Delaware Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1843-1874, 1866-05-10
AGRIC U L T q R E,


EIOm tu0 0ormhutoWu AoioEfbpps
PLAssixa PorAross.-Ia q late number Of
the Tslsgreph notice an article on potatoes,
and the kind Of seed and the mode Of planting
and cannot but believe that the writer ba'
"struck the right trail" In the selection Of hts
seed.
Many OF our farmers plant medium sized
aud many email potatoes, but arc very careful
to select none but large, sound and ripe ears
Of corn for seed, and will SOW none but ripe,
plump wheat, oats or barley. Why should it
be that small, imperfect and unrlpe potatoes
will do for seed and not the same quality OF
corn, oats, or whest7 We would suppose that
the same rule would apply as well to the one
as TO the other. Small potatoes are small be-
cause they are snripe and have net had time
to perfect their growth, and hence II We apply
the same rule to them which we apply to our
grain crops, they are certainly urRt for use.
But supposing that their not being perfect
and being unripe does not prevent their use
for seed, even then 1: 10 not economical to use
them, for several careful experiments have
clearly demonstrated that the extra quality
and quantity of the crop from large seed will
more than pay for the difference 10 the guam
tity and quality Of the seed. Why then use
small ones2
II notorious that for some cause our po-
tato CROPS have been deteriorating beth 10
quantity aud quality for the last ten years, and
all farmers who use small seed find 1t abso'
Iutely necessary to buy new seed every three
or tour years. Now in nine cases out OF ter
they buy their seed again and again from those
who use small potatoes for seed, and yet they
are benefited by the change. How can this b'
and not controvert the theory that small pota
,, toes will not do for seedf The answer Is plain
, Suppose my neighbor, who has psed small pc
I tatoes for seed until his whole crop is simila
to his seed, comes to me, who have been il
the same practice, though not so long, for new
, seed; does be take my small potatoesf NO
he-he wants good marketable potatoes, AM
of course takes none but good ones, and ma
dispose Of the small ones best as can.
: then makes one step In Improvement, an
plants at least some large potatoes, aud
pleased with the result, but does net attribut
il to the right cause: he says it 10 owing to
change of seed. This will admit, but not
Z change from his potatoes to mine, but becaus
a of a change from small to large seed. Ha
= he planted the very best Of his own every yea
"a he would never have had cause 70 change hi
:. seed, but would have had as good as be coul
NJ desire.
Now all the fault have with your correi
~ pondeut 10 that be doet not 60 far enough IL
- me; his farthest IL to plant large potatoes CT
~ into two pieces one piece every three ieet.
y say, plant a whole potates, hs sargeat you ca
~ get, every three or better tour feet, and no
- the result. But says the man of"small pot
~ toes" it would take whole crop for see
% It Is true II would require about thirty bushe
per acre for seed, but By doing 30 we CT
r raise from seventy to seventy five bushe
~ more per acre. that is BY putting fifteen bus
~ ella more seed we can Increase the crop fro
~ sixty to seventy Ave bushels per acre, and ha
,rs much better potatoes too.
le MANY Of our farmers also make anoth
~ great mistake 10 cultivating potatoes. TIL
" put in too many-that is, plant too ma
"a acres. Ifinstead Of putting in two acres til
~ would pillow up but oae acre aud let the tes
~. 20 twics 10 the same furrow (once with I
an pillow and once with the subsoil plow,) and
~ Instead of applying one thousand pounds
~ phosphate Tor its equivalent in mnnure) to
"a acres, let it all he put on Que, ana my word
- it more potatoes will be raised on the acre
w the condensed method, than the two WOO
'sA have produced 10y the other plan.
-, | last year subsolsd my patch to the del
W. (aftor furrow had been turned eff of ter
nv twelve inches, 90 that the whole soil was th
a., oughly stirred fer about eighteen inches de
. and consider that l. paid me we'll for the ex
,hs labor in subsoiliug, for the part which was
SUBSIDIZED gave but one-feurth as many pc
,ha toes as the subsoiled plot, acre for acre.
onU pair of horsee attac he'd to q cast steel MAJ
'n,a subsoil, about kept up to pair Of last WI
~, ing oxen attached tn q common pillow turn
~ off the furrow out Of tile way Of the subsoi
oan This year propose to plant several &C
""" but will not cut any Of the potatoes into IN
, d than tive pieces. The very largest from
a to four iaches long will cut in two as recC
= mended by your correspondent, but the ott
: shall plant whole, though expect to pl
. : one acre with the largest seed, not less u
n four inches long, one potAtoe ia place ev
3 three feet of row, and top dress well v
phosphate of lime and posdretie.
As oousie "otn ~ ~. ~ 80 WI -,
tnI ieeuiv ''' 'N' ''aeA' VI '"' $3.50,