Taking as the correct measure of profit the yield of salable potatoes
less the amount of seed used, there is seen by the third section of the
diagram that with seed and crop at the same price per bushel it was
more profitable in these tests to plant halves than smaller cuttings
and whole potatoes. If there be taken account of the yield of small
potatoes the advantage of large seed pieces is even greater than the
figures in the last section of the diagram would indicate, for the
yield of small potatoes is greater with large than with small seed
pieces. Where large quantities of small potatoes can be profitably
utilized, as, for example, as seed for the second crop, the potato
planter may therefore use quite large seed pieces with advantage. On
the other hand, the higher price of potatoes in spring rather than in
fall is an argument in favor of planting quarters rather than halves
or whole tubers. A number of investigators have noted that large seed
pieces (either large cuttings or entire potatoes) afford an earlier
crop than very small cuttings, a matter of much interest to growers of
early potatoes. However, some growers have reported that uncut potatoes
germinate more slowly than large cuttings. Most of those who raise
potatoes for the early market use large cuttings rather than whole
potatoes.
In this connection it may be said that the seed-end half gives an
earlier crop than the other half. This suggests the expediency of
cutting a potato lengthwise when halves or quarters are to be planted,
thus securing on each piece one or more of the eyes which germinate
first. Another advantage of cutting lengthwise is that it insures a
more even distribution of the eyes on the several pieces. Of course
this system is not practicable when very small cuttings are to be made
from long, slender potatoes, since the large amount of exposed surface
would render the long pieces susceptible to injury both from moisture
and dryness.
If it is desired to cut the potato into small pieces the operator
should begin at the stem end, and the pieces should be cut in a compact
shape, and of as nearly equal size as is practicable without leaving
any piece entirely devoid of eyes. There are special implements for
cutting potatoes, and their use is reported as enabling a man to cut
four or five times as many bushels of seed per day as by hand. The
character of the work is said to be satisfactory. No definite rule can
be given as to the best size of seed piece, for this depends somewhat
on the distance between the hills and on the character of the soil and
season. Another important factor in determining the proper amount of
seed is variety. Some varieties are able to produce a crop almost as
large from small cuttings as from large pieces.
_Size of Seed Tubers._--A study of more than a hundred experiments
testing the relative values of large, medium, and small uncut tubers
confirms the general law that an increase in the weight of seed planted
affords an increase in the total crop. The yield of salable potatoes
increases less rapidly than the total yield. With whole potatoes as
seed the salable yield reached its extreme upward limit in one test
when tubers weighing about half a pound were planted; in another when
those weighing 4-1/2 ounces were employed. The limit of profitable
increase was reached with tubers weighing 4-1/2 and 3 ounces
respectively. The size of seed tubers selected becomes a matter of
importance when they are to be cut, for we have seen that the heavier
the cutting the larger the total yield, and seed tubers for cutting
should be of such size that their halves, quarters, or other divisions
shall not be extremely small.
_Small Potatoes for Planting._--Whether or not to use uncut small
potatoes for seed is an important question on which farmers are
divided. Some present the plausible argument that the use of undersized
potatoes results in degeneration. If this claim is based on the results
of experience it should determine practice, but if the conclusion is
simply a generalization based on the fact that large seed usually give
best results the reasoning is defective, and the question remains
open. The potato tuber is not a seed, but an underground stem, and the
relations existing between seeds and their progeny do not necessarily
exist between a tuber and its descendants. Others hold that potatoes
just below marketable size, if shapely and sufficiently mature, may be
used without serious deterioration, and that for economic reasons their
use is especially desirable, because if not planted or used at home
they must be lost or fed to stock, for which purpose their value is
usually smaller than the market price.
The result of tests at a number of experiment stations have uniformly
indicated that small tubers uncut can be used for seed purposes without
detriment to the succeeding crop. It may still be urged, however, that
the choice of small seed year after year will result in degeneration.
On this question the information is meager, but two experiments,
extending over four and eight years, respectively, have been reported
in which no degeneration resulting from the continued use of small
potatoes from the preceding crop was apparent. Although the evidence
seems fairly conclusive that small uncut seed potatoes may sometimes
be used with profit, it cannot be advised that small seed tubers be
selected year after year from a crop which has been grown from small
potatoes. Potatoes of irregular shape and injured tubers should be
rejected as unfit for planting.
