oil cake, potatoes,
Swedes and roughage in close pens. He values
potatoes at $7.50 a ton for feeding. The Tnanure
of cattle fed a ration rich in linseed and cotton-
seed oil-cake is the reliance and success of his
potato growing. The cake and bullock manure
with the liquid manure he conserves with the dry
bedding of various kinds is worth $3 a ton, with
city horse manure at $1.50 a ton. He gets one
and one half tons of manure to a bullock.

Without muck combined with artificial fer-
tilizer, potato growing would be an absolute fail-
ure. The advantage of growing early potatoes
is that he can grow a crop of rye grass or vetch,
before freezing weather, to plow under for green
manure or graze off with sheep and cake.

Mr. J. Butterrs, Dunfermline, raises only main-
crop potatoes (late ) at a cost of $50. He grows
and selects his own seed, pits it and plants it
whole, using from 2,500 to 3,000 pounds of seed
to the acre.

He has a special trade direct to consumers, and
cannot supply the demand for Langworthy at $20
a ton (37.3 bushels) because of the table excel-
lence of this splendid potato.

He gets $150 an acre for his crop, making a
profit of $100.

THE POTATO 461

He plants 27 by 9 inches. I did not see a weed
on the farm. He has grown Langwortlij^ exchi-
sively for eight years, and selects the seed per-
sonally. No rogueing (going through field and
pulling out other varieties) is necessary here.

IN LINCOLNSHIRE, ENGLAND

Lincolnshire is one of the largest shires or coun-
ties in England. It vies with Yorkshire in its
area in production and yields of agricultural prod-
ucts. The lowlands next to the sea are known
as the fens. In former years they were bogs that
were affected by the tides. They were reclaimed
by the Dutch. Now it is one of the most fertile
lands for grazing, growing grains and potatoes.
It is the largest potato district in England.

The fens are drained by large canals. At one
time the drainage water was pumped out by wind-
mills, but now steam power is used. The water
is raised ten or twelve feet. In the rainy season
the expense of this is much greater, but in some
seasons they pump only about four months, just
enough to hold the water table from two to five
feet below the surface. Some of this land has no
fall whatever, while the higher lands are drained
by large canals, which empty into the sea. These
have a fall of about four feet in six miles. The
canals are seventy feet wide, from ten to fifteen
feet deep, and from three to five mil(\s aj^art.

In dry seasons the drainage canals that are not
affected by the salt water tide are allowed to fill
up to furnish sub-irrigation to the growing crops.
From my experience in England with the cloudy
weather and excessive rainfall, I would not iliink
there would be any necessity for sub-irrigation

462 THE POTATO

once in a thousand years. Nevertheless, it is
used.

The black fen land produces enormous crops of
grass, grains, roots, potatoes, and the most won-
drous crops of peas. I saw from forty to sixty
acres of peas in a lot and they yield forty to fifty
JDushels per acre. This year they are bringing very
high prices in the city markets. I saw 250 women
and children in one field picking the pea pods and
sacking them for city markets. At a distance they
looked like a great flock of sheep in the long rows.

These lands are now valued at from $350 to
$500 an acre. As the country recedes from the
sea it has more drainage and the soil is more of a
clay. The lands are tiled. The lines of tile are
from ten to twenty yards apart and the tiles are
laid four to five feet deep. The original cost of
the canals for construction was 75 cents an acre
and 25 cents an acre maintenance every four or
five years for cleaning and pumping.

Lincolnshire is noted for its specialized breed
of livestock. In a week's motoring I saw nothing
but Lincolnshire sheep and Lincoln Red Short-
horn cattle. They are all cherry red, and are de-
scended from the old Shorthorn stocks. They are
larger than the modem Shorthorn and much better
milkers. They are good grazers. I was very
much interested in the weight of some bullocks 1
saw grazing in a pasture, but I could not learn of a
single weigh bridge (scales) in the whole of Lin-
colnshire. I saw 201 thirty-month-old bullocks,
all cherry red, sold to a butcher by one firm of
farmers, W. D. Dennis and Sons of Kirton. It
would have been interesting to have witnessed
the deal made, as this was said to have been the
largest sale of bullocks from one farm at one time

THE POTxVTO 463

in Great Britain. First, the dealer came and
looked over the bunch very carefully, then he was
entertained at luncheon, where tliere was a plenti-
fid flow of wine and spirit, and after every one had
been put in the best of feeling, the dickering began.
1 have forgotten just where they started, but it
fmished £24.15.0 ($123) per head. The parties
guessed at the weight these bullocks would dress.
When 200 were counted out at the figure one more
broke in, maldng 201 in the sale. These English
farmers are willing to put their judgment against
the butchers who are slaughtering and weighing
every day. These buUocks had never been on a
weigh scale in their hves, and had never been fed
a pound of grain. They were largely bred and reared
on the farm, and were mostly from pure-bred Lin-
colnshire cows, 200 of which are kept. Only eiglit
or ten bull calves are kept from the annual calf
crop for bulls, and rest are made steers.

I had been so inquisitive in their other farm op-
erations, especially the potatoes, that I refrained
from asking one of tlie sons, who is manager of the
cattle department, what one of the bullocks
cost. It had been reared from a registered cow,
that was valued at $125, and was pastured and
summered on land that had a valuation of $500
an acre. I wanted to know the cost of that calf
at weaning time, figuring the interest on the capi-
tal invested in the cow and the land she grazed
on at $625 a year and including the service of the
sire, and figuring in the percentage of calves per
annum to 100 cows. I simi)ly remarked that I
knew of no American farm that could raise steers
at a profit on this basis. After weaning, the calves
were wintered on straw and roots with a bit of oil
cake — a j^ound a day. The next sunmier they

464 THE POTATO

were grazed without cake. The second winter
they were carried on straw, clover hay, Swedes
and mangels, and four and one half pounds of
cake a day until sale early in July. They were a
prime lot of killers. The pastures they were
grazed on were drained and tiled. There is no
history as to when these pastures have been plowed.
They will probably be kept for grazing for all
time to come.

It would be a great problem to determine just
how far and in what way these cattle were a fac-
tor in the profitable agriculture of this farm. I
am positive that they would not have these fabu-
lous crops were these cattle not raised, as they are
necessary in converting the world of straw that is
fed and tramped into fertilizer beds of manure
every winter. They are just as careful to fertilize
their meadows or pastures here as they are their
plowed fields. All the manure from the horse
stables, pigstys, cow stables, poultry houses, and
butcher houses, piles of weeds, and all liquid ma-
nure is hauled into the feed lots and conserved.

The Shire is the exclusive horse of this district,
as is the white, curly coated Lincolnshire hog.
The Lincolnshire sheep are also peculiar to this
district.

Mr. Wm. Dennis and his five sons are pioneer
growers of large acreages of potatoes. He com-
menced in 1869 by buying six and one half acres
of land at $500 an acre. They now have 3,000
freehold acres and lease 3,000 more. They are
operating 6,000 acres as follows: 1,500 acres in
potatoes, with extra early, early, second early,
medium late, and main crop in about equal pro-
portions; 1,500 acres in grain, and 3,000 acres in
pasture for grazing. The grass and grazing land

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THE POTATO 465

sells for more than plowed or arable laud, and it is
quite impossible to lease it for the purpose of
breaking it up. They run six 1, '200-pound bul-
loeks to four acres, always give them a bit of oil
cake, and never graze too close.

The older Mr. Dennis tells me that their suc-
cess, prosperity, and accumulations are all directly
due to potato grow^ing, and corroborates the state-
ment that I have made continuously whenever I
talk potatoes, that potato growing when given
proper attention returns more revenue for capital
and labor invested than any other crop.

The Lincolnshire district has used whole seed
potatoes for upward of forty years, and their
prosperity is largely due to this using of good,
sound whole seed, as against cutting the tubers for
seed pieces.

Dennis and Sons are also the pioneers in the
most successful methods of storing their seed po-
tatoes. They use glass storehouses, and have
five on their farms. They are IGO x 24 feet and
the walls are twelve feet high. The lower six feet
of wall is of brick, and the upper six of glass. The
roof is all glass. They give the appearance of
conservatories or greenhouses. They cost $2,250
each and store 200 tons of seed potatoes in crates,
giving a total storage capacity of 1,000 tons
annually. The balance of their seed stocks is
shipped from the north of Scotland. They are
large importers of seed.

Sir. Dennis says that no matter how perfect
every condition of potato work is made, if seed
stock is not perfect, of high germinating power,
free from disease, and planted uncut, the grower
will lose.

Their home-grown seed is one and three fourths

4G6 THE POTATO

to one and seven eighths Inches In diameter, but
when they buy Scotch seed, the Scotch seed
grower furnishes larger sized seed. Their seed
stocks are largely selected from the market crops
that run through a one and seven eighths inch
mesh. They are selected in the field and are im-
mediately put in crates or storage boxes about
three inches deep, and stacked up in the open air
as long as safe from frost or freezing weather,
which is usually about the middle of October.
Then they are stored in their glass storage houses
for the winter.

Two days before my arrival at Mr. Dennis's,
Monday evening, they had sprayed a forty-acre
field of May Queen for leaf blight. These were
early potatoes they expected to harvest the fol-
lowing week for market. When late that evening
they discovered indication of leaf blight, they knew
the spraying had been delayed two days too long.
That night arrangements were made for thirty or
forty men to commence pulling the tops in the
early morning. This keeps the disease from at-
tacking the tubers. The potatoes were not much
more than half grown. In two days' time the
tops had been pulled from this field and thrown in
neat winrows. The rest of the crop would be left
in the ground for twenty days, then lifted and put
in boxes and kept in the open until danger of
frosts, then stored for seed. They were too green
for market, but would make good seed. To a po-
tato grower of the sunny irrigated West this fun-
gous blight in its rapidity of development is fright-
ening, as in three or four days 50 per cent, of the
tubers will be diseased. They will have great
brown spots, looking like brown blisters. These
potatoes had been sprayed some two or three

THE POTATO 407

times previous, but the weather conditions (con-
tinuous cloudy, sunless, rainy weatlier) made the
disease hard to combat. Had the temperatures
been high, it would have been a terrible disaster
to the British potato industry. The early growing
sorts are more susceptible than the more hardy
main crops. When the disease strikes a district it
spreads with the fierceness of a prairie fire. It is
one of the very great problems to contend with
where there is such a rank, rapid growth of vege-
tation. I am inclined to think there is greater
danger from their very close planting. The thick,
dense foliage completely shades the lower leaves
and soil from the little bit of sun that they do have.

As everywhere else in Great Britain, they rely
on barnyard manure, with occasional crops of
clover, for humus. The idea is to keep as great an
acreage in potatoes as possible and yet keep up
their yields and freedom from disease. About
one third of their arable lands are kept in potatoes,
or potatoes two years out of six, with clover and
other grasses one year; and for the other three
years wheat, oats, barley, white mustard, man-
gels, and Swedes for their cattle. I saw some good
fields that had grown potatoes twelve years out of
eighteen, and one farm that had been in potatoes
twelve consecutive years. Here the land was fall
plowed as deep as their big three-horse Shire
teams with present style plows could turn it.
They often plow twice between crops. AVlien this
is done one of the plowings will be shallow.

For early potatoes they thoroughly harrow and
lav out their lands. The rows are twentv-five
inches apart, hills twelve inelies a])art in the row.
Late potatoes are planted '27 x 14 inches, and in
the fens or peat land, 30 x l'^ inches. TIkmf peat

468 THE POTATO

soil is so loose and light that it does not hold its
form in ridging so well, so they plant wide to give
more soil for better ridging. Up to the present
time this soil has required no nitrate of soda or
nitrogen, but requires phosphates, lime, and potash.

Whole seed with green sprouts one half inch
long are placed in the furrow by women and chil-
dren. They use light, one-horse cultivators, and
practise what we would call shallow cultivation.
They depend largely on hand hoeing and hand
weeding. It seems to be the only system in the
close rows, and these close rows and close planting
are very important factors in the large yields in
Europe as compared to our small yields in America,
where we plant in rows three to four feet wide with
hills fifteen to twenty-four inches apart, producing
a few large, rough potatoes in a hill and a small
number of bushels to the acre.

They spray two to five times per season for blight
at an expense of $2.50 an acre per spray. Sutton's
Epicure is producing nine tons of salable po-
tatoes per acre this 19th day of July (1910) at
$15 a ton net. They would get thirteen tons
matured thirty days later at $10 a ton. Their
method of harvesting would be very primitive and
crude to our potato growers with improved ma-
chinery in the United States. Boys and girls first
pull the tops in two rows and throw^ the tops on
harvested land. Then the potatoes that were
pulled out with the tops are picked up from the
surface and the balance are plowed out with old-
fashioned shovel plows with rod attachments.
Then the potatoes that lay on the surface are
picked up by women, boys and girls and carried to
a point where they are being sacked. The land is
then harrowed twice and picked over again, so

THE POTATO 4G9

they will get any potatoes that have been covered
up by the mefficiency of the crude digger they
have been using. They are thrown into a round
sieve thirty inches in diameter that sets on an-
other sieve, and this on top of an empty barrel.
The top sieve has a three fourths inch mesh. A
man shakes this sieve and the potatoes that do
not go through this sieve are pitched into a sack
held by a sack-holder. The lower sieve holds the
very small potatoes for stock feed. It takes a big,
strong man to do this all day. All potatoes over a
three fourths inch mesh are nuirketed as early
potatoes. Sacks weigh 112 pounds net. Eng-
lish laws do not allow the weighing of a package or
a sack in marketing, as is the custom in America.
They do have weigh bridges (scales) for potatoes
if they do not for cattle. Every sack of potatoes
is sold at the net weight at which it is filled at
harvesting time.

The laborers pull the top, dig up and sort, sack,
weigh and sew and winrow the tops, going over
the field twice, for $10 per acre, contract price.
The boys and girls make 30 cents a day, the women
48 cents, and men $1. All board themselves.

The main or late crop is harvested and handled
the same w ay, and goes direct to market. Those
that are stored for late market are put in pits or
piled upon the ground six or seven feet wide at
the base and coned up at an angle of forty-five
degrees. As the weather gets colder they are
thatched with straw and dirt is added.

On this farm an economical plan is just being
worked out. It is a narrow gauge railway that
goes around the outside of a 1,000-acre farm and
once through the centre, running to the storage
house and railway shipping station. When the

470 THE POTATO

potatoes are harvested they are pitted or stored
alongside this railway. They call these pits
*' clamps." There are 600 acres of potatoes on
this farm that will be harvested and stored in this
way, making a pit three miles long. They expect
ten tons to the acre, making 6,000 tons of potatoes.

The carting of potatoes in this level peat soil
is often quite impossible when they have excessive
rain.

Land values in Lincolnshire have changed very
greatly in forty years. They are about the
same values now as in 1870. Then Mr. Dennis
paid $500 per acre for his first purchase. He
pointed out to me a 100-acre farm for which $500
an acre was refused in 1870. It was sold in 1908
for $275 an acre. Since 1870 the lands that sold
as low as $175 to $300 an acre are bringing from
$400 to $500 an acre.

These lands are now producing up to fifty-six
bushels of wheat to the acre, with a general aver-
age of a series of years of forty-five bushels. It
weighs sixty-three pounds to the bushel. Oats
produce up to eighty bushels, weighing forty-two
pounds to the bushel. The general average is
sixty bushels to the acre. A great deal of the grain
of 1909 is still in the stacks unthreshed. They do
not thresh their grain until they need the straw.
It is kept in thatched stacks instead of in ware-
houses.

