Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1848-03-10
agricultural.
Culture Of the Potato.

EDIToRs OF THE CULrIvAToR-Ther
have been thousand and one attempts [,
explain the cause or causes OF the potat,
rot, and as many remedies suggested, mos
OF which, in whole or in part, appear 10 b,
unsatisfactory.
am not about TO theoriso upon this sub
iect, but shall simply deal in matters Of fact
as they occur under my management of thi.
crop on my soil, leaving the reader TO Judge
for himself whether the same management
would be attended with like success with
him.
There is one system Of management BY
which have thus far never failed Of rails
ing fine, mealy and sound potatoes, tina
keep well the season round. select
piece Of green sward land, Of sandy or gray
ely soil, that has never been subjected to
course Of manuring aud cropping; "a piece
Of pasture land is best, and il it never bore
crop of potatoes il is still better y and
plant il as early as possible to potatoes one
year, without manure. A table spoonful
OF plaster, or handful Of unleached ashes,
or a mixture Of both, put into the hill at
planting time, will well repay the expense
1t imparts considerable vigor TO the growth
. of the crop in the fore part Of the season,
and also increases the yield somewhat. 1t
will be observed that do not prescribe this
application in the shape of nostrum, to
prevent the rot, for it is my impression that
applied or not applied, is all the same as to
the soundness of the crop.
In digging them in the fall, am careful
to dig when the land is toleraby dry, and
there is a prospect OF fair sunshine. They
are dug out Of the ground in the forenoon,
and lay scattered about TO dry in the sun
ill two or three o'clock in the afternoon, so
that no moist dirt shall adhere to them, for
find that potatoes put into the cellar in a
damp state, are much more likely 10 rot
than those which are put in dry. also de-
lay digging them as long as possible, bnt by
no means so long as to encounter a hard
freeze by which the potatoes are affected,
for in that case they will surely rot. The
bottom Of my potato bin is made Of plank,
raised up the thickness Of slit work from
the bottom Of the cellar, and the sides of
narrow pieces of boards, not quite tight TO.
gelher, which admits Of circulation of air
on all sides. The hin should not be more
than three or four feet wide for the same
reason. Potatoes keep best in my cellar
not to touch the bottom or the walls on the
side, as dampness is impaired TO them from
both these causes For this reason the
pack side and ends Of the bin should be Of
boards as well as the front and bottom
Every clear, cool morning, until the ireez.
ing weather oil winter sets in, the cellar |
doors are opened two or three hours for
ventilation. A thing which should always
be practiced where considerable quantity
oil vegetables are stored away.
1t is true that potatoes will not yield 4,
3, or 600 bushels to the acre, on land of
moderate fertility, without manure; but /
get 100 to 200 bushels Of excellent quality,
and by using care in gathering and storing
Them, they keep well through The season.
The first year that the potato rot made
lis appearance in this section, | planted
three rows wide Of potatoes around a corn
field OF eight acres, for the purpose of turn
ing the horse more conveniently in working
among the corn. The field was little
broken in surface, and embraced several
qualities Of loan, some rather coarse grav-
ely spots, some more sandy, and some,
through the holows, rather compact and
fine-grained. had the curiosity to mark
the result upon these three rows Of potatoes
through the season. The vines blasted and
died off early in the season, where the rows
encountered the compact and moist soil in
the hollows, while those on the gravelly and
sandy spots held green and thrifty, and in
harvesting were found TO yield more in guam
tiiy and better in quality, than in the hol-
lows, and more fertile parts of the field
The result was entirely at variance with all
my former experience in growing this crop.
had previously always selected such kind
Of soils as these rich and moist, but not
wet, holows, obtaining from them large
yield and good quality of potatoes.
Last spring planted two bushels of my
table potatoes in the kitchen garden, which |
had been heavily MANFRED, partly by way Of
experiment. and partly because | had no
particular use for the land In digging
them this Fall found, as expected, moi
one quarter of them sound, while seed DO.
tatoes taken from the same bin, and planted
on piece OF pasture land, without manure.
where my main crop grew, gave me re-
turn Of perfectly sound potatoes. leave
your readers to draw their own conclusions.
whether or not these two cases which
have given, go TO substantate the method
OF growing this crop which have recon.
mended F. Hotspoor
Braftieboro. Noe. 25, ls47.