_Number of Eyes and Weight per Set._--Many potato growers cut tubers
into pieces containing one, two, or more eyes, laying greater stress
on the number of eyes than on the size of the cutting. Extensive
experiments at the Indiana station and elsewhere prove that of the two
factors, number of eyes and weight of piece, the latter is the more
important. Of course it is desirable that each piece, whether large
or small, should contain at least one eye, and it has been generally
profitable for it to be of such size as to contain at least several
eyes; but whether it has one or many eyes it is important that the seed
piece be heavy enough to furnish abundant nutriment to the shoots which
spring from it. A single eye may give rise to several stalks, for each
eye is a compound bud or cluster of buds. An eye can be bisected, and
each half may then grow successfully if it is not a victim to dryness
or decay, to which its exposed condition subjects it.
In one series of experiments it was found that the number of stalks
growing in a hill was less dependent on the number of eyes than on
the size of the seed piece, whether cut or entire. In general, as the
number of eyes per piece increased each eye became less prolific in
sending up stalks, so that there was less crowding of stalks where
large seed pieces with many eyes were used than would be expected from
the large number of eyes planted. After numerous experiments touching
on almost every aspect of this subject the investigator advised that
tubers be cut so as to make each piece of a constant size or weight,
whatever the number of eyes that might fall to its share.
_Cuttings per Hill._--A custom not uncommon among those who plant
small cuttings is to drop two pieces in each hill. They usually get a
larger yield by so doing than by planting single pieces, the increase
generally, though not always, being sufficient to pay for the excess of
seed. This does not prove the practice profitable, for better results
may be secured by planting a single piece weighing as much as the
combined weight of the two pieces which would have been dropped in one
hill. Thus the labor of cutting is considerably reduced and, what is
more important, larger pieces improve the chances of getting a good
stand in an unfavorable season, because they have less exposed surface
than two small pieces of equivalent weight, hence are less liable to
dry out excessively when drought follows planting. They are also better
able to resist rotting if wet weather prevails.
_Stalks per Hill._--The most common objection urged against planting
large seed pieces is, next to the expense, the danger of having the
hills so crowded with stalks, and consequently with tubers, that a
large proportion of the potatoes never develop to marketable size.
This objection is probably valid for entire tubers, and also for
halves planted very close in the row. The evidence available does not
permit us to conclude that in the case of quarters used as seed there
results any injurious crowding, and it may be questioned whether halves
give rise to this trouble when planted under favorable conditions
and at considerable distance apart. The number of stalks that can be
advantageously grown in each hill varies greatly with variety, season,
soil, and distance apart.
_Distance Between Plants._--In deciding on the proper distance at which
to plant potatoes it is necessary to take into consideration the size
of the seed piece that is to be employed. In general, small seed pieces
should be planted close and the distance allotted to each hill should
be greater as the weight of the piece is increased. Close planting
for small cuttings is best attained, not by narrowing the row to less
than about 2-1/2 or 3 feet (for if the distance is much less horse
cultivation becomes difficult), but by planting the seed pieces close
together in the row. To frame a general rule giving best distances for
seed pieces of different sizes is plainly impossible, for the distance
at which the largest yields is obtained depends also on the variety,
the season, the soil, and the fertilizers. However, the results of some
of the investigations covering this matter afford help in deciding
on the proper distance under varying conditions. It has been shown
that if very small cuttings are used, and if the soil is fertile, the
distance can be reduced to 6 or 9 inches without sacrificing the yield,
provided the season happens to be favorable, but this is not generally
advisable.
On rich soil cuttings of considerable size can be advantageously
planted as close as 12 inches. Checking effects a saving of labor in
cultivation, and also in planting and harvesting, when these latter
operations are performed by hand; hence expensive labor and the absence
of machines for planting and harvesting the crop are conditions in
favor of checking. For planting in checks a variety can be chosen which
makes a large growth of vines and which forms many tubers in each hill,
thus more completely utilizing the space at its disposal than could a
variety with small vines and few tubers. In checking there is danger
on rich soil that some of the tubers may grow to an objectionable
size. Potato growers in attempting to obtain a phenomenal yield, as in
contests for prizes, almost universally plant in drills rather than
in hills, and place the seed pieces from 8 to 15 inches apart. The
advocates of planting in drills claim that by this method a larger
yield can be obtained, and experience seems to confirm the correctness
of this view. The few experiments that have been made on this question
are not entirely conclusive, though the majority of them favor drills.