Growing white mustard is a very profitable
industry and it serves as a good change of crops
for soils. It often returns $60 an acre with very
little expense.

A very interesting visit was made to Titus Kime,
Marham-le-Fen, Boston, Lincolnshire. In a letter
to E. H. Grubb in July, 1911, he gives many facts

in^ f

I ITT'S KIMH

Norlhcni Shir |)(»l;itoe.s grown l)y 'I'ihis Kimo

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THE POTATO 471

about his potato and hog business. Extracts from
the letter follow :

*'This has been the earliest season for potatoes
ever known in our neighborhood (Lincolnshire)
since we began to send early potatoes in quantity
to market. June 11th was the earliest day pre-
viously we have ever sent tons to market. This
year I sent away on June Cth and 7th three tons
twelve hundredweight of Early Puritans (this
is an American variety) and they realized exactly
£50 English money ($250) gross.

*'0n June 12th I got away a few Eclipse and
realized a very good price, and on June 15th I be-
gan to dig Eclipse with a good gang of diggers and
pickers. And about these I must tell you a little
history which I hope will interest you. On July
20, 1910, I bought two fields of land here near the
woods and very poor indeed — well known as be-
ing the poorest land in the parish. Perhaps you
do not know the old English saying, ' If you want to
take land go near the church and far from the
wood.' These two fields have an area of exactly
fourteen acres. They cost £18 ($90) per acre;
this is, £252 ($1,2G0).

" Now perhaps you will excuse me from boasting,
but I had potatoes well started in boxes — Eclipse
was the kind — and planted on these fields in
March. This land is very light, and, as I said,
very poor, and I wanted to get it cleared up as
early as possible to sow for tuniips, as getting a crop
of turnips eaten oft' poor land succeeds splendidly
here, makes us sure of a good grain crop (barley
or oats) the following year, or, we can take an-
other crop of potatoes. Well, I succeedtHl in get-
ting all the potatoes off of that field 'green,' as

472 THE POTATO

we call it, and the land is now ready all in good
time for the growing of turnips for this season,
with every prospect of a good crop, and the po-
tatoes have realized £276 ($1,380) — that is more
than the purchase price of the land and I am very
much pleased and rather proud of the result.

"The cultivation was quite expensive. The
field, after barley, had fifty tons of good cowyard
manure made under cover and a good deal from
feeding linseed and cotton cake, put on before
being plowed. Then four hundredweight per
acre of kainit was sown broadcast on top of the
plowing, and after being ridged ready for planting
six hundredweight of Peruvian guano was sown
down the ridges, and after the potatoes were well
up one hundredweight of nitrate of soda was sown
straight down the rows.

"The other field had no cowyard manure, but
four hundredweight of kainit per acre was sown
broadcast after plowing and then one ton of shoddy
waste manure per acre was thrown on and pretty
well spread. After ridging ready for potato
planting we sowed ten hundredw^eight per acre
of a compound potato manure, analyzing about 4
per cent, ammonia, 3J per cent, potash, and 25 per
cent, soluble phosphate, and after the potatoes
were well up and about ready for ridging up we
sowed one hundredweight nitrate of soda straight
down the rows.

"You will see from the above that both fields
were pretty liberally manured and the crops paid
for it, because I find if we mean to dig potatoes
early (and every day's delay makes a difference in
price) we must be liberal with manure in order to
force Uiem along.

"I have about forty kinds of new and old po-

THE POTATO 473

tatoes this year, and among the new ones per-
haps two or three are sliowiiig some very good
points. One tuber I got from America I am afraid
will be of no use here. It has a pale green haulm
with white flowers and much too floriferous for
a new potato.

"I have two tubers growing which were sent to
me by a firm in Scotland, asking me to plant them
both whole. I did so, one yard apart, and these
two rows make a fine picture. The haulm is
splendid, and although the tubers were, as I say,
planted three feet apart, the haulms met on July
1st.

"On the other hand, just lately, I had the pleas-
ure of paying $37.40 for a few of the new kind that
I am afraid are not worth 7 pence-ha'penny.
Early Puritan, Duke of York, Sharp's Express, and
Echpse are the best early for earliest market pur-
poses, and the grand old Up-to-Date is still the
best main crop we have, but Ever Good, Royal
Kidney, and Northern Star are largely grown for
main crop in Lincolnshire. The finest quality
of all for eating is the old Clarke main crop, now
grown under many other names, such as Lang-
worthy, East Anglian, etc. This potato grows
well and produces a fairly good yield on good po-
tato land, but on naturally poor land, no matter
how well it is manured, it will not do so well.

"My potatoes this year I think look as well as
I have ever had them. I have about thirty acres
of Eclipse growing from seed direct from Scotland,
and I think if you saw them you would say they
are a grand sight.

"As to pigs, I still keep my usual ciuantity, 1^20
to 150, and I am always breeding and always feed-
ing all the year round, I am a member of the

474 THE POTATO

Lincolnshire Curly-Coated Pig Breeders' Asso-
ciation, but I get up no pigs for showing and make
no fancy prices. My pig business is principally
feeding. The last two years, when prices have
been good, I have sent away on an average of
twenty fat pigs, weighing about twenty stone (280
pounds) each, live weight, every six weeks.

*'I feed all my waste potatoes to the pigs. I
have a boiler which holds about 350 pounds of
potatoes, and when we have plenty of waste po-
tatoes, or our ordinary potatoes are making any-
thing under 40 shillings per ton, we cook on an
average of nine hundredweight per day. In my
valuation I put all waste potatoes down at 15
shillings ($3.60) per ton, but I do not sell any under
20 shillings ($4.80) per ton.

"As to meal, etc., for feeding pigs: When po-
tatoes are plentiful, we cook liberal quantities and
mix in a large cemented brick receptacle that will
hold about 200 gallons. Say we shall throw into
this about six hundredweight of potatoes and mix
up with about four hundredweight of meal, one
half barley meal and the other half wheat shorts.
If the boiler is not freely employed cooking po-
tatoes we fill up the time by cooking maize pre-
viously ground. This makes good food to mix in,
and we consider cooked maize very good food for
pigs. Also, if beans, peas, and wheat happen to
be as cheap, or nearly as cheap, as barley, we grind
them up pretty freely and mix with the barley
meal. Barley meal, sold as barley meal, is well
known to be often by no means ground from bar-
ley alone. If lentils or Indian grain are reason-
able in price, all in moderation make excellent
food for pigs, but sows that have just farrowed
and which are suckling their pigs should have very

THE POTATO 475

little of any kind of meal except (wliere practi-
cable) fine wheat shorts.

"It is a good plan to begin to feed the young pigs
when about four weeks old, by themselves, on a
little wheat and shorts mixed with skimmed milk,
if you have it. As to the breeding sows, I keep
mine now at less than half the cost I used to
twenty years ago. I generally have about fifteen
or sixteen brooding sows or gilts, and most of these
run out summer and winter with the boar in a
grass field. In this field they have about five
acres to themselves and have rough sheds to lay
in. We take them about four buckets — say,
about ten gallons (perhaps twelve gallons) —
per day of slop made of meal and potatoes, and
they get plenty of exercise picking up a living from
the grass and a few rough roots such as very rough
potatoes, mangles and waste grains of any kind
when we have them. Sows and gilts in pig, in my
opinion, require plenty of exercise and should only
be shut up a few days before pigging."

After fully studying and investigating the Lin-
colnshire farm district, farm lands, livestock,
grass, grazing, and potatoes, I cannot see wherein
they have an earning capacity equal to the irri-
gated fertile lands that have a suflScient water
supply, like Colorado, Idalio, Utah, and Cali-
fornia. The latter exceed them in quantity and
quality of everything produced. ,We (in the
West) can and do grow more wheat, more grass,
more oats, potatoes, and more hay, with a more
liealthful climate, and with all kinds of fruit.
Lincolnshire is debarred from growing fruits.
Above all, our continual summer sunshine enables
us to harvest our crops without loss and in good

476 THE POTATO

condition when grown. I am safe in saying that
these lands that are valued at $500 an acre on their
revenue-earning capacity have an earning ability
of 50 per cent, less than good Western irrigated
lands.

SUMMARY

The following practice of European potato
growers should be of interest and value to Ameri-
can producers:

1. The use of deep-rooting grasses — rye grass,
alfalfa, etc.

2. The use of large quantities of animal ma-
nures.

3. The use of immature, northern-grown seed.

4. The careful storage of seed stocks in trays.

5. Selection of seed to type and purity of va-
rieties.

G. Close planting.

CHAPTER XXXVIII

THE CHANNEL ISLANDS

THE first early open field grown potatoes of
the season for the London markets are
from the Canary Islands, southwest of
Spain. The next are from the Jersey Islands and
arrive in London in April and May. Early po-
tatoes that are marketed previous to that time
are grown under glass in the Jersey and Guernsey
Islands.

There are so many factors and features of po-
tato work in Jersey that it is really hard to com-
prehend the magnitude of the industry. In round
figures there are 19,000 acres of this fertile little
island, of which about one half is cropped continu-
ously in potatoes and has been for a long time,
some of it for fifty consecutive years. By the
most scientific methods and study they have not
only maintained but gradually increased their high
3'ields. All of the potato growers are breeders and
growers of Jersey cattle.

A tenant who farms about sixty acres is the
largest operator. He is a breeder of cattle, grows
twenty-five acres of potatoes annually, and is the
most up-to-date, money-making farmer on the
island. He i)ays a rental of $60 an acre annually.
He values his low grazing land, too low for po-
tato growing, at $35 an acre a year for pasture.

The main }:)ortion of the crop is planted early in
February and harvested in May and June. The

477

478 THE POTATO

price received Is from $20 to $100 per ton. The
market is very changeable, often varying as much
as $20 a ton in a day, according to the suppHes in
the London market. They get an average yield
on the island of 425 bushels to the acre, but many
of these potatoes are sold when only partly grown.
A maximum yield of 750 bushels to the acre is
considered about the limit for matured potatoes
per acre.

They plant very closely. The rows are six-
teen inches apart, the hills twelve inches apart
in the row. The potatoes are ridged with hand
plows. It is necessary to use hand power in
cultivation because the potatoes are planted
so close together. They can grow a large num-
ber of hills per acre, on account of the great
amount of concentrated fertilizer applied to the
land.

Only one variety of potato Is grown. This is
known as the Royal Jersey. It is kidney-shaped
and is the smoothest potato I have ever seen. No
one seems to know the origin of it, but it is thought
that it comes from seed stocks shipped in years ago.
It surely would be an acquisition to have a ship-
ment of these potatoes come to the United States,
to have them experimented with in the early po-
tato districts. The variety does not seem to be
grown any place except on this island.

This calls to mind the wart, or black scab, dis-
ease of potatoes. These shrewd islanders are a
very careful, exacting class of people in all of their
affairs. For a great many years they have not
allowed the importation of any livestock, not even
for slaughtering on the day of arrival. For this
reason infectious or contagious diseases of cattle
have never been known on the island. On first

llarvcsliiii;' early polaloes on liu- l>laiiii ol .Jersey

Oats on the Island of Jersey. The senior author is standing in
the field and holding up his hand

Plow for very deep plowing. U.sed tui Ul.ind ()i^ .!( isey

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THE rOTATO 479

information of the dread wart disease of potatoes
the parhament of the island (whieh has home rule)
quarantined Great Britain against sending any
potatoes into the ishmd. They are not even al-
lowed to be brought in for table use. This shows
how they protect their most important money-
making industry. Our national Congress could
well pattern after this in the protection of the
American farmer and potato grower.

The revenue derived from potatoes per acre is
sometimes quite fabulous when they get an early
crop. They are subject to spring frosts in March,
which checks the growth as much as three weeks.
One farmer told me he lost $8,000 by frost in one
morning. The crop often brings as much as
$400 and $500 an acre. One grower received
$2,090 on one and three fourths acres of the land.
This is a remarkable little block of warm, sandy
soil, encircled by a stone wall to shelter it from the
winds, and sloping to the south at an angle of al-
most forty degrees. I think it is the finest f)iecc
of land that I have ever seen cropped. He took
the chances of planting them very early, used an ex-
cessive amount of fertilizer, and well-sprouted
seed, planted w^hole. He harvested and shipped
them in one day, when the London market was
bare of potatoes. This land will readily rent for
$250 an acre, as it is the earliest piece of land on
the island. I saw one twelve-acre farm that rents
for $140 an acre. In recent years this land, which
produces the early crop, has appreciated very
nmch in market value. It is now valued at from
$1,000 to $2,500 an acre. I heard of many small
tracts that are being rented at from $75 to $175
an acre. No wonder that this 19,000 acres of
arable land supports a population of 55,000 and

480 THE POTATO

over, 20,000 domestic farm animals, or three
people and one domestic farm animal per acre.

I saw meadow grass — a combination of nearly
all of the legumes and other grasses — being har-
vested. It gave a yield at one cutting of five tons
to the acre (2,240 pounds to the ton).

Following this is a second crop to be grazed off
by the cattle for fall and winter pasture. This is
the result of feeding the soil with liquid manure
from the cow barns. It is sprinkled over the
meadows from time to time with an apparatus
something like a street sprinkler. If this land
is kept in grass, say, for three years, it will
grow potatoes continuously, year after year, al-
most indefinitely. Potatoes are often followed
with tomatoes. I saw one ten-acre tract the po-
tatoes from which had been harvested in May.
On the 6tli of July 13,500 tomato plants per acre
were in bloom and setting tomatoes. They would
give $600 to $700 an acre as a second crop. Often,
after the potatoes are harvested, the land is im-
mediately sown to Italian rye grass for the cows.
This gives them the turf and splendid root system
of the rye grass to feed the land for the next year's
potato crop.

I saw this big sixty-acre farmer, the sixth of July,
digging, sorting and putting away his seed for the
next year's cropping. The potatoes were lifted
by hand with forks; women were picking out by
hand the most perfect potatoes for seed stocks and
placing them in boxes to be stored in their stone
storage houses. They were put in boxes about
three inches deep, and were sorted to size. Noth-
ing is wasted on the Jersey Islands. A potato no
larger than a hazel-nut is picked up and used for
something.

THE POTATO 481

Three bushels of com (It looks like Americtan
corn) were sown over the field before the potatoes
were dug so that the digging of the potatoes w ould
cover the seed three or four inches deep. This
grows and is used for pasture and forage for cattle
and horses. It is also an aid in feeding the land
as a cover crop for the next year's potato growing.
They did not lose one hour's time in the use of the
land. This corn would be up in four or five days
and making rapid growth.

The soil is a disintegrated granite formation.

Sometimes immediately after harvesting the
potatoes they sow the land down to rye grass and
clover, and leave it two years. They use it for hay
and grazing, sometimes both. The first year after
breaking sod they use no barnyard manure; the
second and third years they use all the barnyard
manure they can secure, twenty -five or thirty tons
if possible, with a ton of commercial fertilizer
additional to the acre.

They usually spray two to five times during the
growing season. The best farmers always spray
five times, and they always secure a full crop. I
saw two fields adjoining. The conditions w^ere
the same. One w^as sprayed five times and the
owner expected a yield of thirteen tons to the acre
or more, w'hile the field alongside, sprayed twice,
was completely burned up with blight. There
was nothing but the black stalks left standing. It
costs about $1.25 to spray each time, and the work
is always done by hand, as they cannot use horses
in their closely planted fields.

