Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-12-29
Potato Culture at the New Work ENpcr-
fment station.


iment station.
Bulletin No. 10, issued by DR.. l.. H. Stur-
tevant, director Of the New York Agrcultur-
al Experiment Station at Geneva says:
The question Of hilling ridging, or level
culture for the potato seems to be one mainly
of conditions, the object to be attained being
! the same in all cases. heresultso of certain ex-
periments made this year seem to add force to
the hypothesis that the conditions under which
the potato becomes of the best quality, and
most prolific, are those which secure dryness
and warmth for the tuber moisture and cool
ness for the roots.
The examination of the growing potato
the soil being strong clay, shows that the
tubers under field culture, and under field
| conditions, are borne above the seed while
| the roots extending from the eye pass down
ward into the soil to the depth of 20 or more
| inches But few roots are to be seen occupy
| ing the upper and warmer layers of the soil,
and in general, we may say that, with us, the
major part Of the roots passed below the re-
| gion of soil which would be disturbed by the
ordinary processes of cultivation. In cases
| where the upper surface of the soil was pur-
posely kept of frable texture there was a
marked tendency of tho tuber to approach
the surface, but in n strong clay soil this ten
dency was not manifest
Ridging or killing in IA clay soil brings the
| formation of the tuber into that region of
the soil kept dry by position, and kept warm
| by the suns rays. Cultivation with ordinary
hoeing has a tendency to furnish mulch of
| fine earth that protects the roots which are
below the tuber from the heat of the suns
rays and checks the evaporation of the mois-
| ture from the soil below the stirred portion
| Upon sandy land we may assume that level
culture will fulfil similar conditions of keep
ing the tuber in warm, dry, upper soil, and
| forcing the roots deeper into the cooler and
| mOister strata below. However the theory,
the facts of expression based upon this view,
| have given interesting results. Plats were
marked out and kept under different condi-
| tions-ridging in some cases. level culture
| in others; ridging and the intervals mulchod
with straw, the seed laid upon the surface
and covered with six inches of straw the
seed laid upon the surface and covered with
four inches of sand in one case, and six inch
es of sand in another. In the plat of the po-
tatoes covered with straw we had the coudi-
| tons of GOODNESS and moisture for both tubar
and root during the early season of growth,
| dryness and GOODNESS for the tuber during the
latter portion of growth. In the mulched in
| tervals we had the potato tuber occupying
| ridges where the soil was measurably dry and
warm, and tho ground within which the roots
| penetrated protected from evaporation and
| from lne neat OF the sun by tue mulcn. In
the pats covered with sand we had dryness
and heat for the tuber, GOODNESS and moisture
for the roots; in other words, the most per-
feet theoretical conditions that we could de
wise in accor lance with our hypothesis The
seed used i'll these comparisons was the whole
potato. The yield calculated to the 100 hills,
may be represented in the following table:
Merchautable
tubers
ordinary lever culture lbs
In ridges aud the intervals mulched......92, lbs
Potatoes covered with straw 81 lbs
Potatoes covered with lbs
The potatoes covered with sand yielded few
small tubers, but the tubers in nearly every
case were large and Of superior quality. We
may state the results of these experiments as
follows: Soil which could raise only calcu-
lated crop per acre under ordinary level cul-
ture of Sc bushels, under ridge culture of ljl
bushels, yet under theoretical circumstance
yielded upon the same soil at the rate of 33i
bushels per acre.
These experiments seem to have a great
Significance, but there is need of more than
| one years trial before we can feel assured of
the correctness of our hypothesis