The River Falls times. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1894-1933, 1898-04-26
Potato Culture Preparing the Soil.

oAA DCot dudpIcu W growing pOLa-
toes. And most writer's start off by
saying Nthat a sandy loan will pro-
duce tubers of a better quality than
any other SOIL" There is more of error
than truth in this idea. In fact. it is
true only in this respect: That sand or
sandy loan soils, on an average, will
produce better potatoes than heavy
soils. The reason for this, however,
is not that the sandy soils are any
better adapted to produce potatoes of
good quality than the heavy soils. The
latter are quite as good, provided that
they contain enough humus so that
they will not pack too solid for air to
enter. The best potatoes in the world
$50 far as quality goes) are grown upon
clay loan soil. And some of our very
best table varieties cannot be grown
proftably upon sandy soils. The Snow
flake family now represented by such
line varieties as Worlds Fair and Free
man, which are standards for quality,
are not suited to sandy soils But
upon clay soils they produce bountiful
crops of excellent quality. So if you
haven't sandy soil, go to work to put
your heavy soil in proper condition to
grow potatoes. If you use stable ma
nures, it is best to apply them to the
soil the year before you plant to pota-
toes. Manure literally and seed to
clover and then you have an abundant
humus to plow under to tighten up
your heavy soil. A soil thus prepared
will retain it's moisture in a dry spell,
when one not provided with humus
would be dry and hard. A soil that is
light and friable will soak in all of an
ordinary shower, whereas a heavy,
solid soil will not. Then, with
the moisture soaked into the soil,
by proper cultivation, it can be
brought back to the roots Of
the plants by the capillarity of
the soil, every particle of which is
coated with a thin film of moisture.
Generally speaking, the lighter the soil
Gf not too coarse) the more moisture it
has in it, provided the surface be kept
from packing and forming crust
through which the moisture will es-
cape by evaporation, and be lost into
the air.
No chemist has yet been able to tell
us what it is that makes good table
quality in the potato. Neither do con-
sumers agree as to what good quality
is, some prefer very dry, mealy po-
tato and others prefer one of a more
firm texture. The fact is manifest to
all who grow potatoes that, as a rule,
medium sized tubers are of better quail
ity than either large, overgrown
tubers or stunted growth of small,
inferior ones. We should aim not to
make our land over-rich, but to put
it in the best possible mechanical con-
dition. This can best be done by grow
ing crop of clover or peas and plow
ing under a good crop of green matter,
which will loosen up the soil and al
low the air to circulate and warm up
the soil and cause the formation of
those chemical combinations and fer
mentations which place the fertilizing
elements Of the soil in condition in
which they may be taken up by the
roots of the plants. Roots of the po-
tato plant are very rampant feeders,
and go deep and wide, therefore we
should pillow deep, at least eight or ten
inches, unless the subsoil is so poor
that it would not do to turn it up.
In case the land is shallow, it
should be prepared for a series of
years by blowing an inch or SO deeper
each year, until you get at least ten
inches of good, rich top soil.
Don't try to grow potatoes on poor
soil; for it doesn't pay to expend the
labor necessary to produce a crop of
potatoes unless you can be sure of a
crop large enough to pay good re-
turn for your labor. Do not plow when
the soil is too wet, for you will be
unable to pulverize the soil enough to
grow good crop. If your soil has a
very heavy subsoil you should pillow in
the fall and subsoil, then in the spring
pillow again. After the land is plowed,
follow with drag and harrow it down
in good shape; this should be done each
day as plowed, never leaving the fur
rows to dry out before dragging. In
day or two follow with a disk harrow
and thoroughly pulverize the soil, fol-
lowing again with the smoothing har-
row. Drag again in two or three days.
This will kill many of the small weeds
lust coming up. The ground is now
in good condition for planting.
L. H. READ.
A Blind (Oleomargarine) Pig.-They