West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1909-08-12
Making Money
On the Farm
Wl.-POtatO Culture
BY G. V. GREGORY.
Author Of Home Course IN Modern
Agriculture"
Copyright 1909. by American Pre.s
Assoeiation
XVYHEruER grown for market
Nv or for home use only, Il Is
w important that the potato

w important that the potato
crop be made TO yield as
much as possible. with the right kind
or care yields OF 20O TO 600 bushels 10
tho acre can DO obtained, making this
ono OF tho most profitable crops that
can DO grown. Even with the most
careless treatment the tubcr frequent.
ly yields most generously.
The potato Is very particular I'm its
soil requirements. A rich sandy loan
IN tho best soil. Not all farms have
such n soil, but almost any soil can DO
80 prepared MS 60 make fairly good
potato patch. Two things nro essen.
tial. mellowness and plenty OF moIs.
ture. Clay IL too heavy. and sand dries
out too rapidly. Soils which contain
too much clay or too much sand can
DO greatly improved for tho production
or potatoes 10y the addition OF humua.
Tho Ideal way 10 prepare field for
potatoes Is TO seed it TO clover for Mt
least year. manure &c heavily. plow
IL up and plant IL TO corn. In the fall
tho corn can DO cut for silagc or fod.
dor, so that IL can DO plowcd before
winter. Tho blowing should bo fairly
TNNfs wv NANhAhkN AhA ~ HWIlOWlnE
or two tho following spring mako an
Ideal seed bed for potatoes.
Potatoes arc not raised from seed
but from the swollen underground
stems that we call tubcrs or potatoes
Any piece OF tuber TINT contains nm
eye" Will grow and produce moro OF
Its kind. a potato vine grown from n
piece OF tubcr IL really not n now
plant. but part OF tho old one IL out.
sldo conditions arc tho Same tho plant
VIII BIO tho snmo and produce the same
Kind or crop. There Is much less
tendency TO vary I'm plants propagatcd
In this way than I'm those raised from
seed
Large Versus Small Potatoes.
Because OF tho fact that tho potato
Is not seed IL has been claimed that
small potatoes would produce Just as
good crops MS large ones. Growers
often sort out and plant tho tubers
that are too small for market. The
outcome OF four or Ave years OF such
selection almost always means n do.
creased yield. If the potatoes planted
were small only because they did not
A"'N ~ w htNtlOn iitN WOULD
produce nearly as good results as lar
ger ones from the same hill. II. how
ever, they were small because they
came from hill OF tubcrs all OF which
were naturally small they would pro-
duce mostly small potatoes like them.
selves. For this reason Il IS not safe
TO plant the small tubers. Another i'm
portant point IL that there IS not
enough food material I'm small DO.
tato TO give tho sprout the kind OF a
start that IL needs TO produce n good
yield. 1t Is the stoclly, vigorous hills
that are full OF large potatoes when
digging time comes. The start the
plant gets while It rs first making its
way 10 the surface of the ground
largely determines the vlgor with
which IL Will continue TO grow through.
out the season.
Tho experience OF most potato grow
ers Is that II IL best 60 plant medium
sized tubcrs. about the size OF hens
egg or larger, cutting each one into
four pieces In experiments that were