Although no fixed rule regarding distance of planting can be given, the
following general considerations are widely applicable:
(1) For maximum yield of salable potatoes plant in rows as narrow as
can be conveniently cultivated.
(2) Crowd small seed pieces close together in the row, increasing the
distance with every increase in the size of the seed piece; avoid on
the one hand such close planting as to greatly reduce the average
weight of the tubers, and on the other such wide spacing as to leave
any considerable portion of the soil unshaded by the full-grown vines.
(3) As a rule, the richer the land the less the required distance
between sets.
(4) Varieties with strong growth of vines or which set many tubers in a
hill should have greater distance between plants than is necessary with
less vigorous varieties.
_Cultivation._--Soon after planting, and again just as the young plants
are beginning to appear above ground, the field should be harrowed,
inclining the teeth of the harrow backward. This is a cheap method of
cultivation, since a wide space is covered. It is also effective in
destroying small weeds, in leveling the ridges left in planting, in
preventing the formation of a surface crust, and in keeping the land
covered with a mulch of dry earth, thus conserving moisture within
the soil below. Subsequent cultivation should be frequent so as to
accomplish these same ends. Almost any pattern of cultivator may be
used, provided it is made to do shallow work. However, if the ground
has become packed the first cultivation may be deeper. Experience and
exact experiments generally favor flat or nearly flat cultivation.
Excessive hilling during cultivation intensifies the injurious effects
of dry weather. It also results in breaking many of the feeding
roots between the rows. The frequent use of the cultivator should
be substituted as far as possible for hoeing. If a severe frost is
apprehended soon after the plants come up, the tops should be covered
by throwing a furrow to each row.
_Mulching._--While mulching with hay, straw, leaves, or other litter
frequently increases the yield and is specially valuable in tiding
over a season of drought, it is not generally practicable on farms
where potatoes are grown on a large scale. Its place is in the garden
rather than in the field. It is a substitute for cultivation, and it is
generally cheaper to maintain a soil mulch by frequent cultivation than
to apply litter. If a mulch is employed, it can be applied over the
entire surface or in the furrow above the seed pieces, or between the
rows. Mulching in the furrow is not commended by the results of tests
in Colorado, Louisiana, and Michigan. In striving for a large yield,
with little regard to cost, or to insure against drought, mulching is
useful.
Material intended to serve as a mulch should first be exposed to the
weather, so as to cause the sprouting of any seed it may contain. It
is better to apply a mulch after potato plants have made some growth,
as an earlier application may result in smothering some plants and in
injury from late frosts.
_Harvesting and Storing._--The death of the vines is the signal for
digging the main crop. For the early market potato growers do not
wait for this, but are governed by the size of the tubers. As long
as any portion of the vine is green the tubers can continue to grow.
In gardens very early potatoes are sometimes obtained by carefully
removing a few of the larger tubers from the growing plant, replacing
the soil and allowing the smaller potatoes to continue growing
("grabbing"). The large amount of labor required prohibits "grabbing"
except when early potatoes are selling at a price very much higher than
can be expected from the later crop.
In harvesting a large area a high-priced potato digger is frequently
used; hand digging with a four-tined fork is probably the best method
on small areas, though many make use of a potato hoe or of a plow.
Careful handling always pays, and extreme carefulness is necessary,
especially with the early crop, to prevent injury to the tender skin of
the immature potatoes. In harvesting, as well as in storage, potatoes
should be exposed to light as little as possible. In storing potatoes
a low temperature is required. The potato tuber is uninjured by a
temperature of 33° F., and one authority gives the freezing temperature
of potatoes 30.2° F. Warmth favors sprouting, which injures potatoes
both for planting and eating.
Most of the farmers have potato houses or cellars constructed for
storing their stock and holding the unsold portion of the crop through
even the coldest weather until they can market it. Some growers,
especially those near town, depend on the warehouses of the dealers
alongside the railroad tracks. The common type of storehouse on the
farm is a cellar walled up with concrete or stonework, about 8 or 9
feet deep, with a low wooden roof above it, giving a considerable
space for the storage of tools, barrels, etc., on the floor above the
cellar portion. These cellars are usually built on the side of a hill,
so that the potatoes are unloaded down through the floor in the fall
and taken out at a lower doorway during the winter.