Their system of using partially grown seed is
practically the same as in the early potato-growing
districts of England and Scotland. Saving seed
in June for the next year's planting is a very

482 THE POTATO

serious problem. It must be held over during
their warm months of summer and fall, and sprout-
ing retarded so as to have the seed in good con-
dition for planting the next February.

Owing to their close planting they require from
3,000 to 4,000 pounds of seed to the acre. They
never cut seed.

These potato growers were very much excited
on reading the Orchard Heating Bulletin^ published
by D. E. Burley, general passenger agent of the
Oregon Short Line Railroad. This bulletin tells
how fruit is saved from frost by the use of
heating pots in the orchard. They think frost
protection will be very valuable in enabling them
to put their potatoes on the city markets of
Europe two to four weeks earlier than they ever
have before.

I hope to see their great money-making meth-
ods for the production of early potatoes adopted
in the Sacramento Valley and elsewhere in Cali-
fornia. The days of sunshine here are much more
favorable for the crop than the chilly winds off the
sea on the Jersey Islands, where in the month of
July I was not uncomfortable with winter clothing,
and where I saw many people wearing their coats
in the middle of the day.

The unit of weight which is used in the market-
ing of farm crops in Jersey is known as the cabot.
This is forty pounds. Their potatoes are mar-
keted in willow baskets or small barrels. The
potatoes are sold to the dealers in willow baskets.
The dealer barrels them. It takes a quarter of a
million barrels to handle the potatoes of this little
island. The barrels are returned from the mar-
kets daily.

There are large numbers of glass houses for grow-

THE POTATO 483

ing vegetables and crops of all kinds. This gives
winter employment and income.

The amount of wheat and oats that grows on
this granite soil is wonderful. Much of it was
higher than my head and very thick on the ground,
and there was not one place where the straw was
weak enough to make it lodge. It had the strong-
est, stiff est straw I have ever seen. They told me
the wheat would give an average of sixty-nine
bushels to the acre. It did surely look as though
no more could grow on an acre, and I have seen
upward of seventy-five bushels in the irrigated
West.

Referring again to the fertilizing, the Agricul-
tural Society of the island gives prizes for the
best conducted and appointed farm. The first
requisite in the scale of points, in a total of sixty,
is farm buildings, manure and liquid manure tank,
five points; if neat and compact, five additional
points. There are eighteen other factors for con-
sideration in awarding the prize.

Shiploads of guano and commercial fetilizer are
imported and used; great quantities of turf, roots,
and cover crops are incorporated in the soil, and
every bit of animal manure is conserved. ]\Ia-
nure is used at the rate of twenty to twenty-five
tons when they have it. That does not mean
sticks, fire fanged, coarse manure and straws but
well-rotted barnyard manure which has the con-
sistency of well-ripened sugar-beet pulp.

Their humid, cloudy, sunless climate makes a
splendid environment for disease such as blight.

As a plow maker I have contended that it was
nearly impossible to make a moldboard plow that
would do good work over twelve inches deep, but
on the Jersey Island I saw moldboard plows that

484 THE POTATO

plowed an eleven-inch furrow, eighteen inches deep
and turned it well. The moldboard was twenty-
six inches deep, with a strong steel beam and a pair
of ordinary wagon wheels for a front truck to regu-
late the width and depth of the furrow. It re-
quired ten heavy horses to handle it with the turf
and manure that was plowed under. A farmer
can imagine what a nest or bed this aerated, fer-
tilized soil would make for the root system of the
potato or any other vegetable crop. It also makes
a fine storehouse for moisture and heat.

On one farm the crop of potatoes from ten acres
sold for $10,450. Of course, this was a very ex-
treme case, for the potatoes sold for eight cents
a pound, or $180 a ton. The man farming this
land said it would readily rent for $250 an acre on
nineteen-year leasehold. The man who gave me
this information is a leading representative tenant
farmer. He told me that he made annually 180
barrels of apple cider and consumed it all on the
farm. When he saw me drawing a long breath he
led me to the storage cellar and I saw the tanks.
He said there was no other beverage used on the
farm for his family or help, and I saw great pitch-
ers and mugs of it in the fields where he had
thirty men at work.

A great deal of labor is imported from France
during potato harvest, the total annual outlay for
this item being $75,000 to $90,000.

The following very interesting account of the
Channel Islands potato industry is from "Pic-
torial Practical Potato Growing," by Walter P.
Wright and Edward J. Castle*

"The Channel Islands, as being British ter-
ritory, and supplying us with our first early

THE POTATO 485

potatoes in bulk, are entitled to a little consid-
eration here. Guernsey and Jersey are the chief
islands concerned in the potato trade, the bulk
of the Guernsey crop being raised under glass.
Jersey has also taken up glass culture to some ex-
tent, but still relies almost solely upon outdoor
crops. These are grown everywhere — by road-
sides, on railway platform gardens, on the slopes
of valleys so steep that one wonders how the soil
keeps in position, and even up to the very walls of
Jersey's most famous *lion,' Mount Orgueil Castle.
"Digging begins in the more favored parts,
such as L'Etac and St. Aubyn's, at the end of
April, an army of Breton peasants, with their
wives and families, being imported for the purpose.
The potatoes are packed in barrels, and taken to
the one Jersey port, St. Heliers, whence they are
shipped to England. Prices fluctuate enormously
even in a single day, but the returns have aver-
aged some £400,000 ($2,000,000) for several years
past. The variety grown is the old International
Kidney, raised nearly forty years ago by ]\Ir.
Robert Fenn, and in its day the leading exhibi-
tion variety."

CHAPTER XXXIX

IRELAND

HISTORY is responsible for the statement
that the first potatoes grown in Great
Britain were planted in Ireland, near Cork.
The name "Irish Potato" has come into uni-
versal use and many believe the tuber to have
originated there.

The potato has for generations been one of
the principal foods of the Irish peasant, and at
the present time potato growing and all other
branches of Irish agriculture are receiving great
attention. One of the world's best agriculturists,
Professor Campbell, is doing a wonderful work in
advancing the farming interests of Ireland.

In another chapter considerable history and
data concerning Irish potato conditions are given.
As stated there, the future of the Irish early po-
tato seems particularly bright. In "Leaflet 19"
of the Department of Agriculture and Technical
Instruction for Ireland, issued from Dublin, is
the following:

"The cultivation of potatoes for the early mar-
ket is undoubtedly one of the most profitable
branches of agriculture, provided the produce can
be put on the market at the beginning of the season
while high prices still obtain. In May phenome-
nally high prices are procurable ; any time in June
the price is usually good enough to insure hand-

486

THE POTATO 487

some profits; the first half of July is, as a rule, bet-
ter than the ordinary late or main crop, and the
latter half of July as good as winter marketing.

"With the advent of August, prices often fall to
a very low point, and the risk of disease being very
great, only those growers who are in favored po-
sitions as respects markets and freightage can suc-
ceed. It should be borne in mind that the cost of
production is much greater than in the case of the
late croj), and unless several pounds sterling per
acre more is received for the early crop it is not
profitable. Within the last twenty years great de-
velopments have taken place in this industiy.
Foreign countries have participated in a trade
which was thought impossible to them, and in our
own country the cpop has been greatly accelerated.

"The season ojjens in April with potatoes from
^lalta and Teneriffe. In INIay great quantities
are poured into our markets from Jersey and Cotes
du Nord, France. Strangely enough, the next
place in point of earliness is a strip of seaboard, on
the west coast of Scotland, where for fifty miles in
Ayrshire and Wigtonshire the Gulf Stream exer-
cises a beneficent influence directly through the
North Channel, and renders that district singu-
larly imnmne from spring and ^lay frosts, llie
Ayrshire season commences generally about the
middle of June. Good crops ready to raise at
that date are worth £40 per statute acre, and are
sold gro^^^ng to merchants, who take all further
risks and bear the expense of raising, the farmer
having no more to do except cart the potatoes to
the nearest station.

"Ireland's share in this lucrative industry has
hitherto been small, although her ])hysieal con-
ditions are extremely favorable. It would not

488 THE POTATO

be possible to approach the earhness of the Chan-
nel Islands, but what can be done in Scotland may
assuredly be improved upon in Cork and Kerry,
subject to the same ameliorating influences in
even greater degree, 200 miles farther south, and
possessing ideal soil.

"The east coast of Ireland does not enjoy so
mild a climate, but whatever is lacking in that
respect is compensated for by contiguity to mar-
kets and greater facilities for intensive farming.

"Early potato growing has long been practised
in County Dublin, and at one time Scotch mar-
kets were largely supplied from there. Even now
it is perfectly wonderful what has been achieved at
Rush, by a race of shrewd and hardy men, whose
ceaseless and laborious industry deserves a better
reward. By the adoption of some of the new
methods for accelerating the crop they can in
some measure recover their lost supremacy, and
Ireland generally may to a very large extent par-
ticipate in the extremely profitable industry of
supplying England with early potatoes."

CHAPTER XL

CONTINENT OF EUROPE

^S AYILL be seen by the graphic map of the
L\ world in Chapter I, the aggregate potato
X ^ production of the countries on the conti-
nent of Europe is enormous.

During his European trip in the interest of
American potato growers, the senior author spent
considerable time in France and Germany and is
indebted to Consul-General Frank M. Mason,
Paris; Robert P. Skinner, Consul-General, Ham-
burg; Lutten & Son, commission merchants, Ham-
burg; and Baron Kriesheim of Bariskow, for many
courtesies and kindnesses.

The manufacture of starch, flour, alcohol, and
other products has been developed extensively in
some districts. This is described more fully in the
chapter on manufactures.

In a report of Consul-General Robert P. Skinner
of Hamburg the following facts about the situ-
ation in Germany are given:

**A number of causes have combmed to bring
about the immense German potato crop, which has
apparently reached the limit of profitableness, as,
in spite of the efforts of the German Government
to encourage the industrial use of potatoes, only
4 per cent, of the total crop is taken up for the
manufacture of starch and its by-products, and
8 per cent, for the distillation of alcohol. Thus the

489

490 THE POTATO

chief demand for potatoes remains the ordinary
consuming market, which, because of cHmatic
conditions, looks to a number of foreign countries
for considerable quantities of early varieties.
There are in this countiy immense areas of poor
agricultural land which yield fairly well when
planted with potatoes, and as the crop is valuable
for rotation purposes, and the table demand prob-
ablv greater, relativelv, in Germanv than m anv
other country, and the industrial appHcations nu-
merous, the succeeding vears have seen the \^eld
advance steadily to an average which now exceeds
45,000,000 tons.

"The cultivation of potatoes is indirectly encour-
aged by the German Government, which confers
special privileges upon farm distilleries consuming
the products of the land. Consul-General Thac-
kara, in his able report of October 3, 1908, has
furnished valuable figures in regard to the pro-
duction of potatoes and their uses. In respect to
the agricultural distilleries, the Imperial Govern-
ment permits them to produce a certain amount of
grain or potato alcohol, the amount depending
upon the size and the location of the farms ajid
the annual demand for the product, upon the pay-
ment of a revenue tax of marks 1.05 (25 cents) hi-
st ead of the usual tax of marks 1.25 (29.75) cents
per litre. Alcohol distilled in excess of the quan-
tum is subject to the higher rate of tax, and de-
natured alcohol is not subject to any tax at all.
The slops are used for feeding and the refuse is
returned to the land.

"At the present time over 200 varieties of pota-
toes are raised in this countiy, the most of which
are used indifferently for all purposes. Naturally,
such varieties as have a small content of water are

THE POTATO 491

best adapted for the production of alcohol. In
some parts of Germany a mealy potato is popular,
while in others the watery variety is preferred.
The hard, mealy tubers are found to keep better
through the winter than the others. A loose and
not too heavy soil is preferably chosen for this cul-
ture, as in a heavy soil the crop is likely to deteri-
orate or become diseased. In the proximity of
large cities farmers seek to raise favorite table
varieties, and in the remote, and particularly the
northern, portions of the country the crop goes
to a large extent to the alcohol distilleries or starch
factories, or to cattle feeding purposes. In por-
tions of the empire where grain is a large crop
potatoes are planted every fifth or sixth year.
Cabbage also is raised for rotating purposes be-
tween wheat and rye, or other cereals. Should
the demand for this vegetable be considerably in-
creased there are large tracts of marsh and heatli
land in northern Germany which could be im-
proved and made to yield potatoes in fair quan-
tities.

"The success of the German farmer with potatoes
has largely- resulted from the necessity of securing
an income from soil which could hardlv be utilized
for anything else, and upon such soils, in addition
to stable manure, large quantities of industrial
fertilizers are also applied. In connection with
experiments made by order of the Director of the
Botanical Garden of Hamburg, the following in-
dustrial fertilizers have been successfully used for
the cultivation of potatoes:

Kainit 0.7 tons per hectare ('2.47 acres)

Thomas meal 0.5 " "

Chilean nitrate. . . 0.3 "

492 THE POTATO

*'The kainit and Thomas meal were applied in
the fall and the nitrate was strewn in the spring.
Instead of nitrate, sulphate of ammonia was also
used. No mention is made of superphosphates as
having been used in these experiments, although
farmers employ them to a very large extent.
Kainit is a mixture of sulphate of potash and sul-
phate of magnesia with variable proportions of
chlorure of magnesium and marine salt. The
useful substance in this combination is the potash
which is represented by a proportion of 12.96 per
100. As the chlorure of magnesium is a salt de-
structive to vegetation, the use of raw kainit is not
recommended. As a rule it is sold in prepared
form after having been calcined, whereby the
chlorure is eliminated.

"Thomas meal is a fertilizer made from basic
slag. Concerning Chilean nitrate of soda it is
scarcely necessary to speak. In respect to this
fertilizer, C. V. Garola says that it is not an in-
dispensable fertilizer, and need not be employed
unless it furnishes a pound of azote at a cost in-
ferior to that of other fertilizers containing azote,
such as blood, honis, flesh, and, particularly, sul-
phate of ammonia.

"Mr. Garola, already quoted, in his *Ten Years of
Agricultural Experiments' says in regard to the ef-
fect of fertilizers upon the cultivation of potatoes :
*The potato is always very grateful for the ma-
nure that it receives. A strong manure, well pre-
pared, is the first condition to a good crop. By
using it to an extent of thirty tons (the author does
not state over what area) I have obtained an in-
crease of 88 per cent, in the yield ; and a small dos-
ing of manure, completed by super-phosphate and
nitrate of soda, increased the crop by 105 per cent.

THE POTATO 493

This confirms wliat I have ah'cady recognized in
regard to other crops — that is to say, that ma-
nure in moderate doses and with complementary
fertihzers is more advantageous than a heavy
fertihzation of manure alone. The doses of
phosphoric acid and potash should be increased
in poor soils and diminished in rich soils. They
should be buried before sowing. As to the ma-
nure, it should be turned under before the winter,
if possible. Nitrate of soda should be spread at
the time of harrowing.'

"This writer states that upon reduced surfaces
he has obtained 550 quintals (5.5 tons) of potatoes
per hectare (2.47 acres). The maximum yield
observed upon a larger scale and upon surfaces of
from 7 to 16 hectares (17.29 to 39.52 acres) was 410
quintals (4.1 tons). He considered a satisfactory
yield, with proper cultivation, to be about 300
quintals (3 tons) per hectare (2.47 acres.)

