Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1869-04-06
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the & erIna pioNh 4
xuarimeatg IN Cult igating the Potato.
owing If iudiAsposiliiob, i .Bnuve not regp-
1srly reported the proceedings Of our little
) club this. winter IF able viii W and do
more at intie couple ofsmontbs LETT to our
siTT;nter session p The question WHICH came
mn at the last meeting was thatPf the Po-
tsto. lust now regarded as, among the most 7
Interesting. There was nothing said upon
tbe varieties of the potato, because the opin-
ions are so completely diverse, One variety \
viii, produce the most aud best upon.one farm,
and another variety most aud best upon an
adjoining farm. &c.
The first member who spoke, considered
that potatoes were our most profitable field
.croo. Ia fact which our farmers are but Just
finding out.) He annually planted an acre
IN the following manner we selected one acre
of good stiff sodYin the field we intended for
: .co-n and applied to it from twelve to fifteen
loads of long barnyard manure, which was
snTead in the usual manner. When ready
10 plant we plowed twice around the patch,
and after raking the manure into furrow,
with a large rake made for the purpose We
laid the cuttings or sets on the manure close
to the unturnsd earth, so that they might
come up through the crevice between the
burrows; we then carefully turned furrow
down on them and plowed two moro rounds,
then raked in the manure and proceeded as
before We always selected good sound DO
tntoes about the size Of an egg, and cut them
in 'two. and used from ten to twelve bushels
of seed per acre.
The next member who gave an opinion
usually planted from threc-quarters of an acre
to one acre and used the largest of his pota-
toes for seed. and cut them so as to have at
least two eyes in each pcice; never used more
than ten bushels of seed for an acre. His
place for planting was where he had corn the
year before, and after applying about ten loads
of manure per acre he plowed the potatoes
in every third furrow in the same manner as
the member who spoke first. He had tried
both METHODS but preferred the one which
he now practices. In both of these plans
the potatoes are removed in time to give place
to crop of wheat without any extra manure,
and always produced fine crop.
Another member plants in last years corn
field. but pIows the ground well in the fall,
and in the spring strikes ont burrows three
feet apart. and after placing his manure in,
then laws his sets cut side dorm on the ma
nurc and covers them with board drawn di-
agonnaiIy to the furrows which are about six
inches in depth. Uses seed about the size of
hens egg. and smaller, at the rate Of about
ten bushels per acre; cuts the large ones in
two and if much smaller than a hens egg.
plants whole. Last year he tried two rows,
one planted with the largest potatoes cut SO
as to have three eyes in a set or piece, and
the other with his smallest potatoes, (none
more than an inch in di8metcr) both at the
same depth and in the same manner, and could
detect no difference in the yield, nor could his
hired man. who did not know of the differ
eBce in seed. Tie had found it beneficial to
roll the cut sets in gypsum before planting
AMI applied uuieached wood ashes to the rows
as soon as the plants were up this he thought
kept the weeds from getting start.
He kept his potatoes through the winter in
a large corcred bin in the cellar; this bin
would hold about two hundred bushels, and
was so constructed that the bottom and sides
we're about six inches from the floor aud
walls.
He had found from experience that pota-
toes would keep better if no light could reach
them. One year he had more than his bin
would hold, and threw the remainder into one
corner of another cellar where they frOze
solid; as soon as this was discovered they
were we'll covered up with old clothes, car
pets, &c and came out in the spring as sound
ms if they had not been frozen, Int u small
portion planted for experiment dill not gro,g.
Another member had perimented in the
size of the seed and manner of planting, and
came to the conclusion that it was most pro-
fitablc to use medium sized potatoes cut in
four pieces and placed eight or ten inches
apart in the furrow. lie had tried large ones
cut in two and in four, and with but two eyes
in a piece; with medium ones cut in
two. and planted whole and with small ones
planted without cutting and could detect lit.
tie difference in the yield. In each case the
distance aDart ut which the sets were rlaced
depended upon the number Of eyes which
they contained. lie considers that en- eye
will produce a good stalk no matter whether
it comes from large mcdium-sze, or n small.
potato thinks that a cutting should always
be governed by the number of eyes and not
by guess, as he has found potates of the size
OF hens egg with but two eyes, and others
OF the same sizc with more than dozen. lie
thinks that one stalk every eight inches is
enough and if he plant more than two eyes
70 this distance we will have too many stalks
to produce well; but to insure plant he pre-
fers 10 plant at least tw- eyes in place and
eight or ten inches assunder.
Another member had applied various top
dressing to his potatoes with varied effect
Had used plaster, ashes, the two mixed, salt
salt and ashes, salt and lime, and salt, ashes
and lime and in point of economy preferred
the latter. lie used five bushels of salt ten
Of lime and ashes, for an acre, and applied to !
the hills by hand.
lie always buried his potatoes in the field
or some other convenient place, in long, mar
row mounds. taking care never to get the DO |
tatocs more than four feet thick, and to leave
openings in the mound until cold weather |
had set in. lie finds it economical to plant |
pumpkins in the rows among the potatoes.
the only Oli;sC.iou heinz that the vines arc