[Illustration: _Photo by Verne Morton, Groton, N. Y._
THOROUGH CULTIVATION OF THE GROWING CROP IS AN ESSENTIAL OF SUCCESSFUL
POTATO RAISING]
_Grading._--The grading of early potatoes is quite as important as
the grading of fruits. Large and small tubers should not be mixed in
the same barrel. The pickers should be taught to gather the large and
merchantable tubers in one basket and the small or seed potatoes in
another, and these if placed upon the market should go in separate
receptacles and be clearly marked so as to represent the grade.
If a mechanical sorter is used this work will be more effectively
accomplished than if left to the pickers. The type of grader usually
used is similar to that employed in some sections for grading apples
and peaches, although the common type of potato grader is a rotary
screen which separates the earth from the tubers and allows the small
tubers to fall through the large meshes of the screen before reaching
the general outlet which carries away those of merchantable size. The
objection to a mechanical grader of this type is that it bruises the
immature tubers and renders them somewhat less attractive than when not
so handled and probably also shortens the length of time they can be
safely held on the market.
_Marketing._--The perishable nature of the immature potato renders
it necessary to place it upon the market in such quantities only as
will admit of immediate consumption. Producers in regions where the
growing of early potatoes has been extensively developed appreciate
this and have provided for this condition by organizing shippers'
associations through which the crop is graded, often trade-marked, and
distributed chiefly in carload lots. The officers of the association
being in constant telegraphic communication with the various markets
are thus informed regarding the most satisfactory destination for
every consignment which may be necessary. It is the purpose of these
associations, however, to conduct their business in such a way that the
product can be sold f. o. b. shipping point instead of by consignment,
and the best organized associations are usually able to do this.
The great advantage of such a system of selling is that it enables
the brokers in a small city or town to buy direct from the producer
instead of through another city broker. It enables the consumer to
obtain fresh products, as they are shipped direct from the point of
production to the place of consumption. The plan carries other benefits
which are of great moment to the producer. He is enabled to sell in
carload lots at shipping point, thus saving to himself the cost of
transportation, which ranges from 7 to 15 per cent of the gross selling
price. The exchange secures a much wider distribution of the crop,
with the result that overstocked markets are much less likely than
under the consignment system. Transportation companies provide better
service, and claims are more promptly settled through the exchange
than in the case of individuals. This plan enables the producer to be
his own salesman. It transfers the distributing point from the city
to the field, where it should be. It brings the market to the fields
instead of the product to the market. The exchange becomes the farmer's
commission house, and it is much easier to keep informed regarding the
transactions of a home association than of a foreign concern.
_Varieties._--The following are among the most widely known varieties:
_Early_, Early Ohio, Early Rose, Beauty of Hebron, and Triumph. _Medium
and late_, Burbank, Rural New Yorker No. 2, Empire State, Mammoth
Pearl, White Star, and Dakota Red. These are standard varieties, and
though not necessarily the best, they seem to have given general
satisfaction.
_Second-Crop Potatoes for Seed at the South._--Within recent years
there has been a marked increase in the use of second crop potatoes
for seed throughout the southern potato-growing sections. This crop
is frequently grown on the same land from which the first crop of
potatoes was harvested. In most instances, however, it follows
beans or cucumbers, as the seed for this second potato crop is not
usually planted until July or August. The seed for this crop is, as a
rule, saved from the early crop, the small tubers being stored in a
well-ventilated shed, where they are protected from the direct action
of the sun and from storms until about ten days or two weeks before
the time of planting, when they are spread thinly upon the ground and
lightly covered with straw or litter to partially protect them from
the sun. Under these conditions the tubers quickly "green" and all
those suitable for seed will develop sprouts. As soon as the sprouts
are visible, and before they are large enough to be rubbed off in
handling, the potatoes are ready to plant. The product of this planting
gives a crop of partially matured tubers which are held over winter
for spring planting. This practice gives excellent results in many
localities and is found to be more economical than the purchase of
northern-grown seed. To what extent it is safe to follow this practice
without renewing the seed from the North by the use of fully matured
tubers has not been determined. Those following the method should
carefully observe the quality and yield of the crop for the purpose of
determining whether or not it is deteriorating under this treatment.
In general, it is believed that it will be within the limits of good
practice to secure every second or third year enough northern-grown
seed to supply seed for the second crop; in fact, some of the most
successful growers of potatoes who use second-crop seed get enough
northern-grown seed each year to supply planting material for the
second crop. In this practice it will be economy to err on the side of
safety and obtain fresh seed frequently from reliable northern sources.
