The Tiffin tribune. [volume] (Tiffin, Ohio) 1848-1859, 1859-02-18
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w 70 Have Good Potatoes


FRin0D HARnIs --If tho farmers thai
seemed 90 feel so we'll over theft potato
crops a year ago In writing their accounts
for Che same crop in 1858, how viii theft
account stand compared with 1852 !
am viking to submit my account The
weather was 20 wet al last spring, that
could neither SOW nor plant with much
prospect Of success, and SO held back until
about the middle Of the mounth, when a
few days Of fair weatherd dried my ground,
so that commenced blowing Tor corn ;
got part Of it planted when q drenohing
ram drove me from the field. Then wal.
tod Cor il 10 dry OF again, and finished
planting corn on the 2dlh Of tho month
and plowed for potatoes and began TO plant
on She 25th Of The month, Of the South
American variety, OF called by some che
Chill potato.
We planted an acre and half Of that
variety, aud hale an acre Of Rocky Noun
tiu, Scotch Grey, Blue Meshanocand Mex
icans, cultivated H. alike. Part Of the soil
was yellow clay loam, pretty we'll masured
broken the year before from pasture sod
with double Michigan plow, Q OF 10 inches
deep, aud cultivated In corn. We planted
six busholsof potatoes 10 the acre after this
manner We cut them 80 as 10 leave but
one o. two eyes 70 a piece, and dropped
the pieces about five inches apart 10 tho
furrow made by a one horse cast plow /;
and when dropped, turned the furrow back
upon the seed so dropped, and the planl-
ing was done. Wooompleted the planting
Of said two acres, Goth Of the month Of
course, so late that wo could not expect
much Of a crop.
Ihavo learned, by experience, that warm
wet weather, after potatoes are planted, is
vory fatal to tho seed aud young plants
and that fufrow along side Of the row has
a tendency to keep the seed dry and in
growing order, Hence oonte0d that a
plow is the right tool to cover potatoes
with and In level country the rows
should be run from upper TO lower side Of
the fold SO that all surplus water can
easily escape.
When The young plants we're large
enough, we worked thom through twice
in row with a ono horse harrow and dou-
bic shovel plow. Aflora few weeks they
were worked twice 10 a row with the ono
horse plow and double shovel, with lie
Gle hand pulling Of weeds, completed the
cultivation. The South American gave
agood yield for any season, We moasur-
ed OF half acre. and dug from il 1901
bushels Of large nice potatoes, that were
worth rs cents per bushol, amounting to
nearly 500, as the product Of one.halt |
acre. The cost Of cultivation was not
s5, including digging, DO, as We rolled
them up with q plow.-This half acre
was the yellow clay loam.--rhe black
loan did not produce 80 well. but the
South Americans all mado good yield. |
Tho other varieties in comparison did !
nothing-didn't pay rent for the ground.
am satisfied that there Is nothing in
the size Of the potato for seod-whother
large or small---whelhor tho eye is taken
from the body Of the potato or from the
seed end, rs somo call it, or whether
large pioce Of the potato is cut out. ia CON
nootion with the eye, OF very small
piece but Il nearly all depends upon the
season and the cultivation, 10 guard A.
gainst excessive wet or severe drouth.
A furrow each side Of tho row, in deep
pulverizod, productive soil, Is tho best
protection against drouth, And use the
Chillis or South American for seed, and
plant as carly % tho season win admit,
and success viii bo almost certain.
JOSEPH MOSHER.
Mt. GILEAD, lst No 9th, 1859,