"It is rather doubtful whether American potatoes
can be sold profitably in Europe, or, at all events,
in Germany, in spite of some rather optimistic dis-
cussion of the subject. Wholesale buyers can pro-
cure German potatoes to-day (December 22, 1910)
at $2 per 220 pounds for the *egg' variety, and
$1.52 per 220 pounds for the * Magnum Bonum'
variety.

"(Prices on June 28, 1911, date of copy of this
report, as follows: Egg potatoes sold out. At
present 'long spring potatoes' are on sale and are
worth $2.38 to $2.62 per 220 pounds. ':\Iagnum
Bonum' scarce at present and worth $2.09 per
220 pounds. — R. P. S). •

"In order to sell American potatoes in Germany,
it would be necessarv to lav them down in New
York at not more than the above figures, less the

494 THE POTATO

freight to Hamburg, for wliicli my only quotation
is 20 shillings ($4.8665) per ton. It costs only 16
shillings ($3.8928) per ton to ship German po-
tatoes to America, and perhaps if American ships
were available it would not cost 20 shillings to
ship American potatoes to Germany, or Europe.
From August 1st to February 14th foreign pota-
toes are admitted free into Germany, but at other
times there is an import duty of 60 cents per
220 pounds.

"American potatoes offered for export to Ger-
many, apparently, would not bring more, f.o.b.
New York, than 28 cents per bushel of 60 pounds
for the 'Magnum Bonum' and 41 cents for the
'egg' variety. The calculation stands as follows:

Magnum
Bonum Egg

Price per 220 pounds in Hamburg . . $1.52 $2 . 00
Less freight from New York to Hamburg

(48 cents) 1.04 1.52

Net price in New York, converting price

per 220 pounds into bushels of 60

pounds .28 .41

*'With these figures before them, American cor-
respondents can determine for themselves whether
it will be possible to pay freight rates from farm to
seaboard, and compete with the prices named.
Statistics follow:

Potatoes 1909 1908

Total importations into Germany : 346,617 tons 329,417 tons

From Belgium 53,620 " 48,402 "

Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus. . . 8,989 " 11,020 "

France 9,349 " 6,757 "

Italy 26,454 " 19,579 "

Netherlands 163,311 " 168,322 "

Austria-Hungary 16,592 " 29,439 "

European Russia 63,926 " 43,540 "

THE POTATO

495

Potatoes

1909

1908

Total exportationsfrom Germany: 124,442 tons 115,236 tons

To France 2,120

Netherlands 4,317

Norway 4,931

Austria-Hungary 62,969

Sweden 10,108

Switzerland 27,227

Brazil 3,078

United States of America.. . 1,640

Production in Germany

1909 — 46,706,252 tons 1908 — 46,342,726 tons

1907 — 45,538,299 " 1906 — 42,936,702 "

1905 — 48,323,353 tons.

Average wholesale prices in Germany: Cash for prompt
delivery. (Per 1000 kilos, 2,200 pounds, exclusive bags):

2,973

13,991

3,036

12,731

10,845

18,401

2,472

1,480

Good Early Red
Unassorted distilling

Good Early Red
Sound assorted table

Good sound Silcsian
table potatoes

Berlin

Mks.

Berlin
Mks.

Breslau
Mks.

1905

36.50-$8.69

53.40-$12.71

50.40-$12.00

1906

20.40- 4.86

34.60- 8.23

33.20- 7.90

1907

29.90- 7.12

53.10- 12.64

40 .60- 9 . 06

1908

32.60- 7.76

54.00- 12.85

37.70- 8.97

1909

31.80- 7.57

49.90- 11.88

40.70- 9.69

The market situation in France is given in a
report by Consul-General Frank H. Mason of
Paris under date of January 27, 1911:

"The shortage in the French potato crop has
created a deficit which is being filled by large ini-
l)ortations from other European countries, notably
Great Britain, Austria, Germany, and Belgium.

" Importations of potatoes from theUnited States
to France had been })rohibited since the decree of
1875, which was inspired by fear of the Colorado

496 THE POTATO

potato 'bug, until that decree was annulled on
October 15, 1910, opening the French markets to
potatoes from the United States, provided tliej^ are
clean, free from the soil in which they were grown,
and the packages in which they are shipped con-
tain no stems or leaves of the potato plant.

''As a result of this long prohibition American
potatoes are practically unknown in France, and
French importers have no acquaintance or es-
tablished relations with American exporters which
would enable the trade to be promptly taken up
since the withdrawal of the prohibitory decree.
Partly for this reason, and partly because many
French people have still a lingering dread of some
possible disease in American potatoes and do not
even know that the prohibition against them has
been withdrawn, they have not yet appeared in
any appreciable quantity on the Paris market.

"Meanwhile several letters have been received
at this consulate from American shippers who are
prepared to offer potatoes to French importers.
A careful investigation of the situation has been
made, and the names of American exporters given
to leading French commission merchants and
dealers in potatoes, who have been thus enabled to
send direct propositions to the parties who are
seeking a market for American potatoes in France.

"The principal mart of the wholesale potato
trade in Paris is at the great Central Markets (Les
Halles) and the busj' streets in their mimediate
neighborhood. The one recognized wholesale
unit or weight or measure for potatoes is the met-
ric quintal of 100 kilos, equal to '■2^20 pounds avoir-
dupois, and American merchants seeking to find a
market here should base their propositions on that
unit instead of bushels, bags, or barrels.

THE POTATO 497

"From the statements obtained by personal in-
quiry among the leading merchants in that hne it
appears that potatoes are now bemg dehvered in
wholesale quantities at 12 to 20 francs per 100 kilos
($2.31 to $3.86 per 220 pounds), according to qual-
ity. One firm pays as high as 22 francs ($4.24) for
potatoes of the highest class, but this is exceptional
and supplies only special and limited demands.

"The ruling price for imported potatoes of good
average quality is about 15 francs ($2.89) per 100
kilos, which would be approximately 82 cents per
bushel of 60 pounds. The same potatoes are re-
tailed in the groceries and provision stores through-
out the city for about 5 to 6 cents per kilo ($1.33
to $1.60 per bushel). Genuine red-skinned po-
tatoes are preferred here, with the white next,
and yellow lowest in order of preference.

"The general opinion of dealers is that toward
the end of the winter, when the visible European
supply is more nearly exhausted, prices of potatoes
will be considerably higher than now, and large
(luantities are at present held in storage at the
'Halles' for this expected advance. New po-
tatoes from Algiers and Tunis reach Paris in
February, but they are a luxurv% so high in price
and so limited in quantity that they exercise little
influence on the general potato market.

"Owing probably to the fact that potatoes have
not hitherto figured among American exports to
France, they are not included among the articles
covered by the special arrangement of March,
1910, between the United States and French
governments, and are therefore subject, when
imported into this country, to the maximimi duty
of 6 francs per 100 kilos (32 cents per bushel)
during the months of March, April, and May, and

498 THE POTATO

3 francs per 100 kilos (about 16 cents per bushel)
if imported during the remaining nine months of
the year. Potatoes from Great Britain, Belgium,
Germany, Austria, and other nations which enjoy
the minimum duty rates with France pay 3 francs
duty per 100 kilos (16 cents per bushel) from
March 1st to June 1st, and only 40 centimes per 100
kilos (or 2 cents per bushel) during the remainder
of the year.

"As nearly all potatoes are imported here be-
tween June 1st and March 1st, the American prod-
uct will have to meet this discrimination — an
excess of nearly 14 cents duty per bushel above that
paid on potatoes from European countries except
Portugal.

"Among the offers which have been received
here recently is one from an American shipper
in Maine who quotes potatoes of high quality
grown in that state at $1.75 per sack containing
165 pounds, delivered at an American seaport on
the Atlantic coast. This, converted into French
equivalents, would be about 11 francs per 100
kilos. Adding the estimated freight charges and
import duty, cartage and handling, would bring
the cost of the potatoes, delivered in Paris, up to
about 14.50 francs (or $2.80) per 100 kilos. As
already stated, potatoes at wholesale in the Paris
market range from 12 to 20 francs per 100 kilos,
according to quality.

"The only apparent chance, therefore, is for
American exporters to offer potatoes of the highest
grades, clean and free from leaves and stems, such
as sell here now for from 17 to 20 francs per 100
kilos, and will undoubtedly be still dearer in late
January and February. On account of the change
of duty from March 1st, potatoes for France should

THE POTATO 499

be shipped, if possible, so as to arrive before that
date.

"For the Paris market it would be preferable
to have potatoes in sacks containing 100 kilos or
50 kilos each, to facilitate valuations and accounts
under the French system. This, of course, is not
strictly essential, but is an example of one of the
wise things w4iich exporters of an unknown article
into a new market may judiciously do to 'make
things easy for the purchaser.'

" It should be borne in mind that this is the first
opportunity which exporters have had for thirty-
five years to offer American potatoes to French
consumers. It is therefore worth while this winter,
even at the cost of some trouble, to make a seri-
ous effort to enter the market here, to make known
the high quality of American potatoes, and thus
pave the way for an even more prosperous trade
in future years.

"There will be a large demand in March for
seed potatoes, and for this the best varieties of
American origin, free from all taint of disease,
should, if properly presented, be especially at-
tractive to French dealers and farmers."

The senior author gives an account of his visit
to Baron Kricshcim as describing a typical large
estate where potatoes are an important crop.
There are many such estates, and the bulk of the
crop is probably grown by peasant farmers.

"I am very proud of this most distinguished
honor of an American agriculturist coming to me
for knowledge in farming," said the big-bodied,
massive-brained Baron when he read the letters
of introduction of the senior author at the time of
his visit.

500 THE POTATO

The fine condition in which the grounds and
parks around the castles in these great estates
are kept is a marvel to an American farmer who
is used to seeing more or less untidiness about
the homes of some of our largest farmers.

The vocation of the wealthy German farmer is
certainly alluring not only from the comforts it
brings but the pleasure that must come with the
accomplishment of results in soil building and
crop production.

The farming end of these estates is laid out like a
manufacturing establishment — the crops, fertiliz-
ers, etc., all planned in ten-year cycles. A fom'-crop
rotation is being used, but a map is made showing
just what each field is to do for a ten-year pei-iod.

A large amount of vegetable matter in the form
of cover crop is returned to the soil; and prac-
tically all forage crops are fed on the farm, the
manures carefully kept and returned to the land.

Five hundred acres on the Kriesheim estate
are kept for permanent pasture for horses, dry
cows and young stock. The 100 milking dairy
cows are kept in barns constantly and fed green
cut grass, beet tops, clover hay, etc.

The land is light, sandy loam, but is valued at
$125 an acre and rents for $3 an acre annually.

The farm hands get 35 cents a day — with
cabin, garden and 900 pounds of grain.

The potatoes have been developed for years
for high percentage of starch, this quality being
especially desired in the manufacture of starch
and alcohol. They are coarse and low in quality
as compared with British or French varieties.

On the place potatoes have been grown for
fifty years without spraying, but this year (1910)
the blight was a serious menace to the crop.

THE POTATO 501

After the land is prepared for planting potatoes,
the furrows and lioles for the potatoes are opened
lip with a wheeled inij^lenient that opens four fur-
rows. A spade-like atfair on the wheel makes a
hole four to five inches deep, and the potatoes are
dropped in this.

The rows are made twenty-six inches apart and
the seed is dropped eighteen inches apart in the row.

The seed is then covered by a horse-drawn
*'coverer" consisting of two disks, one working on
either side of the row.

This system of planting — 18 x 26 inches — gives
the greatest amount of room for roots possible
with close planting. Planting 10 x 27 makes the
roots of one plant encroach on those of its neigh-
bors.

The entire crop goes to the starch factory, so
there is no waste — all cut, green or rough tubers
go in. The tubers are harvested by hand and
handled in bulk.

A narrow gauge railroad track is run to the po-
tato field to be used in handling the crop. These
tracks are in sections and can be moved to any
part of the farm. The cars are pushed by hand.

The seed for next season's planting is saved
from the main crop.

Whole seed is always planted, but small seed is
used so that only about 1,000 pounds per acre
are required.

That part of the crop used for table consump-
tion is largely grown on small holdings, while the
starch and other factories are supplied from the
large estates.

Travelers in Europe complain of the potatoes
served at the hotels lacking in flavor and ((uality.
They are mostly served boiled or pared and are

502 THE POTATO

often very small — about the size of a walnut
with the hull on.

The potato is a favorite ingredient for soups and
salads, a special soggy potato that does not cook
"' mealy" being grown for salad making. The Pabst
Brewing Company of Milwaukee, Wis., imports
some of these every year for their customers. These
have been grown at Mt. Sopris Farm. The potato is
thin-skinned, yellow, and often seven or eight inclies
long, tapering at both ends. It is about an inch
in diameter, very waxy and holds its form well.

A great may Russians are imported into Ger-
many during potato harvest. They work for low
wages, but are required to return to Russia after
the harvest season. The German laws rigidly pro-
tect local farm labor.

The following about the manufacture of potato
flour in Europe is from the reports of the following
representatives of the Government of the United
States — Consul-General A. M. Thackara, Berlin,
Germany, and Vice-Consul D. P. De Young,
Amsterdam, Netherlands :

*'The great bulk of the so-called potato flour
(kartoffelmehl) that is sold at retail in the gi'o-
ceries of Germany for cooking purposes is simply
fine ground and sifted potato starch. There is,
however, a flour obtained by grinding and bolting
dried potatoes that is a comparatively new product.

"In 1901, when the potato crop of the country'
reached the enormous total of 53,682,010 short
tons, efforts were made to discover practical and
economical methods of preserving the potatoes,
so that the surplus could be stored and utilized
in supplying future demands. Prizes were of-
fered and a number of processes were submitted.

THE POTATO 503

in the more important of which the potatoes are
dried by steam, forming what are called "kartof-
felfiocken," or potato flakes, which can be used
for feeding stock, for distilling alcohol, for making
starch, and for other purposes for which potatoes
are used, or they can be ground and bolted for
human consumption.

"In the Tatosin process for the production of
flakes, the raw potatoes are washed in a washing
machine commonly used in distilleries or starch
factories, and then conveyed by an elevator to a
steamer erected over the drying apparatus, where
they are cooked by means of low-pressure steam,
as if the potatoes were to be used for feeding stock.
The drying apparatus proper consists of two
smooth, hollow, cast-iron revolving drums about
four feet long and two feet in diameter, each with
a clearance of about 0.039 inch. The drums are
supported upon a cast-iron framework, on the top
of which there is an iron hopper fitted at the bot-
tom with emasculators, or crushers. The drums
are heated by steam of 5.5 to 6 atmospheres led
through a pipe passing through their axes. The
interiors of the drums are ridged longitudinally.
Condensed water is taken from the drums by two
small pipes and returned to the boilers.

"The potatoes after being steamed are allowed
to fall by gravity into the hoppers and through
the emasculators, where they are reduced to pulp,
and in this shape are forced on to the drying drum.
The drums turn in opposite directions at five
revolutions a minute. The heat drives off the
moisture of the potato pulp, leaving a firm mass that
is scraped off by means of knives set parallel to
the main axes of the drums. The dried mass falls
into a spiral transporter fitted with revolving

504 THE POTATO

arms, where it is broken into flakes and conveyed
to the packing room.

"In other processes of preserving potatoes used
in Germany the tubers are cut into disks or small
pieces and dried by hot air. The method described,
however, is that most in use. At present there are
436 plants established in Germany for drying pota-
toes, with an estimated production annually of
110,230 to 165,345 short tons, or 3,674,000 to
5,511,500 bushels. Of the above plants, 350 are for
the production of potato flakes, and in 86 plants
the potatoes are dried by the hot-air processes.

