The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-02-09
FARM, GARDEN
AND HOUSEHOLD

plying manure or fertilizer 10 the pp-
tatO crop is one on which growers diff
fer materially, says the American
Farmer. II is possibly the case that
the many varieties, as well as the pc
culiarities of soils and climates may
have much 10 do with the lack of un-
| animity among growers. but il is safe
to claim that there is a wide field open
for work in the use of plant foods for
potatoes. The same difficulty presents
| itself in Europe, where experiments
have been conducted for years. Prof
Wright of the West Of Scotland Agri-
cultural College. concludes that large
crops of potatoes can be grown either
with a heavy twenty tOns) dressing
per acre of barn-yard manure, or with
half that quantity when supplemented
with fertilizers The use of fertiliz-
ers alone viii also give large crops.
N this country the use of barn-yard
manure in some sections induces dis
case among the tubers and vines.
Experiments show that the increase
produced by manure on potatoes is en-
tirey in tubers of large size. the yields
of small tubers being proportionately
diminished while light dressings of
manure produce a much greater pro-
pOrtionate effect, and a large local re-
turn can be obtained from a limited
quantity over a given area than from
the same manure on half the area.
Heavy dressings of manure, without
fertilizers, give potatoes of "A rather
watery or inferior quality, light dress
ings being less injurious. while the use
of fertilizers with manure tends to
greatly improve the quality, but pota-
toes of the best cooking quality and
possessing the highest nutritive value
can be grown by the use of fertiliz-
ers alone
Concerning the use of the several
forms of fertilizers on potatoes it was
demonstrated that the addition of
potash in any form. when applied
with barn-yard manure. increased the
dry matter and starch in the tubers,
and thus improved the quality. 1t
also increa sed materially the proper
Tomato yield of large potatoes. which
adds to the market value of the crop.
The most profitable quantity of pot
ash to apply, according to the re-
suits of experiments. is "a pounds per
acre, represented by about 20 pounds
of sulphate of potash, any increase in
that amount being not so beneficial
or profitable. 1t is possible to use
more potash and secure larger yields
but the amount mentioned will give
the most profit in proportion to ex-
pense. When fertilizers only are used
the potash should be given in the
form of sulphate of potash. In these
experiments the finest quality of po-
tatoes were grown with the use of
sulphate of potash. Kainit, applied In
the spring. whether given with or
without barn-yard manure, gave in
ferior results. both in yield and quail
ity of the tubers. proving somewhat
detrimental to the quality. Murate
of potash gave good results when used
in fertilizers. but when applied with
barn-yard manure it proved even more
effective than sulphate of potash in
increasing the yield, but did not pro-
duce tubers of the highest quality Nj
trate of soda, applied as a top dress
ing at the rate of l12 pounds per acre
and put on Immediately after the first
wedding of the crop. produced no in
furious effects on the quality of the
potatoes.
In the growing of potatoes the far
mer desires the largest possible yield,
and the large majority of them have
succeeded in SO combining barn-yard
manure and fertilizers as to harvest
enormous crops. but the experiments
mentioned include something more
than yield, the object being to also
observe the effect on the quality of
the tubers 1t is the quality that gives
the profit, as the difference in prices
may ldI Stiy OllStt the ulHeTenCeS IN
yields. Kainit. which is crude sui
phate of potash containing a large
proportion of common salt, is used
extensively in the manure heap in or
der to prevent the loss of volatile
matter, and it increases the value of
manure for some crops. but when APP
piled to potatoes it does not improve
the quality Wood ashes, which are
rich in potash when produced from
certain hard woods, would no doubt
prove valuable for potatoes, but, as
ashes also contain lime, the effect may
be to injure the crop, as it is now
known that lime is favorable to some
diseases, and for that reason should
not be applied. A fertilizer for pota-
toes should contain not only potash,
but also nitrogen and phosphoric acid
In some cases the use of superphos-
phate and sulphate of potash has Civ
en- satisfaction. the superphosphate
containing sufficient nitrogen if the
soil is also fertile. Farmers should
experiment with small plots in order
to test the advantages of the plant
foods for increasing the quality of the
tubers, as any experiments made with
certain varieties ard on soils that are
variable may be of but little advantage
in sections where the conditions differ
from those of the experiment