The Portland daily press., 1880-04-21
AGRICULTURAL.
Some Experience with Potatoes.

There is scarcely any crop which shows so
much variation in price from one year to an
other as the potato. We sometimes succeed
very well in raising two or three good crops
and we think we have the trade well learned
and some variation in the season upsets all
our calculations. We had no sooner got so
that we could manage the potato bugs with
out much trouble and the warm wet wealth
er brought on the rot. People have, we
think. since the appearance of the bug,
planted potatoes on better land than former
ly.
In regard to seed there is a difference of
opinion as TO the economy of planting large
or small tubers. A farmer who formerly
lived in this vicinity. on getting out his pota-
toes for planting was asked by his hired man
II he was going to plant those little things.
4eth,' he answered with his peculiar lisp,
They amt good for anything elth." He
said that their being small was like the
Irishman's horse being blind-not their fault
but their misfortune. They were the young
er members of large family in straitened
circumstances, and, like some others, might
show brilliant record.
Not willing to have all this lost on us, we
concluded to plant some. A neighbor, a
year previous, had MANFRED an acre of land
heavily and then planted to early potatoes
and at the proper time had set cabbage be-
tween the rows. Both crops did well, the
10 bushels of marketable potatoes averaged
81 per bushel and the cabbages sold in the
market for $3.50. This was high farming
with which one could compete with the
West. Easy to make the boys stick to the
farm that raised such crops as this.
Being anxious to follow the example of
one so successful. we plowed under heavy
coat OF manure on piece of ground that
was already good. Then with pillow we
made burrows four feet apart. In these
drills good quantity of tobacco stocks were
spread and uncut. Dover potatoes, about
the size OF hens eggs were dropped and COW
cred. After coming up they grew SO luxu-
riantly that they soon covered the ground
and left no room for cabbage. When dug
they yielded at the rate of 400 bushels per
acre OF almost without exception, so far as
size was concerned, marketable potatoes
After being put in the cellar so many of
them turned black and decayed that they
did not prove profitable except for feeding.
We learned from this that it was possible to
raise large crop from small potatoes plant
ed good distance apart.
From observation and experience in cult
waiting this crop, we have come to the fol-
lowing conclusions: That where early po-
tatoes are wanted it is better to use large
seed, cut so that there shall be two or three
eyes on piece; that the size of the seed
makes less difference with late crops; that
potatoes planted before they have sprouted
and before the land has become warm
throw up less number of stalks than hose
planted later in the season; that planting in
rows two and one-half feet apart, with
the hills three feet apart, SO arranged as to
allow horse to pass with cultivator each
way, is as near as 10 profitable; that it is a
paying investment to put tablespoonful OF
ashes and plaster IN each hill when planted
that potatoes after time run out, as it il
called, and need to be replaced by new ant
for the time harder varieties and that it i.
safer to plant on moderately dry and ricl
ground.-N. E. Homestead.