The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-01-18
GROWING
POTATOES
Pertinent Facts As to the Best
Means Of Raising Tubers
Profitably.
(From Fargo Forum.l

DohOo BULLS tuu COuultlOuS dQapCoO
to perfect potato growing of the right
kind, this industry can, and in a few
instances, Is already being made, q
specially, and with most satisfactory
results.
In the vicinity of Fargo we find q
number of growers who ship as high
as fifty to $50 cars of potatoes each
season. And as far west as James
town and north as far as Aneta and
Park River, fields of. from twenty to
forty acres are not uncommon. As
far west as Dickinson one very favor
able year so many planted potatoes,
owing to boom in prices the pre-
vious year, that no satisfactory mar
ket could be found for the large crop
grown and the business was dropped
like the traditional "hot potato" Right
here, of course, was 1.-The great mistake
and when we proposed talking pota-
toes for few minutes only at late
Dickinson institute, prominent citi-
zen present advised not discussing the
subject and gave the above as the rea-
son. 1t is only too evident to the bust
ness farmer that to follow potato
growing or any other branch of farm
ing, for that matter, in the Dickinson
way could result in but one thing
failure and disgust.
10 make money in potato growing
one must above all things stick to
it. If the farm labor, teams and other
conditions are such that ten, twenty
or forty acres of potatoes work we'll
with the soil and labor rotation then
ten, twenty or forty acres should be
put in every recurring spring wholly
regardless of prices. If any change
is made in the acreage and attention
given it there should be more acres
and better attention after low prices
rather than Immediately after high
prices. This applies TO almost any
crop, but especially to potato grow
ing.
We know of individual growers who
nave taken enough money off from
forty acres OF potatoes the past year
to make the business paying one if
they did not get shilling bushel
for the next two or three years. We
should never have our dish wrong side
up for a moment if we want to be sure
to get our share when it rains por-
ridge.
Outside of favorable climate and
soil and the great value of potatoes as
rotation in grain growing, there is
another and very substantial reason
why potato growing is safer thing
in North Dakota than in many other
states, and that is the great demand
springing up for North Dakota grown
potatoes for seed in the south.
was not at all aware of the eX-
tent of this feeling towards Dakota,
particularly North Dakota potatoes.
until last year, when a short trip
through the south and west convinced
me that we have great field before
us in this line. At Greeley, Colorado,
perhaps the largest potato growing
section in the world, we found that
they not only used northern grown
seed altogether, but that the growers
were just learning, that of all north
ern grown seed, that from North Da-
kota gave them the best results. The
difference in their favor was so mark
ed that not single grower we talked
with, who had used them, would for
moment think of using any other
kind. We found this same feeling in
Missouri and have heard of it at other
points. We might say right here that
this coming north for potato seed is
no fad, 1t is a condition." as Mr..
Cleveland says, land not theory"
The Missouri experiment station
started out some three years ago to
prove, that by growing hardy varieties
and selecting the best keepers and
keeping them carefully, the objections
to southern seed might be overcome,
and the result is declaration, that
northern grown seed has given fully
SO per quality. I. B. Terry, the fam
GUS Ohio potato grower who has
shipped much seed to the south, one
year increased his own yield nearly
$50 to the acre by going to northern
Maine for large part of his seed po-
tatoes.
In our judgment the demand from
the south for northern grown seed has
but just begun-certainly for the Da-
kota grower it has, and we look for
a great and profitable increase in this
trade. Another thing is already no.
ticeable and that is that while any
Dakota grown seed seems to have an
advantage over seed grown elsewhere,
that grown on the slightly dry soils,
even though there be considerable
sand in their makeup, are still bet
ter keepers and give correspondingly
better results. And in these drier sec
tons, we believe, if properly handled,
potatoes can be almost as surely
grown as where there is more mois-
ture. For twenty-five years I have
been growing potatoes in a small way
in Dakota. l came from famous po-
tato section to Dakota. From a sec
ion where many had become wealthy
growing potatoes and of course I
thought l knew how to grow them in
Dakota; but a few failures taught me
that l was mistaken. Late potatoes
did best where 1 learned to grow
them; a single eye was ample seed
and deep tillage and "hilling-up" were
orthodox ways of getting the tubers
to do their best.
These ways barring the late varie-
ties, may be the way to get best re-
suits in the moister parts of the Red
river valley still, but we think not;
and when 1t comes to the dry sections
or partially dry sections we know it
is not. Here we find that only the
quick growing early varieties will do
at all. They should be good keepers
and staple varieties-wanted on the
table and in the south, and, by the
way, only staple varieties should be
grown and these should be clean,
wholly unmixed, if top prices are to
be even thought Of. A large vigorous
seed too must be planted in warm,
well prepared ground. A whole pota-
to gives too many sprouts and too
many little potatoes along with lots of
big ones. The half of large potato
does better, but good sized potato
quartered will do nicely, much bet
ter, in my experience, than single eyes
or whole potatoes. The single eye
simply will not do in dry soils or a
dry season anywhere. It is useless