The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1858-05-01
Culture of tho Potato,
ruE oSEEyE sysuM

il would occupy my whole time 10 do 30, /
. shall now explain an that may have been
omitted Ia that article, Aly reason for not
going into particulars was that had last
year Wol 0, p, 3O1 and 1ll1 written an
article on the one eye system, which | pub
/ lished 10 contradict statement made la
previous number that cut potatoes would
not do, and that I'LL who wanted good potatoes
Should plant potatoc weighing 80 many
ounces, This rather touched me, and / gave
my practice.
have been asked "why" adopted the
onc-cye system, | had a. one time q field of
early potatoes, when At the later end Of May
We had,a very severe frost, at which time
my potato stems were four and five inches
high. The sets were cut three eyes 20 each
the frost cut them completely oGi then con-
cludcd 10 SOW with turnipa In ten days
altorvardy one stem appeared 10 each set,
and quite regularly IN the drills ! then de-
/ tcrmincd to lct them remain and see the re-
suit, and found them when digging to be
/ the hest crop had ever raised This was
conclusive evidence to me that one eye was
better than three aud the potatoes were m
| much cycncr sire than any had ever
grown. Since then have grown altogether
I on the ouo-cyc system on all soils II will he
sctn that have taken premiums on my po-
tatocs ot other Societies than ours, hy refer
cncc to last years article, II has been said
that our land /, suited to the potato, and so
my fine crops. Such is not the cnsc Ours
is not potato soil, and as to a fine crop, l.
do not consider It such. have seen land
in this and other States, on which could
double Il, shall not be surprised 70 hear
Of some Of your readers turning out next
fall four hundred bushels Of Prince Albert
potatoes" to the acre, on the one eye system :
but then If thty wish this, they must make
mp their minds whether they intend growing
weeds or potatoes. 10 grow potatoes we'll
YOU must uoi 1T q weed bc seen. Keep
your ground stirred harrow, plow cultivate
until they come into bloom then use no
tools among them, If you keep them proper
, ly cultivated mp to that time, they will not
require hand wedding when in this stage il
YOU do not do this, you need not expect a
as at this stage the ubcrs set, and hy work
ing thcm you detcrionte their growth ma
tcrally
My object in cutting the potato (cvplniucd
, in last years orticlc,) o month before plant
ing, and mixing with hot lime, is 10 dry up
the cuts, which it viii do and shrivel them
completely up, "a good sign.) When planted
81, II,
- see your eye bursting nice blue top, The
3 set huiHg cdHFicttly dry, there is no danger
of their rotting in the grounds whereas if
!. put in the ground as soon as cut, they lay
dormant until this cut heals, and in wet
weather they are liable to rot. Another
$ reasons Before planting you see your eyes
S bursting and you'nccd plant only such as are
good Youowil then have no vacancies in
b your drills. BY cutting so FAR ahead YOU sci
= them earlier, the moment You cut them Is
i like planting themi they commence growing
r the moment you mix them with lime where
as if planted at that time, the ground being
= cold and wet, they would be likely to rot
When YOU have them cut YOU need not care
being a week behind or before in planting
- One thing must be observed when they ar,
|. cut, that is, they must not be put into dark
3; hot cellar Place them where they will hav,
plenty Of light, and if there is any danger of
frost at night, cover them over, Ucmoving il
day timc) Ifploccd in cellar they CON
mcncc to burst their eyes, and not having
light they will be white and rrindly, com
a -+ptUrCty drawn and good for nothing. BY he
n ing in a gnrret or some such place, they hurs
o strong. Let it not be- supposed that if tn,
. eye should be broken off the set is lost. If
q, kept dry it twillmmndiately throw out nnothe
c sprout.
To cut potato to advantage, requires
1t little practice. Hold your potato in YOU
v left hand cut the root end completely of, n
the eve hy the root should never be planted
- it only produces small and watcry potatoes
Is Then the top of your potato (wherc there ar
lc n cluster Of eycs) will in general be fiat
:. when properly cut those you cut in singl
~ eyes, and YOU should be careful and keep al
~ Of those separate from your other cuts, a
N those should be planted by themselves, n
I'd they will ripen their tubers from n week to
,e fortnight earlier than the rest.
is have grown most OF the potatoes at pre-
O. sent in cultivation, and | said in my articl
I'd last. wear that the Prince Albert potato wa
our best In brief notice from the IN.
SIS Tribune" in a recent number ofthc "Countr
I'd Gentleman (p. 25i) it is called an early pc
re tato. To inquiries to me on this ponit,
- could not answer net having tried them a
RS such, hut can say il is good late one.
m AS to fiat culture and high carthng, bot
e are best 1t will be seen by my last year
! "artcle," that grew them on level surfac
n, without any eorthing. This year grew ther
10 in drills, well cnrthed up. The quality o
mr. tho soil vou ;ptend IN groyr o, must also h