*'The prices of potato flakes vary from 14 to
16 pfennigs (3.3 to 3.8 cents) per kilo (2.2 pounds).
The estimated cost of the production of the flakes
is 6.30 marks ($1.50) per 50 kilos (110.2 pounds).

"In the production of ground potato flour the
potato flakes are ground and bolted. There are
but few concerns that manufacture the flour, each
having its own process. The flour is a yellowish
white product, rich in carbohydrates. According
to experiments made by the ' Institut f lir Garungs-
Gewerbe' (Institute for the Fermentation In-
dustry) in Berlin, the principal constituents of the
flour are: Water, 10.69 per cent.; protein, 6.59
per cent.; fatty substances, 0.23 per cent.; non-
nitrogenous substances, 78.73 per cent.; raw fibre,
1.1 per cent, and ashes, 2.58 per cent.

"The flour is used principally by bakers for
adding to rye and wheat flour in making bread.
The proportion for wheat bread is 5 to 10 per
cent, of the ground potato flour, and for rye bread
the amount can be increased to 15 per cent. It is
claimed that the addition of the ground potato
flour to the rye or wheat flour gives the bread a
good flavor, makes it more digestible, and keeps it

THE POTATO

50'

fresh for a comparatively long time. It is also
used to a slight extent in lliickening soups and
sauces

"There are no statistics available that would
indicate the annual consumpLion of ground potat(j
flour in Germ.any, but as an industry the manu-
facture of the flour has not attained large pro-
portions. It is sold i)rincipally to bakers. It is
known to the trade as 'Walzmehl,' 'KartofTcl
Walzmehl' 'Patent Walzmehl,' and 'Fiddi-
chower AValzmehl.' The prices vary according
to the potato crop and the qualitv, and range from
$4.7G to $7.14 per 100 kilos ('220.4G pounds).

"During the last sixty years potato farming has
assumed large proportions in the Netherlands,
due in great measure to the development of the
potato-flour industry. In 1860 the total potato
area was 273,318 acres, while in 1908 there were
395,089 acres. The following table shows the pro-
duction by provinces in 1908 and the area of
land devoted to the industrv:

Provinces

Drenthe

Friesland

Gelderland ...

Groningen

Liinburg

North lirubant
North Holland

Overyssel

South Holland.

Utrecht

Zeeland

Total....

Production

Area

Percentage of
tillable area

Bushels

Acres

13,507,634

40,515

34.7

1^2,459,213

40,192

38.1

11,729,464

65,609

22.6

18,565,776

48,815

15.1

4,960,600

30,562

13.7

9,634,745

55,784

15.2

2,456,606

11,209

11.4

9,959,664

40,031

34.7

6,294,550

26,497

18 0

1,076.S57

7,853

19.7

6,093.868

28,022

11.3

96,798,977

395,089

50G THE POTATO

"Seventy-four per cent, of the potato crop is
used for food and seed and the remainder supplies
the raw material for manufacturing purposes.
Three fourths of the manufacturing is done in
the province of Groningen, and the remainder is
confined to three other provinces. Of the 48,815
acres of potatoes in Groningen, over 37,000 were
planted for industrial purposes.

"The scientific fertilization of the soil has be-
come a very important feature of the potato in-
dustry in Groningen. Sometimes $32 to $50
worth of fertilizer is scattered on one hectare
(2.471 acres) of ground. The land is valued at
fully $500 per acre and rents at $22.50 per acre
per year. The fertilizers consist of about 200
Idlos of Chile saltpetre and 700 kilos of super-
phosphates to the hectare. Potatoes raised on this
highly fertilized soil are not very edible, being
cultivated principally for their industrial prop-
erties. There is a sentiment in favor of using
the factor}^ waste for fertilizing, but it has not
proved a success as yet.

"The methods of planting, cultivating, and
harvesting potatoes have not advanced as they
should. Several picking machines have been
tried of late, but not to the satisfaction of the
planters. They want a machine that will not
only dig the potatoes out of the ground, but clean
off the dirt and empty them into a sack as well. A
potato digger that merely uproots the potatoes,
leaving them scattered over the ground to be
picked up and sacked by hand, saves little labor,
as they still have to be cleaned, sacked, and often
shaken loose from the roots and vines.

"In the cooperative potato producing and manu-
facturing enterprises the packing is usually let to

THE POTATO 507

contractors at from $0.09 to $0.10 per row of 140
meters (459 feet). That includes stacking them
in piles and covering them with straw. The lal)or-
ers are also given free potatoes during the picking
season. Sometimes these contractors are the
heads of large families, but there are also contrac-
tors who sublet to individual workmen. They
usually pay the pickers $0.00 per row. One per-
son is able to pick seven of these rows per day of
seven hours. The whole family usually joins in
the work, camping out on the potato field during
the season. Independent farmers often pick their
own crops.

"A great impetus to the potato-flour industry
was given by the cooperative method introduced
during the last two decades. In fact the intro-
duction of that system has really joined the opera-
tion of producing raw materials and manufactur-
ing them into potato flour. It led to the estab-
lishment of cooperative experiment stations whose
object it is to study the scientific culture and
treatment of potatoes for industrial purposes in
all practical phases of the industry. Previously
there was no organization between planter and
manufacturer, which frequently proved disastrous
to both.

"The first step toward organization was taken
in 1890 by several of the large manufacturers,
but arrangements were not completed until 1900,
owing to the lateness of some in joining. The
factories then announced uniform prices for raw
potatoes and the farmers liad to sell on their terms.
The latter retaliated by organizing cooperative
producing societies, which soon developed into
manufacturing institutions as well. There are
therefore two systems of operating, one in which

508 THE POTATO

the farmers cooperate to the extent of owning
shares in the factory and the other in which the
trading is independent and speculative.

"The different cooperative plants are of course
still competitive in respect to each other. They
have their own trademarks, they sell indepen-
dently through domestic and foreign agents, and
are keen rivals in the production of superior qual-
ities. Of the thirty-four potato-flour factories in
the Veenkolonien, eleven are cooperative. The
largest independent factorj^ has a capital of
$600,000 and the buildings and machinery are val-
ued at $100,000. This factory has small branches
in various sections of Groningen. Some of
these mills have a capacity for grinding over
28,000 bushels in twenty-four hours; the smallest,
about one fourth of that amount. Three fifths
of the total production of potato flour of the coun-
try is ground in independent mills. The demand
for Dutch potato flour is always greater than the
supply.

"The season for manufacturing potato flour is
usually about ten weeks in duration — from the
middle of September to the last of November.
The fine waterway system of Groningen greatly
expedites the delivery of potatoes, naturally
shortening the season, and in fact accelerating
the industry. The great network of canals and
other waterways makes it possible to transport
the potatoes directly from the field to the factory,
the latter always being on canals that accommo-
date forty to 100 ton vessels. Potatoes are sent
in shiploads of 2,000 to 3,000 bushels each. Fre-
quently these ships are owned by the factories,
though sometimes by private individuals or trans-
portation companies.

THE rOTATO 509

"It Is difficult to set an exact value on the po-
tato used In the potato-flour industry. Some
factories buy them by the hectolitre {'■Z.8S7
bushels) without paying any attention to the
quality, while others grade them according to the
amount of starch contained. However, it Is
estimated that at an average of $0.34 per hec-
tolitre the value of potatoes ground Into flour In
one season would be $3,400,000. Calculating
roughly, one hectolitre of potatoes produces
eleven kilos of flour (8.54 pounds to the bushel).
A conservative estimate of the total production
of potato flour In the Netherlands for one season Is
110,000 metric tons of 2,204.6 pounds. The price
per bag of 100 kilos (220.46 pounds) has varied in
the last few years from $3.60 to $5.20. An average
price of $4.40 per bag would bring the total value
of the manufactured product up to $4,840,000 per
season, $1,440,000 more than the cost of the raw
potatoes.

"It would seem bad business for farmers to
pay a rent of $122.50 per acre, fertilize to the ex-
tent of $10 or $15, and sell 380 bushels of potatoes
per acre at $0.12 to $0.15 per bushel, but it should
be understood that the most valuable land, highly
fertilized, produces much more than the average.

"The potato flour exported from the Nether-
lands goes to Great Britain, Spain, Belgium,
Italy, the free port of Hamburg, Denmark, and
the United States and Canada. The United
States Imported $38,000 worth of dextrin and
potato flour from the Netherlands in 1910. Eng-
land and Belgium are perhaps the best customers.
Exports have grown from 35,933 metric tons In
1898 to 64,000 tons In 1909.

*' There are altogether thirty-two potato-flour

510 THE POTATO

factories in the Netherlands, of which twenty-four
are in the Province of Groningen, two in Fries-
land, four in Drenthe, and two in Overyssel. In
addition to this there are several small factories
producing only dextrin or glucose. The total
number of men employed in the works is nearly
3,000. Most of the factories are situated on deep
canals in the reclaimed swamps of the Veenko-
lonien, and the tubers are transferred from the
boats direct to the mill.

*'A disagreeable feature of the potato-flour in-
dustry in the Veenkolonien is the waste thrown
off and the consequent pollution of the canal
water. Just after the milling season the water is
so bad that ignitible gases evaporate from it.
Often a lighted match thrown into the canal will
cause an apparent blaze. The economic loss
resulting from this waste is in the eyes of the
planters of that region a serious matter. In all
it is estimated that the wasted material is worth
$666,432 per year.

"In connection with the potato-flour industry
there are seven dextrin factories in the northern
part of the country and two in the province of
Limburg. Dextrin is used chiefly for sizing pur-
poses in textile plants. As a consequence, the
demand for that product depends largely upon the
cotton and linen industries. While there is a
flourishing cotton industry in Overyssel, it is not
sufficient to consume all the dextrin produced
here, the remainder being shipped to Great Brit-
ain, United States, Spain, Italy, and Belgium.
However, the exports in this line have decreased
of late years, owing to both the increased price
of the dextrin and higher import duties in many
foreign countries.

THE POTATO 511

"The production of glucose from potatoes in
the Netherlands dates from 187.5, since which
time it has not only greatly increased but the
quality has been improved. Eleven factories,
some combined with potato-flour establishments
and others working independently, produce glu-
cose from potatoes in both the solid and liquid
state. From a total production of 9, GOO metric
tons in 1890 it has grown to 20,000 tons in 1908.
Almost all of this glucose is consumed in the
Netherlands, especially in confectioneries and
cake and jam factories. It is inipossible to build
up an export trade in this article, owing to the
high import duties in other countries and the
strong competition it encounters especially from
American glucose manufactured from corn. There
is a constant fear of overproduction in this article.
However, the confectionery industry in the Neth-
erlands is so thriving that domestic consumption
may keep pace with the supply for a long time.
The high excise tax on the article when consumed
in the country — 3.28 cents per pound, American
currency — is a great bar to its use. The form
in which it will find its most successful outlet,
therefore, is in a manufactured state, such as
cookies, candies, and other confectioneries, as
the excise is withdrawn from such articles if actu-
ally exported to another country. It is evidently
exported in that form."

"Intensive cultivation" is the lesson to be
learned from the European potato grower.

CHAPTER XLI

HISTORY

IN COMMON with many other food plants,
the early history of the potato does not appear
to be especiallj^ authentic; but there are
some points on which most writers agree.

The potato {Solarium tuberosum) — French,
pomme de terre; German, kartoffel; Dutch, aarap-
pel; Danish, jordepeeren: Italian, patata; Spanish,
patatas; American slang, spuds, murphies; Eng-
lish slang, tatties — belongs to the same family as
tobacco, belladonna, tomato, egg plant, and cap-
sicum. There are 1,600 species in the family, and
but six bear tubers. The wild potato produces
seed balls from the flowers, and this is true now of
some vines in the valleys of the western slope of
the Rocky Mountains. The potato is a native of
mountain valleys in South America very similar to,
if not identical with, conditions in Colorado and
southern Idaho. In its native home it grows at
an altitude of 4,000 to 6,000 feet. The potato was
probably carried to Spain by returning explorers
in the sixteenth century. It was in turn taken to
Florida by other Spanish explorers, from there to
Virginia, and from that colony to the continent of
Europe.

It is reported that when the Spanish discovered
South America — Chile and Peru — they found
the potato an important article of food.

In "Pictorial Practical Potato Growing," by

512

THE POTATO 513

Walter P. Wright and Edward J. Casllo, and pul)-
lished by Casscl & Company, Limited, London, is
the following:

"Italy would seem to be the first country to
give special attention to the newcomer, an Italian
named Cardano being early associated with it.
The year 1586 is generally admitted to be the date
of introduction to Great Britain, Sir Thomas
Herriot, a companion to Sir Walter Raleigh, being
its introducer. Some authorities are inclined to
give the credit of its introduction into Britain to
Admiral Drake, who is stated to have sent planters
of Virginia especially to bring over the tubers.

"Be that as it may, it seems certain that the
first potatoes known in Great Britain came from
Virginia, and it is equally certain that they were
first planted in Ireland, near Cork. Switzerland,
France, and Germany were the next countries to
welcome Solanum tuberosum, but nowhere w^as
it regarded as of particularly high value for food.
The famous French botanist, Olivier de Serres,
deemed it worthy of a special chapter in a book he
])ublished in IGOO. To another Frenchman, JNI.
Fraizier, the tuber owes its popular name, it having
first been called pomme de terre — apple of the
earth — in a book dealing with that gentleman's
voyage to the coasts of Chile. This was in 171G.
To a third Frenchman, M. Parmentier, the potato
owes its popularization as an article of human food,
though the statement that Parmentier had any-
thing to do with its introduction is erroneous.
Louis XVI seconded the efforts of Parmentier
by ordering a large tract of land to be planted
with potatoes, and himself wearing a fiower of the
plant in his buttonhole.

514 THE POTATO

"In England the potato at first met with Httle
favor, its relationship to the deadly nightshade
causing it to be regarded with suspicion. Sir
Walter Raleigh endeavored to interest Queen
Elizabeth in the newcomer, and even succeeded to
the extent of getting a dish of cooked tubers
placed on the royal table. Courtesy forbade the
guests to refuse to partake of the new dish, but
their dishke was so obvious, and so assiduously
did they circulate tales regarding the poisonous
nature of the tubers, that we do not read of the
experiment being repeated. In Ireland the potato
met with a better reception, and its culture was
far advanced and understood in that country be-
fore England took the matter seriously in hand.
Not until 1663 do we read of potato culture be-
coming at all general in England, but in that year
it received a great impetus, owing to the efforts of
the Royal Society, which were prompted, it is said,
by a recognition of the food value of the tubers in
time of famine.

"The original tubers would appear to have been
round, and about the size of a large walnut.
Herriot called the potato Openwak, and Gerarde,
who pictured the plant in his famous 'Herbal' in
1597, gave it the scientific name of Bata Virginia.
To Gaspard Bauhin, a celebrated botanist of
Basle, belongs the credit of giving the plant its
present and universally recognized scientific name,
Solanum tuberosum,. This was about 1590, and it
does not appear that the name then bestowed
has ever been disputed. There are at least six
tuber-bearing species of Solanum, but in the
opinion of Mr. J. G. Baker, the famous Kew botan-
ist, all the varieties in cultivation have originated
from one species — *S. tuberosum.