In a majority of instances it is found that second-crop home-grown seed
is slower to germinate and later in maturity than northern-grown seed,
and as quick development is an important element in the crop at the
South, growers are urged to consider this point carefully.
_Held-over Seed._--The consensus of opinion is that in southern
localities it is impracticable to keep early potatoes from harvest time
to the next season's planting period. The conclusions of those who have
given this problem careful study are that the exposure of the tubers
to the sun at harvest time is the chief factor in determining their
keeping qualities. In other words, it is possible to keep potatoes in
the extreme South from season to season provided the tubers are not
exposed to the sun after being dug. They should be immediately carried
to a protected place where there is ample ventilation and where they
will receive only diffused light, such as a cyclone or other cellar, or
the basement of a house, or even where brush protection will prevent
the sun shining directly upon them. It is, of course, necessary that
the tubers be well matured before being dug and that they be the
product of disease-free plants. Plants killed by blight yield tubers
which seldom keep well even under the most favorable conditions.
_Methods of Securing Extra-Early Potatoes._--One of the most important
factors having an influence on the profitableness of market garden
crops is that of earliness. A difference of two or three days or
a week in placing a crop on the market often makes the difference
between profit and loss, and the prices obtained for extra-early crops
have stimulated cultural experiments with every kind of fruit and
vegetables. Some interesting results along this line with potatoes
have recently been reported by the Kansas and Rhode Island stations.
At the Kansas Station seed tubers of four different varieties of
medium-sized potatoes were placed in shallow boxes with the seed ends
up in February. They were packed in sand, leaving the upper fourth of
the tubers exposed, and the boxes were placed in a room with rather
subdued light, having a temperature of 50° to 60° F. Vigorous sprouts
soon pushed from the exposed eyes. The whole potatoes were planted
in furrows in March in the same position they occupied in the boxes.
The same varieties of potatoes taken from a storage cellar were
planted in parallel rows. The sand-sprouted potatoes took the lead
from the start in vigor and strength of top and produced potatoes
the first of June, a week earlier than the storage-cellar potatoes.
At the final digging they showed better potatoes and gave a 10 per
cent larger total yield. In other experiments part of the potatoes
was treated the same as in the first test, except that the sand was
kept moistened, and the other part was placed in open boxes and kept
in a light room having a temperature of 50° F. The tubers placed in
sand developed strong sprouts and nearly all rooted. When planted in
the field they outstripped both the tubers sprouted in open boxes
and the storage-cellar tubers in vigor of growth. The tubers started
in the open boxes gave earlier yields than were obtained from the
storage-cellar tubers, but not as early as the tubers sprouted in moist
sand. The tubers sprouted in moist sand produced table potatoes from 7
to 10 days earlier than the storage-cellar seed.
At the Rhode Island Station medium-sized whole potatoes sprouted on
racks, in a fairly warm and light room, gave a 27 per cent better yield
at the first digging than potatoes kept in a cold cellar until planting
time; and this was increased to 40 per cent at the final digging. The
percentage of large tubers was also greater at each digging with the
sprouted tubers. The results of these experiments are suggestive. The
handling of seed potatoes in such manner as to secure strong, stocky
sprouts before the tubers are planted out is shown to be an important
factor in increasing both the earliness and the total yield of the
crop. By planting only well-sprouted seed, a full stand is assured.
One of the objections to this method of growing potatoes is the large
amount of space required for exposing the tubers to the light for
sprouting. This objection has been overcome in part by the use of trays
and racks. At the Rhode Island Station the rack used held 9 trays. Each
tray was 3-3/4 feet long and 1-1/2 feet wide, and would hold about 1
bushel of potatoes when spread out in a single layer for sprouting.
The bottoms of the trays were made of pieces of lath placed about 1
inch apart. Nine trays were placed in a rack over each other, leaving
about 9 inches of space between each tray. This method of arrangement
has the advantage of securing a very uniform distribution of light,
heat, and air for all the trays. It greatly facilitates the handling
of the potatoes and lessens the danger of breaking off the sprouts and
transferring to the field for planting.
