The weekly echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1868-1876, 1875-01-02
Tff n atoe Culture.

Fgom 0uf Hame Jaur
There IS scarcely any other crop that
has grown So steadily into popularity
With Che SontIeln farmer and truck
grower rs The irish potstoe, and few
olAers fhh6 pag SO well for the time
aad labor expended 81 their culture.
We CON not do oar readers q better ser
vice therefore, than to urge Upon them
klie importance 81 paying greater atten-
1ian fhis eron. and at tha same time
telling them hos itshould Sc eultivatta
aand handled
The sof best suited E the Irish
otatoe is cool clayey loam, but with
proper manure ana culture, paying
erg9s cah b raised on almost any cEhl-
vafable soils t0 be found In the South
For the extreme early ceopl perhaps
the light sandy loams Of oar piny
woods are better aptsd than those Of
heavier. more tenacious structure as
being warmer, and hence pushing the
crop forward more rapidly during the
cold. early spring mouths Where
discrimination IN this respect taete-
fore. IS practicable, we should select
the liQhtest. warmest and best drained
soiI for the earliest planting, and the
coolest and heaviest for late spTing of
faI1 planting. Whatever the nature OF
the s0il. it must be we'll HEained and
thoroughly puiveri1ed. No otnsf clll-
tivated food with which we are ae-
auainted draws SO largely upon tne ele-
menf of potash IS the irish potato, and
hence IN any fertilizer that may be
used for this crop, potash 81 its salts
should form an important constituent.
Wood ashes, cotton seed meal. cotton
seed hull ashes suparphosphata Of
lime. either singly or in combination
wi each. or leaf mould or muck are
appropriate and valuable fertilizers
IS also, land plaster applied over and
around the plants at the first Worklng
If the crop
Our best success has always resulted
from the use Of cotton seed, pretty vel
decomposed, OF cotton seed meal and
hard wood ashes Stable manuEe is
also q first-rate fertilizer especially for
early crops on heavy soils.
We usually lay off our rows three
and half feet apart--three viii answer
on limited grounds 1y running for
ward and back iii the same furTow;
then sprinkle Whatever Ter rlilizer We
may use il and on the sides Of the
trench So opened; then bed ZIP the row
as for cotton; open the cente % TINS
bed deep with shovel orsmsiI tatning
plow. drop the seed cut to aboa two
eyes To the piece, two pieces tCgether
one foot apas in the open furtoW, end
cover Iiahtly with the plow. Ls i bet
ter to not cover the seed more than Ewa
or three inches deep as first, as deep
covering rctards che spr0uting ana
ss coming mp. Ae soon as she plants
begin to break through the ground
throw another light furroW On then
ster this let them remain until four %
III inches high. when they Should re-
eeive their final hulihg, hy breaking
out the middles entirely with q good
one-horse turning pi0w. If the land
be very foul with grass or weeds. It mny
be necessary 60 ga over the cop once or
twice with the hoes To keep It clean
and bill up amy spaces that the plow
may have left.
The early crop should be plantei
from the list to 18th january. Tor
market We shcUia plant the whole crop
about ahat time; ion family msa Che
aiantings ought % be repeated every
two weeks up 10 the first ot April
For the late of fall crop the first Ct
Auanst Is TIE BEST time to plant. Prop
erly managed, the tailcrop can ae ni8si
nearly AS fne and productive as ths
early one. 0f varieties we should oialy
plant three Early Rose Jackson
White and Peerless II planted n hhe
same fima. these VIII give & ccmpleie
aon, and are among tle best aud
most reliable varieties ia cultivation.
Our market this year was rather
against the early crop; the second
rly sav that which came "A
through the lattar part 0t May emu
early june -hringla much better
pqiees For aWhiie. ~ jane the price
from sl0to SI2 per hasraA 0af
who plant kor naa however
must t INA guided hy tne prices "
one s0a lt IS lwaS akest So oe
cu4ly ghe market hy uee Ne plant
ings, ffoln tic rles to tha atet
thus avoiding tae anger oK talhng
entirely npnn DN periaa 0A ieSa pxiN