Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1875-10-15
Potatoes, and Apple Trees.

| "AVN hhMVNr FARMER VIII you, OF
some Of your readers who may know from
experience, please answer the following ques.
ionsH They are of practical Importance to
me. | have plenty of theory, but no expe.
rience in planting potatoes.
Which will give the best crop, whole
potatoes for seed, or pieces large potatoes
or small3 Ifyou cut them up, how many
eyes would you put in hill Are some
eyes better than others3 What are the best
fertilizers for pOtatoes2 Which is the best
kind for an early cropf How early is il
best to plant for the earliest cropH A few
weeks in summer makes a great difference in
price. By answering these inquiries you
will greatly oblige one Of yaur readers.
Further; what can l do to make my
apple trees bear2 They are twelve to fifteen
years old, and look well, but they never
bear. They are in great variety, and of the
best kinds of grated fruit They stand on
side-hill facing the southeast.
@. L.. TAMBLIN.
We have had the best success in raising
potatoes when good, medium.sized tubers,
such as we wished to raise, were cut to about
three eyes and two pieces put in hill. If
whole potatoes, having full average mum.
Der Of eyes, are planted, IL gives too much
seed, and the usual result is great number
Of potatoes Of small size. Those who have
Experimental claim that there is difference
in value of the eyes for producing crop,
but we have never made any test. 1t is
desirable to put in as largo piece of potato
for seed as is prudent, because the young
plant is nOurished by the decaying potato
until it has become rooted 10 the soil 80 as
to care for itself. ..... ..
Long manure, or that which is full of
straw and other coarse matter, is better for
potatoes than fine, rich manure. They grow
smoother in the former. The potato crop
needs much potash. Ashes and plaster are
the most reliable mineral fertilizers.
There are so many candidates for the pref.
erence as an early crop that it is diff cult to
ascertain which is the best. We have raised
the Early Rose with success.
Our rule is to plant few for first use, as
soon as the sun shines warm enough to thaw
the frost from the ground, not waiting for
the ground to settle or dry of, as our soil is
heavy and retains moisture long. Some Of
the seed will rot in the ground aud the pota-
toes will in an ordinary season be long
time coming up; but We get potatoes ft for
the table two weeks earlier than il we waited
for the soil to be in tOlerable planting coudi.
tion. 1t does not look very husbandlike to
be planting potatoes in the mud, and We
would not recommend it for q field crop.
For early potatoes for market it is safe to
plant as soon as the soil is dry enough to
work.
1t is not easy to tell what will make your
trees bear without knowing more of the soil
and condition of the trees and treatment they
have received. If the trees were ours we
would look to the tops to see that they did
not require thinning to lot in tho sun, though
trees that have received proper care as they
grow up do not need much thinning. If the
tops we're all right and the bark on the limbs
and trunk indicated a condition of health,
then the fault must be looked for elsewhere.
The soil may need draining. Fruit trees
reqsire warm soil free from stagnAnt water
as much as wheat or clover. A cold, heavy
soil is poor for fruit. They may need fer.
tiliEers. A dressing Of chip manure and
ashes may prove beneficial. If after we had
"digged around them and dunged them they
still remained barren, we would "hew them
down and cast them into the oven"
The readers Of the FARMER whose expert.
ence suggests answers to the questions Of Mr. !
Tamblin, are invited to speak through our
columns. T --.H. .-
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