Evening journal., 1914-04-01
land OF KAISER
CROWS FINE 'TATERS
Germans Lead Irish Now in
Production OF the
Potato
PESTS HURT THE
AMERICAN PRODUCT
81 the United Press.

81 lue bnlied iIefh.
WASHINGTON, April 1.-Wur-
rahl wurrahl The glory of Erin
has departed, the shamrock is wilted;
the harp is mute. For the Depart
ment of Agriculture has just issued
a bulletin: Lessons for American
Potato Growers from German Ex-
perience," and it gives twelve pages
Of facts and figures to show that
the subjects Of the Kaiser know more
about Irish potatoes than the men
Of the "Ould Sod" who are credited
with inventing them.
To begin with, Germany plants
eight million acres in potatoes every
year to this country's three and
half million. And in the Vaterland
they gather 2O2.5 bushels per acre to
s6.2 bushels per acre here. Further
more when the consumer on this side
of the Atlantic is paying Sc cents
busehl for them they are costing
the Berliner only 80 cents a bushel.
"A prominent reason for the low
acreage yield per acre in this country
is that We have, as a rule, fewer
plants on an equal area" reads the
bulletin. Not only are wider rows
and more space between hills the
rule here but various other avoidable
causes result in a poor stand The
Germans plant more than twice as
many seed potatoes per acre than is
the custom here, or more than "a
bushels per acre.
When one travels through the coun-
try seeking the census of low Yields
they are not hard to find Imper-
feet preparations Of the ground leaves
poor seed bed The seed potatoes
may be unsolicited, more or less dis
eased, cut too small and carelessly
planted. Many Of our fields outside
OF the leading potato districts have
only half the number of plants that
would be found in a Scotch or Ger
man field"
American farmers also have more
pests to contend with than do those
abroad. The late blight is common to
both continents but the Colorado po-
tato beetle and the potato flea beetle
DO not occur in Europe, nor is the
scab Of much importance there The
advantages of straying with Bor-
deaux mixture to control the late
blight have been demonstrated an
nually for ten years by the New York
Agricultural Experiment Station al
Geneva, yet last year millions OF
bushels of New York potatoes decay
ed because the farmers failed tc
spray or did not spray thoroughly.
The problem OF supplying a disease
free seed has been met and solved in
Germany and the recommendation il
made that the same thing is done il
this country through the cooperation
of potato growers associations anl
the Department of Agriculture
rather than by legal enactment IN
previous years Of scarcity the United
States has imported potatoes from
Europe in large quantities eight
million bushels IN 1903 and 13 mil
lion In 1911. With these came dis
eases hitherto unknown in America
like the blackleg and scurf and
powdery seab, and the danger of I'M
porting the still more dreaded warl
disease led the secretary of Agricul-
ture to prohibit the Importation OF
potatoes from most Of the large grow
ing districts abroad. Hereafter ex-
perts say, enough potatoes must be
produced to supply all our needs. as
most sources of foreign imports have
been closed by quarantine, and unless
production is increased and main
tanned a serious condition may arise
The old oaken bucket has been rele-
gated to the ash heap. by the DEPART
lment of Agriculture which, on investi-
CATION has found that its moss covered
sides are full of microbes and the iron
hoops are anything but sanitary. OF All
shallow farm wells examined in Indiana
the waters of 209 were very bad A
L 4 = !