| Show DRY FARM POTATOES I 1 tubers known to yield as high as bushels per acre method of preparing land for crop will vary with different kinds of soil boll and season when task tack la Is performed by 11 II IF F PATTERSON montana A agricultural gri college that potatoes will grow and pro d duca uce a good crop on dry land has boea been proved d by tests at the different experiment peri Per ilOnt ment stations and by trials made biado by tho farmers potatoes upon dry land sod bod have been known to yield as an high na as bushels per acre not only do we got get a good crop but tho the soil boll la Is lott left in excellent physical condition for the following crop tho the method of preparing the boll boil tor for potatoes will of 0 course vary with tho different kinds of soil and the season in which tho tha land la is prepared esq bamo bomo fathers taj mers have had good results by by plowing and preparing tho the soil boll in the f fall 91 11 1 however low evor good results can be 0 obtained by spring preparation it tho the latter event tho sod eod should be plowed ai ao carty in the rho spring as tho the weather will permit and the ploy plow should bo be immediately ely followed with uio the disk affa roller ler this la Is for the purpose purpose of packing down ina anu ro oa 08 capillary attraction the water can thus coffie come up from below and aid in decaying the roots and or oi panic matter the depth should not bo be less ices than five inches it if we have our boll boil packed down it is oftentimes advisable to run over the land with a disk harrow barrow and later with a smooth ang harro w the disk harrow tonas lends io to 1 reak the clods and smooth down aba 1 twilia gs tho the har VOW raw makes the dust mulch and pra pro IU ovo oration 0 of the oil this is exceedingly valuable in all parts of the semiarid semi arid went it not only keeps in a good deal of moisture but also prevents the growth of weeds raw haw land that has been plowed in the spring in this manner until the following spring but the land Is summer bummer fallowed fallowes fall owed during that season beason this gives sufficient Bufu clent time for the organic matter to decay and also places the soil in good physical condition for the tha following crop the next spring when the tha ground Is an dry it Is re plowed to a depth of eight or nine inches followed immediately with the disk and the harrow not more than halt hall a gay day should elapse before the plow las ing and the disking or harr harrowing owing if moro more than this amount of time passes the surface will become lumpy and cloddy and as a result be very biffl cult to work there la is another danger that confronts the farmer at this season of the year and that la Is the of the soli soil the soil should not be worked when there Is a large amount of water in it As soon as aa tho the seed bed Is prepared we are ready to plant out potatoes the time that the potatoes should be placed in tho the soil will vary with tho the type of soil and locality it Is nearly always safe bate to put the seed in the ground as early as the method of planting Is usually about the same as that tor for corn tho the seed Is placed about 20 inches apart in the row and the rows about three feet six inches apart it Is covered to a depth of from two and one halt to tour four inches the tha rows are har bar rowed crosswise alter after planting and this ha rowing to Is kept up for ton ten or a dozen days or until the potatoes are too large then the cultivator is used during the remainder of the season the purpose of this harrowing and cultivation Is to prevent the evaporation of moisture and to destroy tho the weeds some farmers advocate cultivating every ten days or as often as the condition of the soil permits in our dry lang region we should not allow the surface of the soil eoll to bo become became crusted potatoes handled in this way nearly always produce a favorable crop however there may be a few factors that will interfere vi with th the production of ft a good crop in nearly all parts of the west the potato beetle causes a great deal of damage we need not experience much difficulty with this bug if we follow a rigid process of spraying the potato can be sprayed with A solution of parts paris green in the proportion of 0 about one pound bound of parts green to so gallons of water this will treat a large area of the potatoes in the tha application of this thin solution we should never place it upon the vines when were there Is danger of rain but it should hould be applied early in the morning alig of some bright clear day two or three crops of potatoes can be raised upon tho the same land insua in succession if we vie use care in our met method hod of soil preparation and in our seed selection the things to remember are to have good clean seed and to plant tillis this seed upon good clean well prepared soil BOIL |
