The Bad River news. [volume] (Philip, Stanley County, S.D.) 19??-1912, 1910-09-22
PRESS BULLETIN NUMBER SEVEN
South Dakota State College Experimen,
Station


At the presnt time South Dako-
ia is not listed as a potato growing
state, but that fact does not prove
that we can not grow the crop with
profit. While the average price
for potatoes for series of years
has been only fifty cents, the value
of the crop per acre is greater than
that of any of the cereals. Aside
from its monetary value, the po-
tato is a very valuable crop to in
clude in rotation where small
grains are to be grown. There is
no reason why this state should not
rank well with other other states
in potato production when her
climate and soils are of the first
class for the culture of this crop.
The potato does well in cold
moist climate. The average yield
per acre is greater in the Northern
States than in the South, and great
er in Canada than in the United
States. The crop holds IN import
ant place in the general system of
farming IN many of the Northern
States in point of cash returns per
acre. 1t not only thrives best in
cool climates of these states but mt
the same time it is very productive
where the climate almost forbids
the culture of corn.
The soil considered best is a deep,
mellow, free working loan, grad
ing either IL sandy loam or a clay
loam. If properly drained, pota-
toes can be grown on heavier t, pes
of soil. 1"'I
II The following are some of the
reasons for selecting the lighter
soils for potato growing:
1. Such soils can be worked
early in the spring.
,. The light soils become warm
early in the season and the germ-
nation of the tubers proceeds more
rapidly.
3. They can be placed in good
tilth more easily than heavy soils,
and with less labor.
4. Potatoes grownin these types
usually come out bright and clean
and more uniform in size.
5. The quality of the potato is
better.
! Selecting Seed
Probably no other crop is inHu-
enced more by selection than the
potato. Many growers have found
that variety which will produce
good returns on one field may fail
on an adjoining area. For this
reason it is quite necessary for
|every grower to select his seed.
The method is simple and can be
carried on by any farmer, who is
careful with his work and in every
case he will be rewarded with bet-
ter yields.
Go out into the potato field and
select your seed potatoes before
you begin to dig the entire field.
Select plant that looks thrifty
and vigorous and which you think
will have quite q large number of
potatoes. If you select plant
according to the above description,
dig it up and see how many pota-
toes you have. If this plant has
three or four small potatoes and
one large one, do not save the po-
tatoes from this plant at all. Why!
Because this plant has the power
only to produce three or four small
potatoes and one large one. So if
we plant either the small potatoes
or the large one of this plant our
result in next years crop will be
the same viz, three or four small
potatoes and one large potato.
However, ifyon select d plant
of the abevendescription and find
three large potatoes and two small
ones, do not save thisp plant for the
above reasons, viz, that it can
only produce three large potatoes