THE POTATO 515

"When once the real value of the potato was
recognized its progress into every country of Eu-
rope seems to have been very rapid, though Scot-
land seems to have disregarded it until the middle
of the eighteenth century, when famine and great
destitution forced the claims of the new improved
tuber upon the Scottish farmers. So rapidly did
it grow in popularity that in 1747 we read of 700
bushels of potatoes being exported from Carolina,
while in 1840, the year of the potato's first ap-
pearance in the United States census, the crop is
given as 108,298,060 bushels.

"The first real check to potato cultivation was
received in 1842, when the now well-known and
dreaded potato disease, Phytophthora infestans,
(late blight) made its appearance in Germany.
Soon after this it was recorded from Canada and
the United States; in 1845 the Isle of Wight, and
thence England, felt its presence; and by 1846 it
was known almost all over Europe. A famine in
Ireland followed, and for a while it looked as
though the potato was threatened with extinction.
Fortunately, however, the efficacy of sulphate of
copper and lime in combating the disease was dis-
covered, and this, under the name of Bordeaux
mixture, has greatly helped to preserve the potato
as we know it."

Mr. Arthur W. Sutton, Reading, England, in a
lecture before the Royal Horticultural Society,
presents the following very interesting facts:

** Concerning the introduction of the potato into
England, the following extract from 'London's
Encyclopedia, published in 1836, is of sufficient
importance to find a place in any paper on po-

516 THE POTATO

tatoes : * It appears probable that the potatoe was
first brought into Europe from the mountahi-
ous parts of South America in the neighbor-
hood of Quito, where they were called papas,
to Spain, early in the sixteenth century. From
Spain, where they were called vattatas, they found
their w^ay to Italy, and there received the same
name as the truffle, taratoufli. From Italy they
went to Vienna, through the Governor of Mons in
Hainbault, who sent some to Clusius in 1598. To
England the potatoe found its way from North
America, being brought from Virginia by the
colonists sent out by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584,
and who returned in July, 1586, and " probably,"
says Sir Joseph Banks "brought with them the
potatoe." Gerarde in his "Herbal," published in
1597, gives a figure of the potatoe under the name of
potatoe of Virginia, whence, he says, he received
the roots; and this appellation it appears to have
retained, in order to distinguish it from the bat-
tatas, or sweet potatoe {Convolvulus hattatas)
till the year 1640, if not longer. Gough says the
potatoe was first planted by Sir Walter Raleigh
on his estate of Youghall, near Cork, and that they
were soon after carried into Lancashire. Gerarde
and Parkinson, however, mention them as deli-
cacies for the confectioner and not as common
food. Even so late as Bradley's time (1716, in
his "Historia Plantarum Succulentarum") they
are spoken of as inferior to skirrets and radishes.
'* 'The use of potatoes, however, became more
and more knovv^n after the middle of the eighteenth
century and has greatly increased in all parts of
Britain within the last thirty years. It is also
very general in Holland and many parts of France
and Germany and is increasing rapidly in Russia.

THE POTATO 517

In Spain and the East and West Indies they are
not much cullivated, owing to the heat of the
chmate; but in all the temperate parts of North
America, Australasia, and South America they
are grown by the colonists. In China they are
cultivated, but not extensively, owing to the slow
progress which everything new makes in that
country. Indeed, no root hitherto discovered is
so well adapted for universal use as the tubers of
the potatoe; for, having no peculiarity of taste, and
consisting cniefiy of starch, their farina is nearly
the same as that of grain. Hence, w ith the flower
of potatoes, puddings and such preparations as
do not call the gluten of wheat flower into action,
may be made equal to those of millet or rice, and
excellent bread with a moderate proportion of
good wheat flower. Potatoe starch, independently
of its use in the laundry and as a hair powder, is
considered an equally delicate food as sago or
arrow-root. As starch and sugar are so nearly the
same that the former is easily converted into the
latter, the potatoe yields a spirit equal to that
of malt by distillation and a wine or beer by the
fermentative process.'

" Monsieur Henri L. de Vilmorin, in his lecture on
the best kinds of potato, read before the Agricul-
tural Society of Paris on January 30, 1888, men-
tions that toward the end of the sixteenth cent urv,
the potato was introduced directly into England,
where it rapidly obtained a position among the
common vegetables of the garden. On the c(mi-
tinent, however, its progress was attended with
greater difliculty. The prejudices which existed
against its general use were, however, combated
with energy by certain men devoted lo the ])ublic
welfare, such as Duhamel du Monceau, Inspec-

518 THE POTATO

tor-General of Naval Construction; Mgr. du Bar-
ral, Bishop of Castres, and the Minister Turgot
himself. It was reserved, however, to Monsieur
Parmentier to succeed where so many able men
had failed, and his success was due above all things
to his perseverance and the tact with which he
used his intimate knowledge of the character of
les Parisiens. Instead of trying to convince them
by argument, he undertook, with the consent of
the King, Louis XVI, to plant potatoes on the
plain of Les Sablons, and, surrounding his experi-
ments with an air of mystery, he had the plot
guarded by a cordon of troops, and thus succeeded
in adding to the curiosity of the population. He
then invited a number of scientific and influential
men to a banquet where every dish was either com-
posed chiefly of potatoes, or was served up with
potatoes as an accompaniment. This proved the
most eloquent demonstration possible of the culi-
nary properties of the new vegetable, and his
cause was gained. During the end of the eigh-
teenth century and the early years of the nine-
teenth century the potato made great progress,
and when, in 1813, the Central Society of Agricul-
ture undertook to provide, as a basis for study of
the culture of the potato, a collection of the varie-
ties then in use throughout the French Empire, it
brought together no less than 115 to 120 dif-
ferent kinds.

"Count Rumford in the middle of the last cen-
tury tells of the trouble he experienced in persuad-
ing the people of Munich to use the potato as food,
even in a time of great scarcity. Only by his dis-
guising the potato in a kind of soup did they grate-
fully accept his offering.

" Gerarde, in his 'Herbal,' 1597, wrote as fol-

THE POTATO 519

lows: 'Virginia potato hath many hollow, flexible
branches trailing upon the ground; these are
square, uneven, knotted or kneed in sundry places
at certaine distances : from the which knots cometh
forth one great leafe made of divers leaves, some
smaller and other greater, set together upon a
fat middle rib by couples, of a swart greene colour
tending to rednesse ; the whole leaf resembling those
of the Winter-Cresses, but much larger; in taste
at the first like grasse, but afterwards sharp and
nipping the tongue. From the bosome of which
leaves come forth long round slender foot stalkes,
whereon grow very faire and pleasant floures,
made of one entire whole leafe, which is folded or
plaited in such strange sort, that it seemes to be a
floure made of five sundry small leaves, which can-
not easily be perceived, except the same be pulled
open. The whole floure is of a light purple colour,
striped downe the middle of every fold or welt with
a light show of yellownesse, as if purple and yellow
were mixed together. In the middle of the floure
thrusteth forth a thicke flat point all yellow as gold,
with a small sharp greene pricke or point in the
midst thereof. The fruit succeeds the floures,
round as a ball, of the bigness of a little Bullesse
or wild plunime, green at the first, and blacke when
it is ripe, wherein is contained small white seed
lesser than those of mustard; the root is thicke, fat,
and tuberous, not much differing either in shape,
colour or taste from the common potatoes, saving
that the roots hereof are not so great nor long; some
of them are as round as a ball, some oval or
egge-fashion, some longer, and others shorter;
the knobby roots are fastened unto the stalkes
with an infinite number of threddy strings. It
groweth naturally in Americus where it was first

520 THE POTATO

discovered, as reporteth Clusia, since which time
I have received roots hereof from Virginia, other-
wise called Norembega, which grow and prosper
in my garden as in their own native country.
The leaves thrust forth of the ground in the begin-
ning of May; the floures bud forth in August, the
fruit is ripe in September. The Indians call this
plant pappas, meaning the roots; by which name
also the common potatoes are called in those
Indian countries. We have its proper name men-
tioned in the title "Potatoes of Virginia." Be-
cause it hath not only the shape and proportion of
potatoes but also the pleasant taste and vertues
of the same, we may call it in English, Potatoes
of America or Virginia.' '*

The potato is receiving greater attention to-day
than ever before in the history of the plant. In
the countries where it is most needed for food
there has been the greatest development at the
hands of man. Single tubers of new varieties
in England have sold for fabulous prices, and new,
improved sorts are jealously guarded by their
originators.

Growers, Government and state experimenters,
and other scientific men — in all countries — are
now working for varieties that will produce the
greatest possible tonnage of the highest class prod-
uct, and for cultural methods best suited to ac-
complishing this.

CHAPTER XLII

BOTANY, PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL COMPOSI-
TION OF THE POTATO

THE potato {Solanum tuberosum) belongs to
the Solanum or Nightshade family. (Sola-
men is a Latin word meaning soothing or
quieting.) In Bailey's "Encyclopedia of Horti-
culture," published by the Macmillan Company,
New York, it is technically described as follows :

"Solanum, giving name to the family Solana-
ceae, is a vast genus of temperate and tropical
herbs, shrubs and even trees, but is comparatively
poorly represented in temperate North America.
Dunal, the latest monographer, in 1852 recognized
901 species, and many species have been de-
scribed since that time. The genus finds its great-
est extension in tropical America. Of the vast
number of species barely 25 are of much account
horticulturally, and half that number will com-
prise all the species that are popularly well known.
One of these is the Potato, Solanum tuberosum,
one of the leading food plants of the human race.
The genus seems to abound in plants with toxic
properties, although its bad reputation in this re-
spect is probably exaggerated.

"As a genus, Solanum is not easily separated
from other genera, but some of its most desig-
native cliaracters are as follows : Leaves alternate :
inflorescence mostly sympodial and therefore super-

521

522 THE POTATO

axillary or opposite the leaves: corolla gamope-
talous and rotate or shallow-campanulate; plaited
in the bud, the limb angled or shallow lobed;
stamens usually 5, inserted on the throat of the
corolla, the anthers narrower or elongated and
connivent and mostly opening by an apical pore
or slit: ovary usually 2-loculed, ripening into a
berry which is sometimes enclosed in the persis-
tent calyx. The flowers are white, purple or
yellow. The species are herbs in temperate cli-
mates, but in warm countries many of them are
shrubby and some are small trees. Many of them
are climbers. Two species bear underground tubers
beside the tuberosum. The tuberosum is described
as follows:

"'Low, weak-stemmed, much-branched per-
ennial with tender, herbaceous tops, and per-
petuating itself asexually by means of thickened
or tuberous underground stems, glabrous or pubes-
cent-hirsute: leaves are unequally pinnate; the
5-9 oblong-ovate leaflets are interposed with
much smaller ones: flowers are lilac or white, in
long-stemmed dichotomous clusters, the corolla
prominently lobed: the fruit is a small globular
yellow berry, usually not produced in the highly
developed modern varieties. It is a native of the
temperate Andes of Chile and adjacent regions.
There is a form with yellow-blotched leaves
(known as var. variegatum) sometimes cultivated
for ornament.'"

A study of the structure and composition of the
potato is very interesting. Dr. C. F. Langworthy,
in "Farmers^' Bulletin 295 " of the United States
Department of Agriculture, gives a very full
and comprehensive description. It follows:

THE POTATO 523

*'The potato tuber is in reality a modified stem,
being shortened and thickened as a storehouse for
material held in reserve for the early growth of new
plants. The outer skin of the tuber consists of a
thin, grayish brown corky substance and corre-
sponds roughly to the bark of an overground stem.
If a crosswise section of a raw potato is held up to
the light three distinct parts besides the skin may
be seen. The outermost one is known as the cor-
tical layer and may be from 0.12 to 0.5 inch in
thickness. This layer is slightly colored, the tint
varying with the kind, and turns green if exposed
to the hght for some time, thus showing its rela-
tion to the tender green layer beneath the bark of
overground stems. It is denser than the other
parts of the potato and contains many fibro-vas-
cular bundles, especially on the inner edge where
a marked ring of them plainly separates this
layer from the next. The interior or flesh of the
tuber is made up of two layers known as the outer
and inner medullary areas. The outer one forms
the main bulk of a well-developed potato and con-
tains the greater part of the food ingredients. The
inner medullary area, sometimes called the core,
appears in a cross section of the tuber to spread ir-
regular arms up into the outer, so that its outline
roughly suggests a star. It contains slightly more
cellulose and less water and nutrients than the
outer medullary portion. These four parts of the
tuber are shown in the illustration.

"As in all other plant forms, the framework of
the tuber is made up of cellulose, a carbohydrate
or group of carbohydrates familiar in many forms,
as, for instance, the fibre of cotton or linen or
the bran of wheat. In food and feeding stuff
analyses it is usually designated crude fibre. Cel-

524 THE POTATO

lulose forms the walls of a network of cells, which
in turn form the body of the tuber. These cells
vary in shape and size in different sections of the
tuber according to the part they play in its hfe.
In the flesh they serve mainly for storage, and in
them lie the starch grains.

"The interior of the tuber is more or less per-
meated by water in which are dissolved nearly all
the soluble ingredients, including the various soluble
carbohydrates. In this connection it is well to
recall that the carbohydrates (cellulose, starch,
the different kinds of sugars, etc.) are all closely
related, and that under the influence of certain
acids, heat, or other agency an insoluble form,
such as starch, may be changed into a soluble form,
or vice versa.

"Cultural varieties of a given plant often have
very different habits, appearance and quality,
and it is natural that the amounts and propor-
tions of water, carbohydrates, fats, protein and
mineral matters which the potato contains should
vary with the variety as well as with the character
of the soil, the climate, and other conditions under
which it grows. Moreover, since the needs of the
potato plant vary at different stages of its develop-
ment, it will provide for them by varying the
ingredients stored in the tubers and elsewhere.
Taking into account all these factors, it might
seem impossible to make any general statements
about the chemical composition of the potato, but
it may be said that the variations are in degree
rather than in kind, and so many analyses and
studies have been made, both in this country and
in Europe, that the average or general character-
istics of the potato are now well established. The
following table shows the composition of raw and

PROTEIN 2.2°fo

CRUDE FIBER,EJCfi.4

ASHLOofo.

FATO.I^

Composition of the potato. Tlie shaded jjortioii represents the
average loss of nutrients when boiled

Transverse and longitudinal sections of the potato: a, skin; b,
cortical layer; c, outer medullary layer; J, inner medullary area.
From Farmers' Bulletin 21)5, United States Department of

Agriculture

THE POTATO

5^5

cooked potatoes and represents the average of
many American analyses. For comparison the
composition of white bread is also given.

REF-

WATER

PRO-

FAT

CARBonvnRATr.s

Asn

FUEL

Sugar,

Crude

VALUE

KIND OF FOOD

Per
ct.

Perct.

Per ct.

Starch,

etc.
Per ct.

l-ibrc
Per ct.

Perct.

PF.R
POUND

Calories

Potato, aspuri-hascd

20.0

02. 6

1.8

0.1

13.8

0.9

0.8

310

Potato, edible por-

tion

78.3

2.2

18.0

1.0

375

Potato, boiled

75.5

2.5

20.3

1.0

440

Potato, mashed and

seasoned

75.1

2.6

3.0

17.8

1.5

505

Potatoes fried in fat.

