Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1869-03-24
for the farmer.
erowing of the Potato From Cuttings

Peter Henderson, of New Jersey, writes
to the American Agricult,rist as follows: A.
bout the first of April l stepped into the
store of B. K. Bliss & Son, and innocently
asked for ten pounds of the Early Rose Po-
tato, which he had offered in his advertise
ment at the modest price of 81 per pound.
Mr.. b. informed me with all suavity that
he could not let me have ten pounds, but
would there he looked patronzingly,) let
me have half that quantity. l had agreed
to let friend have FIVE pound of this ia
nous Potato, and had intended the other
five pounds for my own planting, but being
the possessor of only ten dollars worth Is
pounds, of course handed them over to
my friend, who had deputed me to buy He
in turn handed me back one of the precious
tubers-weighing exactly o., which he re-
quested me to ''experiment" with Now,
whether it was the patronizing manner of
my luxurious rival, or whether it was the
suspicion of a covert joke made by my friend
when he handed me the small potato to ex-
pertinent with, do not know, but an ex-
pertinent was begun. | cut this o. pota-
to IN two pieces, so that each surface would
present the greatest number of eyes. /
then placed them on the soil of one of our
green house benches, keeping them entirely
dry, until the cut part had healed over, and
the shoots began to start from the eye-the
temperature of the green house averaging
perhaps 20 degrees. As soon as the shoots
got to be four or FIVE inches in length, they
were cut off, about of an inch from the
surface of the potato, or far enough off so
as not to iDjure the latent eyes that were yet
to start The cuttings were then placed in
the propagating house, and shaded and wa
tered until rooted in the usual way They
were then potted in inch pots, in rich soil, |
and started to grow in the same tempera- |
ture In which the potato had been placed. |
As the season advanced, shoots in great |
numbers were thrown out by the potato, |
which in turn were submitted to the same
process of shooting. As the first shoots |
grew to lengths of 7 or inches, the tops |
were cut from these and used as cuttings
so that by the first of June this small pota
to of OF had given me nearly l50 plants, ,ev-
cry one of which was equal to set made |
from tuber. These were planted out in |
the first week of June, in land very i'll suited |
for the growth of the potato, and the crop,
when dug in September, weighed exactly |
450 pounds, or an increase of about 1900 |
fold
1t may be questioned if this process is of
any practical value or whether it will pay
1t is not claimed that there is any use in the
practice if potatoes are being sold at the Or
dlnary rates even yet paid for the Early
Rose, there is no doubt whatever of the
utility. For example, ID. of potatoes so
grown will easily produce 500 plants, making
500 hills, which, with ordinary culture, will
give lbs. per hill or 1900 lbs Now the
process of propagation is neither difficult
nor costly, and can be done just as we'll in
Common hot-bed as in our estappointed
green houses ;Ethe ordinary hot bed SASH
feet by 6, will hold 500 plants, if placed
IN the soil of the hot bed exactly as Lettuce
or Cabbage plants are pricked out, are treat
ed much IN the same way by carefully shad-
ing and watering until the cuttings have
rooted These in turn, as they grow make
other cuttings from the top, as before de-
scribed. If the variety is very scarce the
crop may still be farther increased by tax
ing cuttings from the plants after they have
made growth of the field Without re-
sorting to the glass propagation at all, po-
tato crop may be doubled or trebled IN
quantity by Slipping" the shoots, and
planting them out at once if there is a con-
tinuance of rainy weather for two or three
days at time; it should be donein June
The thinning out of shoots from the regular
planting will do no more injury TO the plants
than the thinning out of hill of cncumbers
or melons would. 1t is not claimed that the
growing of potatoes from cuttings is new
In fact, 1t may be doubted if there is much
new In either Horticulture or Agriculture
processes that are suggested to us by circum-
stances to-day may have been practised by
others century ago, and ii published to the
world at ALL have long since been forgotten;
but there is little doubt that this practice OF
growing potatoes from cuttings will be new
to ten thousand of your readers, though the
principle involved, and perhaps the practice
followed, have been long known to many
experienced Horticu lturisfs