The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-02-14
AGRICULTURAL.
POTATO GROWING.

The potato Is a native of the Andes, and is found particularly in Chii and Peru, but in the various boresie it reach es norm to New Mexico. IL wos probably first introduced Into Europe fro:A the re- goin of Quit by the spaniards about the middle of .he sixteenth centur. In 1886 1t was brought to England from Virginia, where, however, 1t was der, d from a Spanish source. Its progress in Europe was .how, its culture Tn Ireland not be- coming general till the rniddel of the eish- teenth century, but 1t is now s staple food in most temperate climates.
 The fruit of the potato plant is q worth less green berry. Its useful product is the underground tubers which in the wild plant are small but much enlarged under cultivation. The tLbers which ere of round or oblong shape, sometimes nat, are et witk eyes really of Uncimentary leaves containing ordinarily several buds, and it is by means of these that the plant is usally propagated.
 The food value of the plant lies mostly in the starch of v,llch 1t contains from 15 to 25 per cent It Is deficient in
 buminoids and phosphate Besides their ordinary food use, potatoes are a source of manufacturers starch. and the spirits are now distilled from them to q consid- erable extent chiefly in Germany. The tops Gin America called vines, in England halms, in Scotland shaws) contain togeth CT with the fruit poisonous alkaloid, ab- sent in the tuber except when exposed to the sun.
 e varieties of the potato are numer ous The crop is often seriously injured by the potato rot.
 To distinguish 1t from the sweet potato h ,,lo {e w,btt Ia potato or (from it's being enc of the chief feeds in Irelano) Irish potato.
 The potato has grown in favor so fast that now it has become one of our lead ing articles of food. Its value as a food is now well established not only in this country but all civilized countries now Irish potato grow and use great quanti- ties of potatoes. Tn fact the loss of the potato crop would mean famine to some countries. Ireland the country from which the Irish potato gets it's name, has had several failures in their potato crops which caused great suffering among her people. Only once in the recollection of the writer has the United States had an entire failure In the potato crop, and well do we remember the great inconvenience we had in securing potatoes that were imported into the country. So important, indeed, has this crop become that many writers have taken up tn, history habit. habits, growths and cultivation of the potato, and much information is now furnished that no grower should fail to succeed In growing fine crops of potatoes.
 There are, however, many farmers who have never given this subject much con sideration and who need to know the very first primary lessons of potato growing. This bulletin is given to meet just that want, and will give this information in simple language that any one may clear ly understand. The purpose is to present here a few facts in connection with this subject which would be well considered by all who are intending to engage in commercial potato growing.
 When we come to consider the rapid in- crease In the consumption of the potato as a food, we'll as the great amount of potatoes now needed 10 supply our market demands it is surprising thet in many sections of our country so few intelligent efforts are being made to increase the yield per acre of fine merchantable stock. In many sections the present system of of potato growing requires too much land to produce the quantity of potatoes need ed. One of the first things for the consid- eration of the grower should be how the same amount of potatoes can be grown on less land with less labor and less expense
 
 vate the acre of land that is producing only fifty bushels as 1t does to cultivate the acre thnt produces two hundred bush els. Then 1t costs much less to harvest two hundred bushels on one acre than 1t does to harvest the same amount from three or four acres The question then is would it not be economy for the grower to study the soil and soil conditions and to prepare his land as to grow from one to three hundred bushels per acre, There is no longer any profit in producing potatoes al the rate of fifty to sixty bushels per acre There are other advantages in grow ing larger yields One is that in large yields the size and quality are both irn- proved, for it is well known fact that in crop of potatoes where three hundred bushels are grown there Is less mcr- chantable stock and besides as stated the quality is improved by the increased yield. Large fancy, clean stock Is large ly in demand and has the preference in all otr markets and it is this clean stock that we want to assist the grower in pro- ducing.
 We have an abundance of cheap land in this country but may not ever again have surplus of available cheap labor. Labor Is becoming more difficult to secure and higher prices every year So 1t would seem that if the labor now being employ ed In producing ten acres of potatoes was reduced to one half and this five acres made to produce even more th m the ten had been producing, this would be economy.
 The work on the five acres could he pro- duced with less horse power and less feed and so another big saving would bo made. In travelling over the great potato grow ing section of our country. north south east and west and in making caref,,1 study of the crops as grown in all sections we find that the yield ranges from fifty to two hundred bushels per acre. The question is can the crop be made to double these yields,
 This is by no means an imposslbiity but something that any intelligent farmer may accomplish. It has been proven Inv repeated experiments that this can he done Seven hundred bushels of potatoes have been grown on one acre but this is an exception, and Is not likely to be repeated often But the acre that is not only producing fifty bushels should be made to yield one hundred and from that