American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1873-05-10
Potato Culture.

growers will agree upon any one system of
| culture. Men are very likely to hold diff
ferent opinions in regard to the value OF
varieties and methods of culture even in
| the same neighbOrhOOd, and when we take
| into consideration the wide variation in
climate and soils, we must not expect that
any one system of culture in all its details
will answer for the whole country. Still
there are certain general rules which are
applicable to all localities where this
| tuber is cultivated, and the better these
are understood by the cultivator the more
certain will be his success.
The potato is without doubt native of
a tropical country, although it is almost
worthless when grown in a hot climate.
| To some this appears to be a strange anom-
| ally, but latitude does not always regu-
| late temperature, and the potato is found
growing wild upon high table lands and
mountains in South America, where the
| temperature never reaches as high a point
| as it does in summer even in our more
Northern States. Experience shows us
! that the potato succeeds best and the tubers
| are of a better quality when grown in a
| cool, moist climate than when grown in
| one that is hot and dry; hence the supe-
| riority of those received from Maine, Yer
| mont, northern New York, and in the
same latitude westward.
In the Middle States very early varie-
cause the farmer can plant early and
secure Il good growth during the cool,
| moist weather in spring, and then get
his crop into market before those from
| more northern localities can possibly ma
| ture But it has been demonstrated by
long experience that the potato deteriO-
rates very rapidly when grown in warm
climates, and frequent renewals of the
| stock from cool climate are not only
| beneficial but often an imperative neces-
| Sity. Probably the long time which inter
venes between harvest and planting time,
| without proper place for storage, has
something to do with this rapid deteriora-
| ton; but that it does take place is a well
| established fact.
| Knowing that the potato as general
| rule dcteriOrates in climates no further
| south even than Delaware and Maryland
we ask the farmers of those regions if they
| cannot adopt some system of culture that
| shall in measure check this rapid de-
cline. Great heat and lack of moisture
are the two principal causes of deteriora-
| ton, and as remedy we advise planting
deep; give level culture or no culture at
ALL and mulch the entire surface of the
ground. Where swamp hay or straw can
be had cheaply, mulching is perfectly
practicable and will usually insure a good
yield of tubers. Very few farmers plant
deep enough the seed in majority of in
| stances is not covered more than two
| inches, when four to six is a far better
depth. Then no killing up will be nee
| essary; the weeds being kept down with Il
| cultivatOr. OF course the system should
be varied to suit soil and climate. In
| light soils and where the seasons are hot
and dry, plant deeper than in those of an
| opposite character.
| SEED POTATOES.
| We know that the seed potato question
| is one that has been discussed with each
recurring planting season, and is probably
no nearer a final settlement than before.
| Many of our farmers still adhere to the
| oldtime system of planting whole pota-
| toes, and we have no doubt they really
| believe it is the most economical and best
| way of securing a good crop. We have
| often heard men who ought to know bet
| ter assert that it was just as necessary to
| plant whole potatoes in order to secure
| good results as it was to plant whole seed
| of any kind. If a potato was in fact a
| single seed then their argument might
hold good; but it is not, any more than a
| branch of Il tree or an ear of corn, and
| who would think of planting either of
| these wholes Now a potato tuber is mere
ly "A subterranean branch with stem bear
| ing eyes or buds upon its surface, just as
| we find them upon the branch of a pear,
| apple or other tree. If man takes ciOn
1
| the longer it is or the more buds it has upon
| its surface the better, but he cuts it
| up into sections each containing only two
or three buds, because experience has
shown that ii few buds, or a short cion is
better than a long one If we carefully ex-
| anime IL potato we fine that it corresponds
very closely to a one year-old branch of a
tree, and each bud, with small piece of
the tuber attached is capable, under proper
conditions, of producing plant, the
same as the cion which we insert into an
other branch or stem. If a whole potato
is planted containing from twenty to fifty
buds, only very small number push into
growth for few of the stronger suppress
or destroy the weaker 1t is often claimed
that the substance of the old tuber is
taken up by, and aids the growth of the
buds and new stems. This is true, but
| only to very limited extent, for soon
as the buds have pushed "A half inch or
| inch, new feeding roots will he found at
| their base, showing that the new plan
provides for selfsupport very early in life.
I've need not o ffcr any better argument
| in favor of cutting up potatoes for seed
| than the results Of the thousands of eXper-
iments made during the past few years
| with new and costly varieties, where
| every trber was divided into as many
pieces as it contained buds No deterio-
ration from this cause has ever been de
| tected, and to speak from personal ex-
| perence of more than quarter of a cen
| fury we are convinced that cutting up
seed potatops into small pieceS is not only