Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1855-04-27
A CIR | Gu L TU RAL
tFrom the Lafayette trndiana) Courier, April ~
Another Mode of Planting pot,,oes


For two years we have been irving to in
duce some of our readers to try an exneri.
ment IN the cultivation of potatoes, but
whether we have been successful or not ,re
nave no means of knowing. as no person bas
reported progress. There is no crop that hos
paid so we'll the past season as potatoes and
there IS no crop so certain or so easily raised
Potatoes have been a legal tender in this
market ever since free bank money began to
depreciate. at one dollar and fifty cents n
bushel. There is no crop that NAV be raised
80 easilyas potatoes, nor one that can be-
raised more proftnbly. With the hone that
some of the readers of the Courier NAV be in
ouced to try the experiment the coming sea-
son, and report the results, we again publish
the plan for raising this indispensable vegc-
table.
Let the farmer or gardener select some re-
fuse lot, or part of lot, of sod ground Do
not plough it, but when planting time comes.
say between the 10th of May and the 1st of
the said ground, from y 'fS 1S1nthss- Tbaree
using about the same amount, or perhaps n
little more seed than is used in the ordinary
way of planting. Cover the ground thus
sown with coarse straw, corn stalks, leaves,
or any other refuse matter of the kind. to n
depth of to 10 inches-just enough to kill
the grass and prevent it growing, The
potato vines will find their way through thi.
covering WITHOUT ullHCully, ana lOrln Il mat,
which will prevent the straw or other cover
ing from being blown OFF by the wind. Pota-
toes planted in this way will need no plowIng
or hoeing. In the fall, when the vines are
killed with frost, take strong rake and un-
cover the potatoes, which will he found cover
ing the ground, large dry and clean enough
for the dinner kettle, without washing The
ground will be found to have lost none of Its
virtue, but WILL in fact, be enriched hv the
prOCeeg The laDUI praenribei II will te
seeh, IS much less than will bo required by
the old method of ploughing. planting, hoe
ing and digging. The result will he. in nine
out OF ten, much larger crop of much nicer
potatoes-and what is better still, they will
not be subject to the rot
| Almost every farmer has stacks Of straw
which have been run over bv his stock during
the winter, and which is of no use except for
this purpose. Why not, at least try this
simple experiment Its cost is tri1ing, ex-
cept for the seed.
Farmers of Tippcanoe, how many of you
will give the experiment fair trial-mea-
sure your ground, and report the result for
the information of the rest OF the readers Of
the Courier Select two spots of ground i YOU
choose--one wet and the other dry-so as to
meet the season. If the season should be
dry, your wet ground will be more likely to
succeed if the season be wet, your dry ground
will produce the best. Several farmers and
gardeners promised to try the experiment
last year, but we have heard Of none that
did So For your encouragement we will
state that we have ourself raised at the rate
of over nine hundred bushels of potatoes to
the acre, by this simple method A big story
but true Notwithstanding. If this table
vegetable should command the price of the
past winter, we presume our farmer readers
would be satisfied with one-third of that
amount, and make more money at that than
by raising corn.