Another method of securing early potatoes in Rhode Island on a
commercial scale is that of sprouting tubers in a cold frame and
planting out as soon as danger of frost is past. The tubers are cut
into pieces, not smaller than an English walnut, after rejecting the
two or three eyes nearest the stem end, which have been found to start
late. The pieces are placed side by side in the bed, skin side upward,
and covered about 4 inches deep with fine, rich earth. Their growth can
be controlled by proper regulation of the cold-frame sash. At planting
time the tubers, the sprouts of which should be just breaking the
surface of the soil, are carefully lifted with manure forks, separated
by hand, and placed in well-fertilized rows, and entirely covered with
soil; or, if danger of frost is past, they are placed with the apex of
the sprout just at the surface of the soil. About 216 square feet of
cold frame is required to sprout sufficient potatoes to plant an acre
in 30 to 32 inch rows, 12 inches apart. Eight men can transplant an
acre in a day.
On the Island of Jersey, where early potatoes are raised in large
quantities for the London market, the potatoes destined for seed are
placed side by side in shallow boxes and stored, as soon as cold
weather sets in, in a light and well-sheltered loft or shed, out of
danger of frost. The position of the boxes is changed from time to
time so that the sprouts will be of equal length and strength at the
planting season. Medium-sized tubers selected from the best of the crop
and allowed to lie in the field in the fall until they become greenish
are used.
_Potatoes on Western Irrigated Farms._--With thorough cultivation, for
potatoes planted the first of May, irrigation is seldom necessary until
July. Generally speaking irrigation water is cold and it is highly
important not to irrigate too frequently, since the water not only
causes the soil to run together but lowers the temperature to a point
that is not favorable to the growth of potatoes. Irrigation water is
applied only when the condition of the plants indicates that they are
in need of water, as by darkening of the foliage. Or one may dig down
in the hill and press a handful of soil in the hand; if it fails to
retain its form, irrigation is needed. Care should be taken not to wait
until the ground is too dry, because one can not cover the whole field
of potatoes in one day's irrigation, and some are likely to suffer for
water before being reached. Experience shows that if potatoes are grown
as rapidly as possible, so as to become strong and well established
early in the season, they withstand the maximum of unfavorable weather
conditions later on, when the hot dry winds becomes a menace to the
crop.
When the time for irrigation arrives, a V-shaped trench half-way
between the rows should be opened in alternate middles with an 8 or
10 inch lister plow; that is, a narrow plow with a double mold-board
which throws the dirt each way. In these furrows the irrigation water
is run so that the soil will not become solidified by flooding, and the
necessary amount of water may be properly distributed. For the second
irrigation furrows are opened in the middles that were not opened at
the first irrigation, and this alternation is continued for succeeding
irrigations. At the head of each field is a feeder ditch from which
the water is admitted to these irrigation furrows between the rows.
It is essential that the right quantity of water be used, and that it
be uniformly distributed. Cultivation should commence as soon after
irrigation as the soil will permit so as to insure rapid and uniform
growth without check. This will not only result in the production of
smooth, uniform tubers of attractive appearance, which are always in
demand at high prices, but will also result in large, profitable yields
and at the same time keep the soil in good mechanical condition for
future crops. Do not irrigate after August 10, so as to give fifty or
sixty days for ripening in dry earth.
There is no line of farming in the irrigated districts that gives
such marvelous profits as that of scientific potato production. With
scientific knowledge which can certainly be acquired by experiments in
supplying perfectly balanced plant food and maintaining soil fertility,
the scientific principles of which are similar to those used by every
successful breeder in feeding and fitting prize-winning stock; and
with the proper proportions of plant foods--phosphates, nitrogen, and
potash--in the soil as found in many parts of the West; and by the use
of clover and alfalfa, there is no reason for those who contemplate
engaging in the potato industry to fear the outcome. Too much stress
can not be put upon the value and importance of livestock in keeping
up favorable soil conditions, as no country now known has been
continuously successful in crop production without the use of manures
from the feeding of forage and grain crops.
_Varieties._--Years of experience have demonstrated that comparatively
few varieties of potatoes are really adapted to western or mountain
conditions. Among the early varieties none has been so universally
successful as the Early Ohio. This potato is of fine quality and
uniform in size and shape, though not a heavy yielder. Another
good potato, though not so early, is the Rose Seedling. For a
medium to late variety, the Dalmeny Challenge, a Scotch variety, is
being used quite extensively on the western slope of Colorado. For
later varieties, the White Pearl and Rural New York No. 2 are more
extensively used at Greeley, in the San Luis Valley, and in the
Uncompahgre Valley; and the Perfect Peachblow is the favorite in the
upper Grand Valley.