Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1894-04-26
OUR NATIONAL TUBER.

We often hear the Irish potato
spoken of, and probably very few
ever think how inappropriate this
name is for a plant that is native
of America. Discovered by the
early explorers growing wild and
also being cultivated by the natives
for food and carried back to Europe
it was years before it became
popular as food, but at last its
merits was recognized and to-day
it is one of the most valuable food
crops of the world. In fact with
out the potato many thousands Of
people would starve. Probably no
plant ever grown has received
more study and careful expert
ments conducted with it than the
potato has, and at the same time
no plant has been cultivated that
has been neglected and SO little
care expended upon it.
The average farmer will sell the
largest tubers, eat the next size,
and the smallest ones he uses for
seed the next season. What kind
of a crop would this same farmer
raise if he was to sell the best of
his corn, feed the next best to his
hogs and save the smallest nubbins
for his seed? How long would he
have any corn large enough to
sell? Yet he is selecting his seed
potatoes in just the same manner
and then is surprised that his
potatoes do not yield as we'll as his
neighbours who selected his seed
from the best of the crop. But
some man says "Well l have
grown as large crops from small
potatoes as from large ones and l
can't see the difference amounts to
very much anyway" My friend
there is a rule as old as the day of
creation that 'like produces like"
and if you follow up the selection
of good seed of any kind for year
after year you build up and estab-
fish a perfect strain and SO if you
select the poorest year after year
you will soon have a strain that
is so badly run out that it will
hardly reproduce itself
In regard to selection it will
always pay to select at time of
digging from the strongest,
healthiest hills the smoothest and
best tubers to be found. Next
keep them where they will stay
sound and hard until spring and
then bring them into a warm light
room for to 4 weeks before
planting, spread them thinly and
let the sprouts start and they will
grow short and stubby and when
planted are ready to throw up
good strong stalks that will grow
a good crop of tubers.
Another very necessary require
ment is to have the land carefully
prepared and in good fertile con-
dition. Probably the best method
to fertilize the land is by growing
a good clover sod to pillow under,
but if this cannot be done, it will
pay to use Commercial Fertilizers,
as they give the crop agood strong
start and the tubers are much freer
from scab and rot than when stable
manures are used. Stable manure
should never be used on a crop OF
potatoes but should be applied to
the proceeding crop.
Cultivation should commence as
soon as planted and be continued
at frequent intervals of not longer
than one week up to at least &c
days of time of ripening. This
cultivation should not be over two
inches deep and is for the purpose
of keeping the ground covered with
mulching of dry dirt. This will
keep the water in the soil from
evaporating and will therefore give
the plants the benefit of all the
water that falls upon the land.
One Of the most interesting
points in respect to the potato is
the possibility of growing new
varieties from the seed, which
grows in small balls like tomatoes,
Many have never seen these balls
as they are seldom found of late
years, there being only few varie-
ties now which produce them.
These plants can be grown as
readily as tomato plants and each
plant will produce potatoes which
will vary, more Or less, from all
other varieties, but only a very
small proportion will prove to be
any Improvement on present cul-
tivated varieties.
In regard to varieties for general
cultivation there are five types that
are known in the market, as fol-
lows: Early Ohio, Early Rose,
Beauty of Hebron, Burbank, and
Peerless. But there are probably
a dozen or more varieties of each
tNne which will sell for the same