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Show L a, 1 . I'otato lirowlng Profitable. There is probably no farm crop in which inexporienced farmers suffer greater disappointments than in potatoes. pota-toes. They read in tho papers of large yields, and observing that the market price is high, a groat many rush into the business, and of course overdo it This is cause number one. Potato culture cul-ture in these times requires a great fund of practical experience. It also requires tho man who begins it to be prompt with every demand, whether it be in cultivation, in bug poisoning, and in lato years in spraying the vines to prevent mildew and blight, which uro the usual causes of rotting of the crop. It is no wonder with so many things to attend to that somo are neglected. neg-lected. Hence potatoes aro commonly deemed a precarious crop. Acvidents of season exceptcyl, they need not be. We believe it possible every" year' to grow potato crops that will pay larger profit than any grain crop, provided the proper conditions are fulfilled. In the first place, the farmer who would grow potatoes extensively must be near a market, by which we mean a good shipping station, where thero is enough competition to insure fair prices. Farmers who are within three or four miles of freight cars can draw two und sometimes three loads per day. When tho distance is so far that only one loud per day can be drawn. It adds heavily to the expense of marketing, mar-keting, and requires a high price to make the crop pay. This high prico cannot always bo depended on. Every few years the f.otalo market Is liable to be glutted, and only those who keep cxponsos down so as to be able to market cheaply can como out without loss. Am. Cultivator. |