"Potato chips"

2.2

6.8

39.8

46.7

4.5

2,675

Potato, evaporated

7.1

8.5

80.9

3.1

1,680

\Vhite bread

35.3

9.2

1.3

52.6

1.1

1.215

"The corky skin of the potato makes np about
2.5 per cent of the whole, and the cortical laj^er
8.5 per cent., leaving 89 per cent, for the medul-
lary areas. Theoretically, the skin is the only
refuse or inedible material in the potato, but in
practice a considerable part of the cortical layer is
usually removed with it.

"The edible portion of the potato — i. e., the
tuber without the corky skin — holds on an average
about 78 per cent, water, and so onlj^ about 20
per cent of the whole tuber has a direct food value.

"The illustration shows very plainly that the
l)ulk of the potato tuber is water. The stage of
growth and other conditions affect the proportion
present, young tubers being more juicy or watery
than those which are fully developed.

"The carbohvdratcs are bv far the most abun-
dant of the nutrients. Of the 18.4 per cent, less
than 0.5 per cent, is made up of cellulose, yel one

5W THE POTATO

sometimes hears the statement made that potatoes
are mdigestible on account of the large quantities
of cellulose which they contain. In reality there is
as much or more in almost all the cereals and other
vegetable foods, and such a criticism of the po-
tato has no warrant of fact.

"The bulk of the carbohydrates which the
potato stores for future use is in the form of starch,
which is, of course, insoluble in cold water, and
small quantities of such soluble carbohydrates as
dextrose, sugar, etc. In young tubers there is a
larger proportion of sugars and less starch than
when they have become mature. As the tuber
lies in the ground the starch content increases.
When it begins to sprout, however, part of the
starch is converted by a ferment in the tuber into
soluble glucose. Thus, young or early potatoes
and old ones both have a smaller proportion of
starch and more soluble sugars than well-grown but
still fresh tubers. If the grated potato is mixed
with water, starch falls out from the broken cells and
settles to the bottom of the vessel, and may be
removed in the form of a white deposit. Starch
is manufactured to a large extent from potatoes
by methods which are similar to the above in
principle.

*' Other carbohydrates in the potato are the so-
called pectose bodies, the substances which cause
fruit jellies to stiffen, and when the tubers are
large and pulpy pectoses may make up 4 per
cent, of the tuber, though they usually occur in
much smaller quantities. They are believed to
have about the same food value as starch.

"Fat, or ether extract, appears in such small
quantities in potatoes that it may be practically
neglected in discussing their food value, especially

THE POTATO 527

as the greater part occurs in the inedible skin in
the form of a wax-like body.

"The protein bodies are rather scanty, as com-
pared with those of cereals and such vegetables
as peas and beans. Only about 60 per cent, of
the total amount present is true protein — that
is, in a form which can be used for the building and
repair of body tissue. This means that a pound
of potatoes furnishes only about 1.3 per cent, or
0.2 of an ounce of true protein, and emphasizes the
statement already made that potatoes alone make
a very incomplete diet, as the proportion of ni-
trogenous material would be very small in a quan-
tity sufficient to supply the body with all the
energy -yielding material required.

"These potato proteids have been studied by
the Connecticut Experiment Station and found
to consist of a form of globulin, for which the name
'tuberin' is suggested, and a proteose, part of
these nitrogenous constituents being dissolved in
the juice and part stored with the starch in the
cells, especially in the cortical layer.

"The nonproteid forms of nitrogenous sub-
stances in the potato are asparagin and snuill
quantities of amido acids, occurring mostly in the
juice. If they have any food value it is indirect
and due to the fact that they protect the true pro-
teids from waste during digestion. It is possible
that they may aid digestion in some way or serve
a similar purpose. There is a larger proj)()rlion of
protein compounds, and especially of the more
soluble forms, in young potatoes than in old.

"The most important mineral matters found in
potatoes are potash and phosphoric acid com-
pounds. There are several organic acids (as citric,
tartaric and succinic acid), which vary in tubers

528 THE POTATO

of different ages and account in some measure for
the flavor of potatoes.

"If peeled potatoes are exposed to the air the
outer surface turns brown, just as does the flesh
of many fruits. Such change is due to the action
of enzyms or linorganized ferments naturally
present in the plants. In the presence of the oxy-
gen of the air they work upon tannin-Hke bodies in
the tuber or fruit in such a way that the latter
change color. In the case of potatoes this brown-
ing may be prevented by putting the peeled tubers
into salted water or even into cold plain water.

"In the condition in which they are purchased
potatoes resemble such succulent carbohydrate
foods as turnips and beets, with an average water
content of 90 per cent., more than they do such dry
carbohydrate foods as flour or rice with an average
of 12 per cent. The condition in which foods are
eaten should also be taken into account, for if the
value of a food is judged solely by its chemical
composition as it is found in the market a wrong
impression may be obtained. For instance, po-
tatoes as purchased consist of one fifth and rice
of seven eighths nutritive material. The first
inference is that rice is more than four times as
nutritious as potatoes. In one sense this is true —
that is to say, a pound of uncooked rice contains
more than four times as much nutritive material
as a pound of raw potatoes. But if we take about
four pounds of potatoes — that is, the amount nec-
essary to furnish as much nutritive material as the
pound of rice — the composition and nutritive
value of the two quantities will be just about the
same, while from a pecuniary standpoint the
advantage would be on the side of the potatoes.
The chief difference in the two foods before cook-

THE POTATO 529

ing is that one is juicy and bulky, while the other
is dry, and therefore more concentrated. In cook-
ing rice we mix water with it, and may thus make
a material not very different in composition from
potatoes. By drying potatoes they can be made
very similar in composition and iood value to rice.
Considering the two articles as ordinarily pur-
chased, 4.5 pounds of raw^ potatoes and a pound of
uncooked rice contain nearly equal weights of
each class of nutrients and have about the same
nutritive value."

The manufacturing processes of the potato
plant are described in " Bulletin 71 " of the
Wyoming Experiment Station, as follows:

"In order to understand the relation of the leaves
to the tubers it is necessary to know that the
starches and other food materials which are stored
up in the tubers are produced within the leaves
through the activity of the contents of the leaf
cells when influenced by the action of light. The
leaves are green because the cells contain the green
bodies technically known as 'chloroplasts.' No
plant w hich lacks ' chloroplasts' is capable of manu-
facturing starch.

"Leaf structure is essentially the same in all
plants. A section from the upper to the under
side will show on either side an epidermis of flat-
tened, colorless cells. The cells innnediatly under-
neath the upper layer are elongated and closely
packed and are known as the palisade tissue.
The lower half of the leaves contain nearly sj)herieal
cells, rather loosely arranged, witli c()nsj)icuous
air s])aces near the lower e])idermis. Tliese com-
municate freely with the smaller spaces among the

530 THE POTATO

cells, and are continuous one with the other
throughout the leaf. The air spaces are in
direct communication with the outside air
through tiny openmgs known as stomata. These
openings on the surface often occur on both sides
of the leaf, but in most crop plants they are more
numerous on the under side, or may be entirely
wanting on the upper. They are very important
to the plant, since it is through them that the
plant food derived from the atmosphere finds
ingress to the leaf, which is really the plant's
starch factory. They also serve the very impor-
tant function of allowing the escape of the watery
vapor and the oxygen which is released during
the period of active starch formation. Neces-
sary^ as are these openings on the leaf surface, they
are also sources of great danger to the plant. The
rest of the surface of the leaf is so thickened or
waterproofed with the substance known as cutine
that water cannot enter nor escape through it,
neither can germs from the atmosphere find en-
trance into the leaf. When germs or other fungi
secure admission to the tissues of the plant it is
usually either through the stomata or through
wounds upon the leaf or other part of the plant.
It is for this reason that insect attacks are so often
folio v.ed by fungous and germ diseases. Simi-
larly wounds which plants accidentally receive or
which are made by pruning are also often followed
by diseased conditions.

"The crude sap of plants, which is essentially
the soil water with the gases and soluble minerals
of the soil dissolved in it, is taken up by the roots
and conveyed through the stem to the leaves.
The air which has been admitted to the leaf
through the stomata supplies the carbon dioxide.

THE POTATO 531

From these ingredients, throiioh the agency of
the protoplasm of the cell and the 'chloroplasts'
acting in the presence of sunlight, starch is manu-
factured. This starch is temporarily stored in
the leaf, but at night, when starch formation no
longer is going on, the starch is, through the action
of a ferment, converted into soluble form and is
transmitted from the leaf through the stem to the
underground stems, which become gorged with
the material thus received. Another ferment
now reconverts this soluble form of starch into
the insoluble, which is then deposited in the tuber
as a permanent part of it. The ultimate size of
the tubers, therefore, depends upon the amount of
starch that is thus formed by the leaves and trans-
mitted from time to time to the tubers for storage.
'*It seems that most of the crude sap passing
upward in the stem is transmitted through ducts
in the interior tissue, while the elaborated sap (as
it is called when it has been acted upon by the
leaf and is in condition to be used as plant food) is
conveyed downward close to the exterior of the
stem, viz., in the interior layers of the bark. It
follows, therefore, that any injury to the inner
bark or any artificial obstruction in these layers
will prevent the downward movement of this
elaborated sap. In the case of the potato, an in-
jury to the barkwill prevent theformation of tubers,
as the sap conveying the soluble starch can no lon-
ger reach them. In the event of the elaborated
sap being left in the above ground portions, it results
either in very marked increase in the size of leaf
and stem, through forced feeding, or the plant will
attempt the formation of tubers above ground."

APPENDIX

THE WORLD'S FOOD PROBLEM

The most important problem in the world to-day is the
future food supply — and in this the potato is an important
factor. President W. C. Brown of the New York Central
Lines has made a very careful study of the agricultural
situation all over the world, both as it concerns the pro-
ducer and consumer. So valuable are his ideas considered that
the following verj' coj^ious extracts are made from his address
at the annual banquet of the Rochester (New York) Chamber
of Commerce, March 18, 1910:

"We hear much of the subject of the conservation of our
natural resources, and it is well that this most important
subject should have the most careful consideration.

"I have thought, however, that about 90 per cent, of the
discussion of this important question has been directed to
about 10 per cent, of our natural resources.

" Husband our coal as we will, economize in its use to the last
limit, but the day will come when the last ton will be mined
and nothing will remain but the empty holes in the ground.

*'The same is true of all the products of our mines; but the
fertility of the soil cannot only be maintained, but con-
stantly augmented, and it must be, if this nation or any
other nation on the face of the earth is to continue to exist.

"Broadly stated, the great mcrease in the cost of living
is caused by the simple economic fact that consumption is
rapidly overtaking production, and a careful analysis of the
increased price of farm products, as compared with the in-
crease in price of the products of manufacture, wmII suggest
the wondermg inquiry how it has been possible to make the
reductions, or to maintain the unchanged or slightly increased
prices of the lattci*, while the prices oit the former have been
moving upward so rapidly.

"These figures show conclusively that, in spite of the fact
that the great increase in cost of these prime necessaries of
life has increased the cost of labor more on the average than
33 per cent., these great manufactunng companies have been

£35

536 APPENDIX

able, by economics in administration, operation and cost of
distribution, to keep their prices down substantially to the
level of ten years ago.

"Furthermore, by these same economics, these concerns
are year by year increasing their sales in foreign lands, off-
setting in great measure the loss in our exports of food-
stuffs, which are rapidly diminishing to the vanishing point.

"No more accurate measure of fundamental prosperity
can be found than that an individual or a nation produces
and sells more than he or it buys — that the aggregate of all
transactions results in bringing money in, rather than paying
money out; and here occurs another sharp and significant
contrast between the products of agriculture and those of
mining and manufacture.

"In 1899 we produced more than three and one half
billion bushels of corn, wheat, rye, oats and barley, and, in-
cluding flour and cornmeal, we exported something more
than four hundred and seventy millions bushel.

"In 1909 we produced more than four and one half billion
bushels of these cereals, but our exports had dropped to less
than one hundred and thirty-four million bushels.

" In other words, our exports of these products of the farm
in 1899 exceeded those of 1909 by 251 per cent.

"Our exports of beef and its products for 1899 exceeded
those of 1909 by 72 per cent., and the exports of the products
of pork in 1899 exceeded those of 1909 by 89 per cent.

"Coincident with this falling off in our agricultural ex-
ports we imported in 1909 no less than 8,384,000 bushels
of potatoes, 3,355,000 bushels of beans and dried peas, and
6,667,000 bushels of oats; and during the latter part of
January of this year, notwithstanding a duty of 25 cents a
bushel, we came within one half of 1 cent per bushel of im-
porting wheat from England.

"The increase in corn, wheat, oats, rye, barley, potatoes,
hay, buckwheat, flaxseed, rice, and cotton for 1909, over
1899, is as follows:

Acreage 23 per cent.

Production 36 per cent.

Consumption 60 per cent.

"In this economic evolution we are not following an un-
trodden path. Other nations have been confronted with
the same great question, 'How shall we be fed and where-

APPENDIX 537

withal shall we be clothed?' and ujx)n the wisdom with
which the question has been solved has hung the fate of
those nations.

"More than a century ago the production of wheat in
Great Britain had gone down to about the average of tliis
country to-day — viz., a fraction less than fourteen bushels
per acre.

"A royal commission was appointed, which has been in
continual active existence ever since. Tlie yield of wheat
was gradually brought up to thirty-two bushels per acre,
and at that figure it is maintained year after year.

"The story of this campaign for imj)roved agriculture in
England is exceedingly interesting, and, in the present
juncture, of profound importance to this country.

" The islands of the sea have been swept clean of their rich
stores of guano, the accumulation of ages. Phosphates
have been imported by the millions of dollars' worth from
the United States. The battlefields of Europe were combed,
the catacombs of Egypt rifled, and for years the bones of
three million men were ground up annually and used to
bring the soil of England back to its present fertility.

"Approximately five million dollars' worth of our phos-
phates are being exported each year. In some way this
should be stopped. In the years to come this master fer-
tilizer ^\nll be worth more than gold.

"I believe it is well within the bounds of conservatism to
say that long before the middle of the present century the
phosphates which we export annually, and for which we
receive five million dollars, will be worth five hundred million
dollars for fertilizing our own land.

"It is safe to say that no country in the world excels the
United States in natural fertility of soil, or has a more favor-
able general climate.

"Notwithstanding these natural advantages, with our
careless, uninformed methods — our utter want of method —
our farms |)roduce an annual yield of less than fourteen
bushels of wheat per acre, as compared with thirty-two in
England, twenty-eight in Germany, thirty -four in the Nether-
lands, and twenty in France.

" We produce an average of less than twenty-three bushels
of oats per acre, while England {produces forty -two, Germany
forty-six, and the Netherlands fifly-tiiree.

"Germany, ^ith an arable area of less than some of our

538 APPENDIX

largest states, produces more than seven times the number
of bushels of potatoes that are produced in all the states.

" Experimental farms should be established in every county
of every state, where the most modern methods of fertiliza-
tion and cultivation and the result of such methods can be
demonstrated, and where every farmer in the county can
see exactly how it is done, instead of being told in books or
lectures how it can be done.

"The marvelous extension and development of railroads
through the Middle West during the ten years following the
close of the Civil War, opening up and making easily ac-
cessible empires of this rich land, marvelously stimulated
emigration; and each new railroad, each extension of exist-
ing railroads, was followed by the location of thousands of
settlers and the opening up and cultivation of millions of
acres of new land.

"The result that followed was inevitable. The products
of the nation's farms soon so far exceeded the demand for
them that prices fell far below the bare cost of production.

