Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1886-09-09
Potato Raising
r. X. SloSson in Practical Farmer.

More than fifty years ago, in Cayuga
County, n. Y, it was rot at all .un COM
mon to raise 500 bushels to the &C re- Of
English whites and copperheads. Now
over 200 bushels is an exception to gen
eral rule, and these exceptions are usual
ly on virgin soil or very highly MANFRED
ground. One reason for this seems to
be that new varieties deteriorate with
age-their original vitality decreases I'M
til they are no longer valuable, and this
accounts for the profitable business of
originating new varieties that are an
nuallv thrown upon the public to enjoy
brief notoriety and disappear. The
neshanOck and long pinceye were the
very best potatoes ever raised, but they
became exceptionally subject to the rot
and had to be abandoned. The round
pinckeye was a fairly good potato and
stood the racket for a number of years,
but now scarcely pays to raise except in
a few localities. Many new varieties are
in the field, but like those gone before
are probably doomed to degeneration
incompatible with profitable culture.
Has anybody's philosophy solved why it
Is that potatoes in general are not nearly
as palatable as they were fifty years ago?
Is it not law of nature that improved
fruits, animals and seeds that are work
of man are naturally inclined to back
to original form, or become extinct
from causes not und or the control of
man? Admitting this, the necessity of
originating new varieties is apparent,
but is it beyond the power of man to in
sure a vitality In new varieties nearly
equal to the primitive type. Were we
competent to guide the forces in the
right channels we might indeed prove
successful, but can ave?
Again, our soils with constant use and
an imperfect knowledge of the means of
keeping them with their due proportions
of chemical elemeats, are not in condi-
ton to raise maximum crops of great ex-
cellence. Some elements are partially
exhausted, while others are in excess of
what is required We look to the care
fully conducted experiments of our agri-
cultural schools for solution and RENE
dies. 1t seems as though with continued
usage the soil becomes filled with insect
depredators, which are not troublesome
in virgin soil. 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 the scabby potatoes. Now
we can guarantee you any amount of
scabby potatoes if you will haul on your
ground lot of cob manure. This will
insure a hot of those little worms that
produce the scab and spoil the tubers.
Again, brother farmer tells US that he
planted two acres on shares, and covered
about half of the piece with chip manure;
the result was that the MANFRED acre
grew large potatoes, but were nearly con-
sumed 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 endanger the crop. It is
not always safe to haul barnyard manure
on to potato ground, for not unfrequent-
ly it is the home of the white grub, and