The Churchill county standard. (Fallon, Nev.) 1908-1920, 1916-03-15
Says We Have Good Potato Soil

Says We Have Good Potato Soil
Project Manager Hough got Mr..
Cline and Mr.. Headley and took Mr..
Grubb over a portion of the Project
10 see some of last years potato
fields. He expressed himself then
and later in the meeting as very
fayorably impressed with the soil as
highly suitable for potato raising.
On the land looked at he said he
could see no reason why, il properly
handled it should not produce right
now 200 sacks or about 10 ton per
acre.
Urges Organization
Opening his address in the after
noon TO an interested audience he
said the farmer displays perhaps the
least sense Of any class in furthering
his own welfare and pointed out
that the barber, the bricklayer and
many others organize for proper
protection and mutual benefit and
even seek and get passed laws es-
sential for their welfare. He urged
the farmers to make and do likewise
and that one association represent
the potato growers and that it affili-
ate with. State and with the ma
tional association. which latter is
now publishing its own organ for
: = /.
Tells How to Raise Spuds
Mr.. Grubb's valuable ideas should
be in pamphlet form for we can
attempt to cover only few of the
features. He seoffed at the idea of
raising only five or six ton per acre
saying such of our soil as he had
seen should eventually be made to
yield 10 to l s ton or more per acre.
A sack of local spuds were procured
some where and spread on the floor.
Is chance would have it the whole
sack showed up with hard black
speeks which was promptly dag
nosed as rhizoctonia, an infection
said TO cause the greatest single
loss of any disease of the potato.
Mr. Grubb prescribed corrosive subli-
mate dip for seed as the only sure
eradieator of it saying the popular
and supposedly safe formalin treat
ment positively could not be relied
upon. High class seed was shown
to be of greatest importance; that
whole or uncut seed of suitable size
was safer from infection and that a
disk drill planter run by two men
was the best method of planting as
it practically insured the great de-
sideratum of a nearly 100 per cent
stand or some $4,000 hills per acre
and the machine did not spike or
cut the seed in planting While the
vines are still young and not sub
jeet to injury narrowing was urged
to kill most of the weeds and to
force growth as later the extending
root feeding system demands that
cultivation between the rows should
be made narrower each time.
Irrigation
Great stress was laid on proper
irrigation. The first furrowing
should be by shovel plow giving
sharp deep "V' that permits small
stream of water running in the bot
tom of furrow we'll below the seed.
II was shown that a grade of 2 inch
es per 100 fl. is essential, but that
three to six inches is better, for
best results. To set and mature a
good crop the light irrigations must
be frequent enough to maintain a
good moisture, perhaps every ten
days or so in Colorado and possibly
every week more or less here if the
dryer climater OF Nevada demands
it.
4 Paying Crop
Mr.. Grubh expressed it as his
opinion that potatoes, under proper
handling, have proved one of the
pest crops III the OHlkcd oidltS anu
instaneed the rich farmers of the
Maine and Colorado potato districts
He saw no reason why our soil
should not be made to yield as the
soil of those districts. Right here
il is of interest to note that I. A.
Harper, southeast of town raised
700 bushels or 81 tons per acre on
a two-acre piece and this was on
new desert land in alfalfa only a
couple of years.
Potash Shortage and Crop Prices
4 peculiar effect of the present
war in regard to potatoes it seems
is that deficient supply of potash
last season from Germany seems
the probable cause of poor crops
that year along the Atlantic Coast.
There potash is essential as a ferti-
lizer and seems to be valuable in
giving virility that better protects
the plants from disease This year
no potash is available from Ger
many. Mr.. Grubb would predict no
nripa hut indicated that the above