The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1904-04-02

and seacoast there is wide variation, both
as to quantity and quality, in the product
of the different localities Poor, light,
gravelly soils yield small and few potatoes,
and in dry seasons fail altogether. Heavy,
tough, cold clays are likewise unfavorable.
The ideal potato land is warm, permeable,
loamy sand or light moorland, well
drained, clean and rich from the vegetable
decay of past ages. Soils containing large
proportions of sand produce potatoes of the
best flavor and with highest percentage of
starch So marked are these characteristic
effects that in every potato market of Ger
many the potatoes Of certain communes
are known and rated at the head of the
list because the soils of those districts have
demonstrated their superior fitness for po-
tato culture. A potato field should be open,
fully exposed to sun and wind, not shaded
or obstructed by trees and, above all, free
from clay substrata which hold water and
make wet subsoil. Crops grown OF. land
with these defects may in some seasons be
large, but they rot easily and are always
deficient in starch and of inferior flavor.
In Germany the red and so called ''blue
skinned potatoes are found to do better
than the white in damp locations or where
the land is excluded from free action of
sun and wind.
In the preparation of land for potato
planting the first requisite is deep, thor
ough ploughing. In view of the many
centuries during which the fields of Ger
many have been cultivated and the gener-
ally high standard of intelligence among
farmers here an American is surprised to
note that in many wheat, rye and oat
fields the plow does not cut more than six
or seven inches in depth But for potatoes
this superficial scratching of the earth will
not suffice. Every additional inch of depth
broken adds a tangible percentage to the
WELD and on the best farms subsoil plowing
attains depth of twelve to fifteen inches.
| Small tracts are worked with the spade,
and instances are given where the potato
crop has been doubled by working the soil
two spade lengths in depth This deep,
careful preparation of the land is always
completed in autumn and the upturned
earth left exposed to the action of frost and
thawing during the winter.
Careful experiment has shown that a
given piece CT land prepared in autumn
Yields one third more potatoes than if
treated in precisely the same manner in
spring Immediately before planting time.
Having been deeply plowed and thoroughly
narrowed in autumn, the frost penetrates
readily, the action of the air upon the
various elements of the soil is enhanced,
ii dries out quickly in spring and with the
first warm days is ready for planting. 1t
is then plowed again, usually to a depth
Of five or six inches, with broad, shallow
plOw drawn by one horse, and in every
third furrow the potatoes are dropped and
are covered by the furrow slice next turned
in. This quick, easy method of planting
with the plow is practicable only in light,
loose soils that have been Thoroughly pre-
pared, In heavy clay soils holes FIVE OF
six inches deep are made in rows with the
hoe or spade, the potatoes dropped therein
and covered with the hoe