The Arizona sentinel., 1885-12-05
POTATO-RAISiNG
How the Cultivation of Tubers Can Be
 Made Profitable.

Made Profitable
 More than fifty years ago Tn Cayuga County, N. r., it was not at all uncom- mon to raise five hundred bushels to the acre of English Whites and Copper heads. Now over two hundred bushels is an exception to general rule, and these exceptions are usually on virgin soil or very highly manured ground. One reason for this seems to be that new varieties deteriorate with age their original vitality decreases until they are no longer valuable, and this accoun for the profitable business of originating new varieties that are an- nually thrown upon the public to enjoy a brief notonety and disappear. Tho Neshanock and Long Pinkeye were the very best potatoes ever raised, but they became exceptionally subject to the rot and had to be abandoned. The Round Pinkeye was fairly good potato and stood the racket for q number of years, but now scarcely pays to raise except in few localities. Many new varieties a~e in the field, but like those gone be- fore are probably doomed to degener- ation incompatible with profit able culture. Has anybody's philosophy solved why it is that potatoes in general are not nearly as palatabIe as they were fifty years ago? Is it not law of nature that improved fruits, animals and seeds that are the work of man are naturally inclined to go back to original forms, or become extinct from causes not under the con- trol of man? Admitting this, the ne- cessity of originating new varities is apparent, but it is beyond the powers of man to insure vitality in new vari- cities nearly equal to the primitive type? Were we competent to guide the forces in the right channels. we might indeed prove successful-but can we?
 Again, our soils with constant use and imperfect knowled ge of the means of keeping them with their due pro- portions of chemical elements, are not in condition to raise maximum crops of great excellence. Some elements arc partially exhausted, while others are in excess of what is required. We look to the carefully conducted experiments of our agricultural schools for solution and remedies. It seems as thougl with continued usage the soil becomes filled with insect dcpredators which are not troublesome in virgin soils. We think this condition is mostly owing to our ignorance of the treatment of the soil. For instance, there has been much complaint of late years about scabby potatoes Now, we can guarantee you any amount of scabbv potatoes if you will haul on your ground lot of cob manure. This will insure a host of those little worms that produce the scab and form the tubers. Again, brother farmer tells us that he planted two acres on shares, aud covered about half of the piece with chip manure; the result was that the manured acre grew large p lta oes. but they were nearly consumed by the big white grub. while the acre alongside raised sound tubers. Planting the same ground year after year is poor policy, for what few worms and grubs there are at first will rapidly multiply and en- danger the crop. It is not always safe to haul barnyard manure on to potato ground, for not unfreguently it is the home of the white grub, and you can cut your own throat in the honest en- deavor to raise big crop. Generally the >urest evasion of insect troubles is to turn over the sod and drop the pota- toes close to the turned furrow.
 To prevent too rapid evaporation GOV. CT the patch with a thin layer of straw, and if the season is not excessively dry you will have good crop of clean pO- hn Colorado b gs do not get the start of you-or you may drop on the sod with out blowing and cover with six or eight inches of straw. The old style of hill ing potatoes on old ground scarcely pays for the labor Using the cultiva- tor and Scraper c,ose to the surface is better and cheaper way. After, if nec- essary, they can be gone through with the hoe. All the talk about cutting po- tatoes into mince-meat for seed, wheth- CT big or little potatoes are best, does not tell the story; it is in the condition of the soil and its treatment mostly. We would naturally conclude that fair sized potato cut in two pieces length wise would be preferable, for the r a. son that the early roofing and first leaves are dependent on the nourish- ment of the planted potato, and since such will be apt to get an arlier and stronger start than those from a mere scab with an eye in it. But potatoes will grow from single eyes, half pota- toes or large ones, and experience shows there is not always as much diff ference in the outcome as we should expect The great secret of raising fair crops of sound potatoes is in using ground not compact by continuous blowing and not filled with insects de- structive to the tubers, or manured with matters foul with wire worms and gtubs.-R. X. Sl0sSOn, in Western