Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-01-16
SOMETHING ABOUT POTATOES.

SOMETHING ABOUT POIAIOES.
The Illinois correspondent of the
Country Gentleman gives the following
excellent hints onthe subject of raising
Irish potatoes:
II suppose for long time there has
been no such wide and general scarcity
of potatoes as at present, and as con-
sequence 1 suppose the price Will be
higher and the demand larger when
the first of next years comes IN than
they have been for years. For these
reasons, then, 1t seems to be a proper
time to give some hints as to the best
means of securing early maturity.
What / have to say Is almost wholly
the results of personal experience and
applies to the soil and climate of Gen.
tral Illinois. First, then, discard every
thing but the Early Rose. There may
be other kinds as early, or earlier, but
so far have never seen them. There
may be those which give larger yield,
and are better for the table the season
through, but have never discovered
them. The two great enemies we have
to contend with, are the Colorado Bee
tie and the drouth. If we plant sufi-
GENTLY early we may avoid both, or so
nearly avoid them that we may be sure
of fair crop. Plant then, on high,
dry and very rich soil, as early in
March as the frost is out of the ground
and indeed if there comesopen weth-
er in February they may be risked,
planted deep, and covered to the depth
of five or six inches with coarse stable
manure. And the seed should be cut
several days, say ten, or two weeks, SO
that the pieces may '.heal, as the Irish
say, before they are planted. Of course
I do not recommend the cutting OF seed
so long before hand when the planting
is done after the middle of April.
The best seed is furnished by fair
sized potato, cut lengthwise into four
pieces, and the pieces dropped, Il to Is
inches apart, In the row. They should
be covered four or five inches deep.
The distance of the rows apart do not
seem to make much difference-from 8
to feet viii do. / had a magnificent
yield on a patch which was planted in
drills as above, u inches apart and 4
feet in the row. thought these could,
not be beat, till 1 dug some, where the
distance apart was only feet. To dig
potatoes rightly, the workman wants
to stand on the row and throw, with a
spading fork, the potatoes IN front of
him. When they are Il inches apart,
/ found 1t impracticable to dig them
out, without cutting many In the Oper-
ation-they so filled and occupied the
soil. l think 1 shall hereafter try the
distance of Is inches apart and 3 feet
in the row.
'As for manure, it should never, in
our hot and dry climate, be applied in
the hill before planting. Spread it on,
| and no matter how much nor how
strawy, nor how strong, in the fall or
early winter, and then, what there Is
left, pillow under in the spring Where
there are bugs, and they are every
where In the West, go over the hills
and sprinkle, with a mixture of one
part Paris green and IS parts calcined
plaster, the young shoots the moment
they push through the ground. By
starting early, the bugs may be kept
down, and if you keep them down, and
the weeds with them (be sure to do
both, your potatoes viii be SO nearly
made by the 4th of July that you may
rest, regardless of bugs and drouth.
Il like a suggestion heard at the
Horticultural meeting which came in a
short note from Mr.. Ordway, an old
farmer and fruit grower of the North
part of the State. 1t was, that as pO-
tatOes were consumed for food during
the winter, they should have fifth or
a sixth part of the whole potato cut
from the seed end, and these ends
should be laid aside and used for seed.
The old gentleman's experience enabled
him to say, to his horticultural friends,
that in so doing one might eat ones
potatoes and have them too To this
suggestion was added the. advice to
plant at the earliest possible moment. y