Suggestions to Potato Growers on Irrigated Lands by L. C. Corbett is a concise response to problems experienced by growers in western Nebraska and northeastern Colorado. The Bureau of Plant Industry issued it as Circular No. 90 on February 6, 1912.
Corbett, identified as a horticulturist, considers how preparation of the land, the timing of water, the seed supply and the sequence of crops can influence the success of potatoes on irrigated ground. The circular is organized around a particular regional difficulty and a set of proposed improvements.
A difficult season as the starting point
The introduction refers to the troubles of the preceding year. A later section describes the hot, dry conditions of 1911 and the interruption of plant growth before irrigation was supplied.
Corbett connects those interruptions with the subsequent condition of the crop. His argument is that a plant weakened early in the season may respond poorly when water finally arrives, particularly when disease is also present.
This gives the publication a different emphasis from a general planting manual. It asks how several parts of a growing system interacted during a difficult season and what might be changed before the next one.
Preparing the land before planting
The soil-preparation section calls for a deep, thoroughly worked seed bed. It discusses turning under a preparatory crop such as clover or alfalfa in autumn and preparing the surface again in spring.
Water before planting is an important part of the discussion. Corbett distinguishes dry ground that needs prior irrigation from land carrying enough moisture after winter and spring precipitation.
The practical interest is in sequence: preparing ground, supplying moisture and planting are treated as connected decisions. The author is concerned with getting plants into sustained growth rather than repeatedly interrupting their progress.
Furrows, ridges and cultivation
The method-of-irrigation section describes narrow, deep furrows between broad ridges. It favors a small stream applied for a longer period over a large flow for a short period.
Successive irrigations are directed through alternate middles. Cultivation follows when soil conditions allow. Later in the season, water is withheld so that the crop can mature in ground suited to harvesting.
The account also considers treatment of the field after harvest and its condition over winter. These recommendations belong to the author’s early twentieth-century regional practice; the circular’s calendar and field operations need to be read in that setting.
Planting stock and a modified rotation
The seed section proposes a separate seed patch. Corbett discusses growing newly introduced stock locally before using it for the main crop, connecting the choice of planting material with experience under local conditions.
Rotation receives a more extended argument. Rather than always following a legume directly with potatoes, he considers placing a cereal crop between them, particularly on retentive irrigated soils.
This proposed modification is one of the circular’s most useful historical points. It shows an agricultural adviser reconsidering a familiar rotation in response to field observations, rather than treating one sequence as suitable everywhere.
Reading this short reference
A final summary brings the discussion back to soil preparation, water management, clean stock and continuous plant growth. The document is brief enough to read as a single argument.
This free ebook suits readers studying western irrigation farming, potato culture and the history of extension advice. The PDF has eight digital pages, including blank leaves, the original title page, bureau information and four pages of practical discussion. The aged scan retains library markings and small type; enlargement helps with headings and the imprint.
Book details
- Author: L. C. Corbett
- Publisher: United States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry; Government Printing Office, Washington
- Year: 1912
- Edition: Bureau of Plant Industry Circular No. 90; issued February 6, 1912
- Digital length: 8 PDF pages
- Language: English
- File size: 0.44 MB