"I have seen as good corn as the states of Iowa, Kansas,
and Nebraska ever grew sell for ten to twelve cents per
bushel, and it was a drug on the market at that price. I have
seen this corn burned for fuel on the farm, because it was
cheaper than wood or coal.

"Is it strange that such conditions resulted in a ruinous
collapse in farm values in Pennsylvania, New York, and New
England, or that they begot methods or habits of unthrift
and improvidence in the cultivation of the soil in the West?

"These conditions prevailed not only in our own country
but abroad. Railroads were being built in Russia, Australia,
Argentina, India, and New Zealand, and cheap land with its
cheap product competed in every market on the globe.

"Fifty-one years ago, in an address delivered before the
Wisconsin Agricultural Society, Abraham Lincoln said:

"'My first suggestion is an inquiry as to the effect of greater thorough-
ness in all departments of agriculture than now prevails in the Northwest;
perhaps, I might say, in America.

'"What would be the effect upon the farming interests to push the
soil up to something near its full capacity? Unquestionably, it will take
more labor to produce fifty bushels from one acre than it will to produce
ten bushels from the same acre; but will it take more labor to produce fiftj
bushels from one acre than from five?

" ' Unquestionably, thorough cultivation will require more labor to the
acre; but will it require more to the bushel?

APPI:NDIX 539

"'If it should rcfiuire just as mucli to the bushel, there are some prob-
able, and several certain, advantages in favor of thorough practice.

"'It is probable it would develop those unknown causes which of late
years have cut down our crops below their fornu'r averages.

"'The thought rei'urs lliut education, cuilivati'il thouf^hl, can best be
combined with agriculture labor, or any labor, on the principle of thorough
work, and thorough work again renders sufficient the smallest quantity of
ground to each man, and this again conforms to what mu.st occur in a world
less inclined to war, and more devoted to the arts of peace, than heretofore.

'"Population must increase rajjidly, more rajjidiy than in ft)rmer times,
and ere long the most valuable of all arts will be the art of deriving a com-
fortable subsistence from tlie smallest area of soil.

"'No community whose every member possesses this art can ever be
the \'ictim of oppression in any of its forms. Such community will be alike
independent of crowned kings, money kings, and land kings.'

"These words of Mr. Lincoln could not have appealed
very strongly to the farmers of Wisconsin or the neighboring
states when land and its products were about the cheapest
thing in which men dealt.

"Why expend money or especial effort to increase pro-
duction when the most indifferent farming produced more
than could be used and the surplus in many cases would not
bring the bare cost of production? WTiy spend money in
building up and enriching the soil when for two thousand
miles, from the ^Iississi])])i to the Pacific, land as rich and
fertile as the best on earth could be had for the asking.

"Fifty years later this admonition, under the changed
conditions, comes with the force and significance of proph-
ecy, because it applies now to a vital, burning queslion in
which lie the issues of national life or death.

"When these words were spoken, and for thirty years
following, production exceeded consumption, and there was
a steady, continuous, heart-breaking decline in the values
of the thing produced.

"Now, and for ten years pa.st, consumption is overtaking
production with alarming rapidity, and values are rising by
leaps and bounds.

"Then, increased consumption could be provided for by
increased acreage; now, this is impossible. Increased con-
sum])tion can only be met by increased production on sub-
stantially our present acreage.

"Then, the outlook for agriculture was dark and almost
hopeless, the market was limited, prices low, and the ten-
dency was always down. Now, the market is unlimited at
liberal and steadily advancing prices."

540 APPENDIX

POTATO STATISTICS

The world's production of various food crops for 1908 is as
follows :

Bushels

Potatoes 4,927,576,000

Corn 3,478,328,000

Wheat 3,176,479,000

Barley . - 1,267,561,000

Rye 1,587,733,000

A comparison between potatoes and rice given in pounds:

Pounds

Potatoes 334,431,840,000

Rice 135,186,068,000

The Year Book of the Department of Agriculture gives
the potato crop of the principal potato-growing countries as
follows :

(No statistics for Switzerland, Portugal, Argentina, Trans-
vaal, Egypt and some other less important potato-growing
countries.)

North America Year 1904 Year 1908

Bushels Bushels

United States 332,830,000 278,985,000

Mexico 527,000 469,000

Newfoundland 1,350,000 1,350,000

Canada 55,436,000 74,746,000

Total 390,143,000 355,550,000

South America

Chile 6,131.000 8,063,000

Europe

Austria-Hungary 520,461,000 639,407,000

Belgium 91,632,000 82,846,000

Denmark 24,214,000 29,752,000

Finland 15,465,000 20,432,000

France 451,039,000 375,000,000

Germany 1,333,326,000 1,702,803,000

Italy 29,000,000 29,000,000

Malta 733,000 692,000

Netherlands 94,421,000 96,695,000

Norway 17,253,000 28,030,000

Roumania 3,001,000 4,310,000

Russia (European).. . . 893,908,000 1,060,135,000

Servia 718,000 645,000

Spain 84,000,000 84,000,000

Sweden 51,314,000 78,020,000

APPENDIX 541

POTATO STATISTICS — continued

Year 1!)04 Year 1908

Eurooe IJushels Bushels

Great Britain 13;5,!)(i 1.000 146,iS.JH,000

Irt-land 98.035,000 119,4oj,000

(Total Great Britain

and Ireland) (232,596,000) (265.713,000)

Total 3,843,081,000 4,497,480,000

Asia

Japan 11,274,000 21,023,000

Russia (Asiatic) 18,800,000 22,588,000

Total 30.074,000 43,011,000

Africa

Algeria 1,655,000 1,803,000

Cape of Good Hope... 1,942,000 1.304,000

Natal 451,000 405,000

Total 4,048,000 3,512,000

Australasia

Australia 16,777,000 14,021,000

New Zealand 7,795,000 6.339,000

Total 24,572,000 19,360,000

Grand Total 4,298,049.000 4.927,576,000

A comparison of the total value with that of other 1900
crops in the United States is interesting:

Acreage Production Value

Potatoes 3,52.5,000 376,537,000 206,545.000

Com 108,771,000 2,772,376,000 1,652,822,000

Wlieat 46,723,000 737,189,000 730,046,000

Oats 33.204,000 1,007,353,000 408,174,000

Barley 7,001,000 170,284,000 93,971,000

Rye 2,006,000 32,2,'59,000 23,809,000

Buckwheat 834,000 17,438.000 12,188.000

Rice 720,225 24,368,000 19,341,000

While of increasing importance in the United States, there
are other crops that outclass it here. Tiiis is due to the fact
that this is one of the great grain-producing countries of the
world, and tliat the potato industry is capable of almost
unlimited expansion here. In Europe its relative importance
is very much greater than in the United States. A resume
of the potato industry in the United States from 1866 to
1909 shows the increase in its importance and volume:

542 APPENDIX

Acreage, Production, Value, Prices, etc.

Aver.

Imports

Year

Acreage
planted and

Average
yield per

ProductioH

farm
price

Farm value
Dec. ist

during
fiscal year

bai^ested

acre

per bu.

begiining

Dec. I

July I

1866

1,069,000

100.2

107,201 000

47.3

50,723,000

193,265

1867

1,192,000

82.0

97,783,000

65.9

64,462,000

209,555

1868

1,132,000

93.8

106,090,000

59.3

62,919,000

138,470

1869

1,222,000

109.5

133,886,000

42.9

57,481,000

75,336

1870

1,325,000

86.6

114,775,000

65.0

74,621 000

458,758

1871

1,221,000

98.7

120,462,000

53.9

64,905,000

96,259

1872

1,331,000

85.3

113,516,000

53.5

60,692,000

346,840

1873

1,295,000

81.9

106,089,000

65.2

69,154,000

549,073

1874

1,310,000

80.9

105,881,000

61.5

65,223,000

188,757

1875

1,510,000

110.5

166,877,000

34.4

57,358,000

92,148

1876

1,742,000

71.7

124,827,000

61.9

77,320,000

3,205,555

1877

1,792,000

94.9

170,002,000

43.7

74,272,000

528,584

1878

1,777,000

69.9

124,127,000

58.7

72,924,000

2,624,149

1879

1,837,000

98.9

181,626,000

43.6

79,154,000

721,868

1880

1,843,000

91.0

167,600,000

48.3

81,062,000

2,170,372

1881

2,042,000

53.5

100,145,000

91.0

99,291,000

8,789,860

1882

2,172,000

78.7

170,973,000

55.7

95,305,000

2,362,362

1883

2,289,000

90.9

2(^,164,000

42.2

87,849,000

425,408

1884

2,221,000

85.8

190,642,000

39.6

75,524,000

658,633

1885

2,266,000

77.2

175,029,000

44.7

78,153,000

1,937,416

1886

2,287,000

73.5

168,051,000

46.7

78,442,000

1,432,490

1887

2,357,000

56.9

134,103,000

68.2

91,507,000

8,259,538

1888

2,533,000

79.9

202,365,000

40.2

81,414,000

883,380

1889

2,648,000

77.4

204,881,000

35.4

72,611,000

3,415,578

1890

2,652,000

55.9

148,290,000

75.8

112,342,000

5,401,912

1891

2,715,000

93.7

254,424,000

35.8

91,013,000

186,871

1892

2,548,000

61.5

156,655,000

66.1

103,568,000

4,317,021

1893

2,605,000

70.3

183,034,000

59.4

108,662,000

3,002,578

1894

2,738,000

62.4

170,787,000

53.6

91,527,000

1,341,533

1895

2,955,000

100.6

297,237,000

26.6

78,985,000

175,240

1896

2,767,000

91.1

252,235,000

28.6

72,182,000

246,178

1897

2,535,000

64.7

164,016,000

54.7

89,643,000

1,171,378

1898

2,558,000

75.2

192,306,000

41.4

79,575,000

530,420

1899

2,581,000

88.6

228,783,000

39.0

89,329,000

155,861

1900

2,611,000

80.8

210,927,000

43.1

90,811,000

371,911

1901

2,804,000

65.5

187,598,000

76.7

143,979,000

7,656,162

1902

2,966,000

96.0

284,633,000

47.1

134,111,000

358,505

1903

2,917,000

84.7

247,128,000

61.4

151,638.000

3,166,581

1904

3,016,000

110.4

332,830,000

45.3

150,673,000

181,199

1905

2,997,000

87.0

260,741,000

61.7

160,821,000

1,948,160

1906

3,013,000

102.2

308,038,000

51.1

157,547,000

176,917

1907

3,128,000

95.4

298,262,000

61.8

184,184,000

403,952

1908

3,257,000

85.7

278,985,000

70.6

197,039,000

■8,383,969

1909

3,525.000

106.8

376,537,000

54.9

206,545,000

APPENDIX

543

The variation in price is wortliy of notice, and the fact
that the average yield ])er acre is practically the same now as
forty years ago shows the possiy)ilities of advanced work and
methods. The acreage hjvs been increasing gradually with
the development of the country.

The annual iini)orts from Europe bear a direct relation to
the total home ])roduction.

The acreage, prodiiclion, and value of potatoes in the
United States in 1909 follow:

State, territory or division Acreage Production Dec™ bc^'ist

Maine ISO.OOO 29,250,000 $13,748,000

New Hampshire 21,000 2,730,000 1,747,000

Vermont 30,000 4,650,000 2,046,000

Massachusetts 34,000 4,250,000 3,358,000

Rhode Island 6,000 750,000 600,000

Connecticut 36,000 4,320,000 8,580,000

New York 438,000 52,560,000 26,280,000

New Jersey 80,000 7,200,000 5,904000

Pennsylvania 305,000 23,790,000 15,404,000

North Atlantic 1,080,000 129.500,000 72,733,000

Delaware 9,000 864,000 622,000

Maryland 35,000 2,800,000 1,848.000

Virginia 60.000 5,520,000 3.804,000

West Virginia 39,000 3,822,000 2,599,000

North Carolina 25,000 1,850,000 1.498,000

South Carolina 9.000 765.000 880,000

Georgia 10,000 810,000 810,000

Florida 5,000 475,000 570,000

South Atlantic 192.000 16,906,000 12,691,000

Ohio 182,000 16,920,000 9.479,000

Indiana 95.000 9.025,000 4.093.000

Illinois 164,000 14,924,000 9.104,000

Michigan 348,000 36,540,000 12,789,000

Wisconsin 262,000 20,724,000 10,155,(K)0

N.C.E. of Miss. River. . 1,051.000 104,139,000 46,220.000

Minnesota 160.000 18.400.000 6,440,000

Iowa 145,000 12,905,000 7,098,000

Missouri 88,000 7,4SO,0()0 5.012,01)0

North Dakota 40,000 4,4(M),(i(>0 1.9(18,000

South Dakota 50,000 4,000.(KK) 2,520.tK)0

Nebraska 105,000 8,190.000 4.914,000

Kansas 91,000 7,189,000 5.(;79,OO0

N.C.W. of Miss. River. 679,000 62,564.000 33,643.000

544 APPENDIX

State, territory or division Acreage Production K^'™ Value

December 1st

Kentucky 40,000 3,680,000 2,355,000

Tennessee 30.000 2,250,000 1,598,000

Alabama 17,000 1,360,000 1,333,000

Mississippi 9,000 783,000 744,000

Louisiana 16,000 1,200,000 1,092,000

Texas 60,000 3,000,000 3,180,000

Oklahoma 27,000 1,890,000 1,796,000

Arkansas 33,000 2,310,000 2,215,000

South Central 232,000 16.473,000 14,223,000

Montana 25,000 4,500,000 2,295,000

Wyoming 10,000 1,600,000 1,008,000

Colorado 65,000 10,400,000 5,928,000

New Mexico 1,000 85,000 86,000

Utah 15,000 2,700,000 1,161,000

Nevada *. . . 3,000 540,000 459,000

Idaho 25,000 5,000,000 2,400,000

Washington 41,000 6,970,000 3,276,000

Oregon 46,000 7,360,000 4,416,000

California 60,000 7,800,000 6,006,000

Far Western 291,000 46,955,000 27,035,000

United States 3,525,000 376,537,000 206,545,000

It will be noted that the states rank as follows :

New York 52,560,000 bushels

Michigan 36,540,000 "

Maine 29,250,000 "

Wisconsin 26,724,000 "

Pennsylvania 23,790,000 "

The importance given Idaho, Colorado, California, and
other Western states in this book is because of the quality
of their product and the possibilities in developing and en-
larging the industry.

The average production of wheat and potatoes in different
countries covering a period of ten years is given :

AVERAGE YIELDS EN BUSHELS PER ACRE 1899-I908

U.S.

European
Russia

Germany

Austria

Great
Britain

France

Potatoes

W'heat

89.8
13.7

98.4
9.3

197.3

28.7

151.4

18.7

186.4
32.6

118.
20.4

APPENDIX

545

The best averages for states for 1009 are as follows:

Maine iiS Bushels per acre.

Idaho 200

Montana 180

Nevadu 180

Utah 180

Washington 170

Colorado I(i0

Oregon IGO

Wyoming 160

Vermont 155

New Hampshire 130

California 130

Massachusetts 125

Rhode Island 125

Connecticut 120

New York 120

Michigan 105

Wisconsin 102

Florida 95

Kansas 79

Pennsylvania 78

Louisiana 75

Oklahoma 70

Texas 50

The production of potatoes in every state in the Union
can and must be greatly increased. This can be done by
the use of better methods, and it is the duty of every citi-
zen of the commonwealth to do every thing possible to bring
about the desired result.

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