American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-05-30
Potatoes In Drills.

My method is-plow in the fall as early
in the spring as possible draw on barn
yard manure, twenty-five horse loads to
the acre, spreading from the wagon; har-
row well; then with a two-horse hoe
drill the land thirty inches apart; into
these drills drop the seed (cut some time
previous into two eyes to a seO twelve
inches apart cover the seed with the two
horse hoe, by splitting the ridges turned
up in making the drills, using no hand
labor unless the end of the drill comes up
to the fence. In that case the end of the
drill must be covered by hand for a dis
lance equal to the length of the team;
should the potato patch be away from the
fence there will be nc necessity for using
any hand labor.
So much for the planting. Now for the
process of cultivation. Use a one horse
cultivator once a week, as soon as the
potatoes appear above the ground, which
will be in abou; three weeks. Cultivate
as close as possible to them, removing
with a hand hoe the weeds in the rows be-
tween them. When large enough to hoe
take a two-horse hoe and hill up moder-
ately, not so high as to cover the potatoes;
at the same time let man pass along the
rows and wherever they are covered let
him remove the earth from them, and if
there are any weeds between the potatoes
in the rows clean them out also. This
does for the first hoeing. When they re-
quire second hoeIng repeat the process,
this time bringing the earth well about
them. After this do not touc h them again
till harvesting.
This is done with pair of horses and
small double mold board pillow. Run the
pillow only low enough to get below the
potatoes, which will turn them out of the
ground and bring them to the surface.
nr,1x
up the potatoes from these before plow-
ing out the alternate ones. After all are
plowed and picked up, toward evening
harrow over the ground and pick up those
that are turned out with the harrow,
which will be few, if the blowing is thor
oughly done.
NEGLECTED to mention that before be-
gin to pillow pull the tops, if they are
large, but if small they are not in the
way, and will not trouble you.
The method of picking is: Two boys
take a bushel basket and pick two rows at
once, picking only the large or merchant
able ones, leaving the small ones on the
ground, which are picked up by one boy
with half bushel basket. By this method
the potatoes are assorted in the field, the
merchantable ones going either to the
cars for market or into the cellar. The
small ones are drawn to the pig pens for
tne pigs, or 10 tne COW staoleS IOr tne
mich cows.
Last season had four acres of potatoes
harvested in the manner here described.
A laborer who assisted at the digging re-
quested the privilege of following the
plow and picking what he could find;
this was granted him, and the result to
him was one and half bushels when the
lard was plowed for next seasons crop
(all kinds, small and large from the four
acres.
l consider each horse, and the pillow, as
good as man each, at the digging. My
trouble is to get sufficient number of
boys to pick up. l would as soon have
boys as men; they will pick as many
bushels each as man, and their labor
does not cost over one-third as much
Country Gentleman.