The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1878-05-09
FARM TOPICS.
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Culture of Potatoes.

read the opinions and experiments made
by others in modes of culture of the pc.
tato. have raised or helped to raise a
crop of potatoes every year since | was
large enough to handle hoe, dating
back to 1874. During this time have
handled great variety of soils; planted
many varieties of seed-whole potatoes
and cut ones-every depth, from two to
six inches or more, given fiat culture,
and hilled moderately to very steep
planted in check and drill rows, % to
feet apart; used coarse manure and
fine, mixing the manure in the soil, and
placing it in the drills or hills at plant
ing, or applying compost, ashes Qeach-
ed or unleached), hen manure, salt, etc.
find that the soil, climate, and season
have much to do in obtaining a good
crop.
I must tell how we raised potatoes
over go years ago. Then we had so
many stumps and stones in the way that
we could only find spot here and there
to get a mellow place for hill. For
want of supply of earth, we often used
old leaves in part to cover with. The
roots of stumps and the stones were SO
numerous that sometimes it was hard
to mellow up the soil with the corner of
the rusty iron hoe. We raised potatoes
nevertheless. l can remember that the
hills were are well rounded several inch
es above the seed, if we could get earth
enough to use. As / look back and see
the amount of seed used then, it is sur
prising to me now. Mostly, two COM
mon-sized potatoes, or one large one
cut in two at random with blow from
the thick-edged hoe, were thought to
be about right to the hill. After the
stones and stumps were removed, rows
could be drawn by the pillow. And what
relief that was to us boys! Then
deeper planting was the practice. If a
farmer raised at the rate of 200 bushels
per acre in those days, by the best till
ing OF the best land, he had something
to brag about all winter.
Two years ago, by an agreement with
one of my neighbors whose field joined
mine, we agreee to test deep and shall
low planting, high and low killing, and
use one to two eyes in a place in drills
the seed being dropped from ~ to IA
inches in the row, and rows feet apart.
The plat selected was common dry
prairie. manfred three years before with
barnyard manure. The previous two
crops had been potatoes, beets and cab
bages. My neighbor used the Early
Rose variety, as he not only wanted to
raise fair crop, but to get the crop
rlpened early to "saye bug-fghting all
summer" The ground was plowed
about four to five inches deep, harrow
ed, and rows marked three feet apart,
with shallow burrows about three inches
deep. The seed used was about average
In size, cut into pieces of one eye each,
and covered with the hoe. When coy
cred, the centers of the rows were slight
" above the common level of the ground.
The first cultivation was given when the
vines were some four inches high, with
a hand wheel-cultivator, with one share.
throwing the earth slightly towards the
vines. The second culture was by
common bar-share pillow, slightly
throwing the earth to the vines, and
smoothed over by the hoe. The after
culture consisted in removing all weeds
from the vines and from between the
rows. We had much trouble with bugs,
but by frequent hand picking, or rather
by the use of the small stick and tin
cup, we kept the bugs from doing much
harm
About September Doth, he invited me
to help him harvest several patches of
one rod square, digging, weighing and
measuring the yield. The entire patch
was little over one-fourth of an acre.
Three different square rods were select
ed. In measuring, the rod pole was placed
naif way between the rows at the ends.
After the potatoes had dried in the sun
about five or six hours, so the earth
would not stick to them, we
picked them up, and found
that by rounding the half bushel about
the usual height, the weight was only
70 pounds. By this we found out that
IN measuring potatoes, the purchaser or
consumer seldom gets 60 pounds for
bushel, as the law provides. Each
measure would vary two or three
pounds. perhaps. To make the expert
ment correct, we laid aside the half
bushel, and took sealed steelyards, and
weighed the potatoes on each square rod,
with the following result: First square
rod, three bushels and - pounds-512
bushels per acre-second plat, BUSH
els lOa pounds-509 bushels per acre;
third plat, bushels 10s pounds-5O7
bushels per acre. At the time of Dig
glng, the most of the potatoes were
found about on the general level of the
as many being above as there
were below. None lay below where
the seed lay as first dropped. The larg-
est tubers were about the common level.
and very slightly covered, often more or
less wholly in sight.
Telling one of my townsmen of
this yield, as above stated, he thought