The Grange advance., 1874-04-15
Raising Potatoes.

00lS1uS QOo8bOCSs
Iplantpotatoes in 6ddswhich produceda a
corn crop the previoue year, and were then
heavily manured with stable manure.
No manure is applied with the potatoes.
After plowing about eight Or ten inches
deep, narrowing smoothly, and picking
off the larger stones from the surface, |
use planter for getting the seed in the
ground. When once planting large
field I divided the lot in two halves, U.s.
ing the planter with a, horse, man, and
a boy on one side, and ten men with two
horses and furrowing plows took the
other side. All the men worked as
hard as they could, and yet the planter
came out victorious. It makes the fur
row, cuts, drops the pieces at proper dis
tances, and covers them all at once, and
this more accurately than can be done
by hand and in no more time than it
takes to furrow There may also be at
tached to it a fertilizer dropper with
which fine manure can be applied with
the seed. The greatest advantage of
planting machine does not always con-
sist in the saving Of labor, however the
saving Of time, and having the seed
planted at the proper time in spite of
shortness Of help, is often Of much more
Importance.
The implement next in, ordeA is the
Thomas Smoothing Harrow. With it
the field is, in the direction of the drills,
narrowed over once as soon 'as the
sprouts have appeared above ground, and
the operation is repeated at intervals of
eight or ten days, or whenever weeds
show themselves. until the vines are
1about six inches high. It requires a
considerable degree Of courage and faith
when one, for the first time, is to turn
team and nine feet wide harrow into
thrifty potato patch and see every vine
laid down fiat, behind the unrelenting
tool. But next morning when you find
the vines as straight and fresh again as
ever, and not weed ever SO small is left
on the field, one feels we'll rewarded for
his faith. It is surprising how few hills
are disturbed by the harrow, probably
not one in thousand, and even these
are but slightly lifted, so that their
growth is not injured. The most favor
able condition for using the harrow is on
a bright sunny day, shortly after rain,
when the soil mellows easily and the
sets are less apt to be disturbed by the
harrow teeth, than when the soil is very
dry. \ few days after the last harrow
ing begin hilling up with double
mold-board plow, using the first, only
the stationary mold-board, without the
center piece. At intervals of about one
week this process is repeated, each time
with an additional aange to the mold
boards, and with the center piece when
going through III the last time. Thus the
ridges are gradually made larger and
higher and much more even and perfect
than can be done with a hoe or sim
gle mold board plow With every
plowing, new soil is raised which covers
and s'nuthers all young weeds When
the vines begin to blossom all cultlvv.
tion must stop, and the only remaining
work is to pull the few weeds which
will occasionally grow up from the Gen.
ter Of the ridges. This is very i'm
portant part of: the cultivation, and al
though the time required for it is but
little-a smart boy can pull the weeds
from two acres in a day-its omission
would materially decrease the crop,
make the digging more laborious, and
bring foul seed into the land. This
pulling Of the weeds is the only hand
labor during the entire cultivation, and
no hoe is required in the feld.-Cor
N. Y. Tribune.