Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1906-06-07

uncut potatoes results in q crop OF
too many potatoes below m~erchantable
size. and planting small potatoes tends
to bring light yields.
Three to five inches according to the
character of the soil seems to be the
proper depth to plant. 1t Is better TO
plant deep In an open or light SOIL.
and shallow in a cold. damp. or heavy
soil. The Michigan Experiment sta
tion obtained practically the same
yields in sandy land on the various
paintings OF from two to five Inches
while the yield dropped o thirty
five bushels below the average where
they were planted six inches deep. This
experiment was made. however. in Il
wet season. Professor Green of the
Minnesota station carried on an X
pertinent of different depths of plant
ing in a very dry season. The result
OF his investigations as
deep as six TO eight inches. However.
the results might have been different
II II had been a wet season.
One canno cultivate potatoes 100
much before or after they are planted.
providing ii is properly done. Cultivate
deep. thoroughly and frequently before.
and for "a short time after, planting
us,. the harrow or weeder and con-
tinuc to use it after the potatoes come
up. Follow each cultivation with a
weeder to break up the surface. Full
verlze the Jumps and make a dust blan-
hCA W. tiVii tlC W BVNNs
want moisture and a lot of 1t, but
while they demand an enormous
amount of moisture they take but lit
tie out of the soil through their tops.
IL is best to get the soil In such Il con-
dition as to hold It's moisture against
the burning sun and this condition "A
only be obtained by keeping on the
dust blanket. With each succeeding
cultivation run the cultivator shallower
to avoid cutting off the roots. and In
dry times after each cultivation use the
fine tooth harrow or weeder.
!. After the tops get three or four inches
high, don't get to digging down around
the roots. They will stand cultivation
u un,1l the ii is ss aeSiins sfS Is WY ny 5 sr2%a p SSt
again we repeat. don't cultivate deep
during the close of the season.
The Cornell experiment station di-
vided Il field into two parts, quit pillow
Ing one as the potatoes began to set.
and continued To give the other very
shallow surface working while the pO-
tatoes were growing. They found that
in II season OF reasonable moisture but
little increase i'm yield was obtained.
but in very dry seasons the crop was
increased from 25 to rs per cent. by
i The more potatoes are grown In the
same locality the more fungous dis
eases and Insects we nav to fight, and
every man who makes II business of
growing potatoes cannot get thorough
ly posted too soon on how to deal with
them.
The potato blight that makes the po.
tatoes rot is with Is. and is the same
blight as hat which brought famine
to Ireland, and II II Is not met 1t will
bring a famine of potatoes to us. The
only alternative Is to spray. and spray
thoroughly and frequently, and every
potato man should get all the good lit
erature there Is to I've had on the sub
ject. Bulletins can be obtained by
writing to the Department of ARricul-
ture. Washington. ID. c.. asking for bull
letins on spraying for blights and bugs.
Also write the New York Experiment
Station at Geneva. N. Y. for bulletins
on spraying for potato blight. and
don't forget the aluable bulletin is
sued by Professor Green, of the Min
nesota experiment station. st. An
thony Park. MIMI. on the same sub
ject. all OF which are mailed without
even the expense Of q postage stamp.
At the New York experiment station
all of certain fields were planted with
the same seed. cultivated In the same
manner-in fact. treated the same in
every respect. except that One-half Of
each field was sprayed and the other
was not. The results were that the
yields were doubled and in some In
stances trebled by spraying.
When many of the potato men were
first told that their potatoes were rot
ting as h result Of blight they
scoffed at the idea. out almost everyone
Is TO- waking up to the realization
tato blight. and that this blight will
certainly be with us hereafter when
ever we have a damp, wet or mugRy
season to deal out destruction to the
! potatoes that are not sprayed.