The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-04-18

.lusel tA-ta crop OF 500
pa.. .,oo> per acre removes
a#a..t HES. ua1.u., = mineral matter
f.0aa. t.. .o... 81 which about one
hall c.t~ >,s ~ potash ans one
at5 of pho>pnor.c acid. Wood
ashes. .5u.r AND salt sowu broadcast
ana Mel. narrowed ia before plant
no are excellent fertilizers for the
potato. Muck spread broadcast
a.d well worked III i also valuable
manaIe. Tie lime Will neutralize
tile acid ii the muck and llberate
tae inert potash IN the soil. Or L
resnao~piasc may lie sprinkled n
The ll.I at tleratc Of 200 pounds per
aero. and mixed with the soil with
a potato hook or garden rake just
previous to planting the seed. This
IS i GOOD method Of using any fer
t@.l.zer Iii order to receive the full
5raciJ 1t the first season. \ NIX
tine Of wood ashes and old yegeta-
lie manure can hardly be eXeelled
In tAe form of manure Tor the pota-
TO crop.
It's generally a9rccd that single
ewes planted twelve inches apart IN
rows three feet apart, produce the
largest yield. The best method of
cutting is as follows: Take a pota-
10 ia the left hand. the butt to-
wards You. and cut out the eye,
with as much Of the potato As YOU
can, cutting towards YOU as If
sharpening a pencil: dry the pieces
IN the sun II day, and if a valua-
Die kind, place each in the ground
eve mp. II Is agreed that after they
are cut, II not conyeient to plant at
that time, that they can if placed
on i floor under shelter, after be
~ rolled ii land plaster or air
Stacked line. remain there from Il
TO three weeks without injury. A
correspondent of the NeW EagluHd
Furmer says that he has missed
bat once M twenty years IN having
ripe pototocs On the fourth of July.
His seed potatoes are brought from
the cellar early in March, and kept
III q warm room where they wither
and dry up considerably, but when
planted, IN April, they viii come
up rs soon as com OF peas, while po-
tatoes which have remained IN the
cellar, are often several weeks in
coming up, and look small and
weak compared with those from
his prepared seed.
As 10 the relative value Of the
eyes, Of the seed end, middle, or
butt end Of the potato, it seems as
yet not definitely determined. \
French agricultural journal gives
the result of experiments of scien-
titic men IN the cultivation of pota-
toes, the chief conclusions of which
are, that the yigor Of the potato
plant Is always IN direct proportion
to the weight Of the tuber used for
sets. ana that the best results at
tanned were from which all the low
er eyes had been cut out. By the
experiments mentioned it was de
monstratod that the ewes at the top
OF seed end of the potatoe were pro-
ouctlye Of the most vigorous
plants. On the other hand a Mr.. j.
Owen, al Missouri, has recently
written to the Elmira Farmers Club
that be has practiced the planting
Of the butt end Of the potato for
nearly forty years and Is fully salts
fed with the result. Other mem
bers OF the Club made the follow
ing statements Of a similar cLarac-
ter.
The planting e butt ends Of po-
tatoes exclusively has been tried
Ior 80 years by Joseph Hoffman
With good results
4 have tried it two years. |
Gna it true that By this method
better and smoother potatoes are
produced than by planting all the
pJtas0cs o the seed end alone. The
tu5ers arc larger and fewer in mum
Der, but the crop VIII measure as
much III bushels"
All are agreed as to the import
ance Of cutting the potato into
pieces. William II. leomans, OF
Columbia, Conn, saws
rs II eve produces a perfect
plant OF itself. and Is therefore suf-
tic.ent for a single hill, it is clear
thatIt II much better to scatter the
seed, making more hills, than Il
have these different germs come
forth, and IN a crowded state enter
into 4 struggle for existence"
Cur practice j. TO cut the two
eyes and put 2 piece in a hill.
with these Il foot apart, and We
believe these might with safety even
1e placed even nearer. The row
~. .-r.. feet anart. Ii is uureas