Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1879-04-14
9gritnltmral department.
ABOUT POTATOES.


potato question, and trying to decide
whether to plant few or many this spring.
One thing they can depend upon, as the
present year and other years have shown,
that is. that there will always be a de-
mand for potatoes, no matter whether
they are cheap or dear. People who
have become accustomed to using the
potato will have it regardless of cost.
The large cities, and the populous vii
lagos of New England will demand thou
sands of bushels every year. This de-
mand will be more than supplied every
year when there is a heavy crop, and
prices will then be low but when frost,
drought, rot, bugs or rust make the
crop light, the demand will be such as
to make potatoes high. Last year there
was an unusually light crop, in New
England, New York and in the Provin-
ces and the price has been high the year
through.
In deciding how many to plant, each
farmer ought to consult his own circum-
stances, as we'll as the prospects of the
future market of this product. The far
mer who is out of debt, and can afford
to make the experiment, may think that
he will take his chances on high mar
ket and put in a very large acreage of
this product. If the crop is failure or
the market is low, he is able to lose one
years crop without serious misfortune
On the other hand, he may make good
thing Of it. But the man who is badly
in debt should not hazard his chances
on any one crop. While he might be
very successful there are three chances
to one that he might make failure.
With variety of crops, it will be strange
if everything fails.
Last year there were frosts, bugs and
rust to make the crop light, and. beside
this, the crop was injured in a great
many places, by beating and brushing
off the bugs. This process, carefully as
it may be done, tramples down, bruises,
whips off buds, and badly damages the
plant, so that the tubers are made late,
small and poor. A cheaper and better
way, no doubt, to get rid of the bug is
to do it with Paris green. This is a
cheap, quick, and effectual way of get
ting rid of the pest.
From variety of experiments we are
convinced that the best way to use the
poison, is to mix it with plaster or -four
one part of poison to thirty parts of the
other material. This should be thorough.
ly sprinkled upon the potatoes before they
are six inches out of the ground, no mat
ter if is done before the first hoeing
This early application kills off many Of
the beetles that lay the eggs, and de.
stroys the first bugs that appear. If a
new crop matches out another dose ought
to be given, in three or four weeks; the
second thorough application will gener
ally suffice. We saw good suggestion
recently, about how to destroy the beetles
before they have opportunity to lay thei
eggs this was, to cut lot of potatoes
into pieces, roll them in the green, Sc
that it would stick to them, aud ther
lay them about in the potato field where
the early bugs could get dinner o
poison before they glued their eggs t
the potato tops. The destruction of ;
few of these mother bugs would do ;
great deal toward ensuring crop of pc
tatOes. No poison has proved so chea]
and effectual as the green. If the win
ter has not destroyed large number o
Tugs, they will be much more plenty tn
coming season than ever before, an,
it will take pretty vigorous fighting,
the work is done by hand, to save tn
potatoes at all, land we see no better wa
than to resort to wholesale poisoning.
AS to the certainty of crop, and tn
state of the market, each man must CUES
for himself. On the one hand, the pre-:
ent high prices of this product wi
stimulate large planting, on the othel
the bug will be something more than
bug-bear this year with many, so thu
there will not naturally be large acre
age put in.
If we we're farming, we should plar
just about the usual quantity Of grounC
We should have it put in good condition
ard should plant early, using a lit
phosphate to hurry the growth. Earl
planted potatoes are more likely to e
cape the drought, rust and early autum
frosts, than late planted ones. La
year, in some places, the bugs near
all fed upon the early planted, while IL
late ones escaped.
FODDER CoRN.-ln planning out Il
work of the season, every farmer wi