The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1883-11-10
POTATO CULTURE.
A Practical Farmers Plans OF Rails
Ing and Keeping Them.
Nashville American ]

about the LIST of March, dig pit two
feet deep in the ground, about three
feet broad, and as long as the amount
of potatoes you intend bedding out
may require. This enables you to
stand on either side of your bed to
draw the slips when they are ready
without getting on the bed. Fill up
this pit with fresh stable manure
nearly full, so after leveing it off and
putting three inches of soil on the
manure upon which you lay your po-
tatoes, just so no two of them may
touch, and then four inches of soil on
the potatoes, so that your bed should
be little above the ground where
you are bedding. Before putting dirt
on the manure, wet the manure thor
oughly with water. This gets up
heat Immediately sufficient to keep
your potatoes from chilling. After
being bedded, now place cover over
your bed of boards, and keep all
March rains from falling upon it, as
your potatoes are more liable to rot
in the bed if you let the March rains
fall on them, and by not letting your
potatoes touch in laying them down,
if one should by chance rot, the rest
will not be affected. If they were
touching the whole bed would more
than likely rot. Should the weather
give promise of being bitter cold,
place under the boards some hay, fod.
der, or an old quilt, until it should
moderate. After the First of April,
you may remove the boards and let
the bed take all of the April showers
and you will soon have fine lot of
healthy plants to set out, that will
grow off without trouble, and your
bed will continue to yield slips in
abundance until August. by watering
your bed once or twice week; you
must be governed in watering by the
rains that we are receiving at the
time, for you can keep your bed too
wet. Keep all weeds and grass pulls
ed off the bed. If you will cover
your bed when first put out, about an
inch with pure sand, it will aid much
in keeping the weeds and grass from
coming, and also in warming up the
he'd and keeping it from baking.
There are many other ways of bed
ding out, but the above is the best of
all for a good supply of healthy slips.
To prepare the ground for planting
out slips, bed up your ground in rows,
three feet apart. To have this done
some three or four weeks before your
slips are ready is best. When your
slips are ready and all danger of frost
is passed take long bull tongue
pillow, the longer the better; run it
three times in the same burrows as
deep as your good mule can pull it in
the water furrow. Now bed back
upon these three burrows, take hoe
and knock off the top of the ridge
and you are ready to put out yolr
slips. Prepare only enough rows to
put out what slips you may have
ready. Put your slips two feet in the
row apartsif you want large potatoes.
If you are anxious to get pour pota'
toes out early, you need not wait fol
a season. Take your basket of slips
and let another person take bucket
of mud, not too soft nor too stiff, DROP
your slip and let the mud man take
a piece of mud about the size of g
mans thumb, put it around the root
of slip and put 1t in the place where
wanted, pressing the dirt firmly about
the slip and covering all Of the mud
well up. You will have but few thai
will ever fail to grow. After the
slips begin to run, you can cut then
off in pieces about two feet in length
double it together and set the same al
a slip, so you leave leaf out of the
ground, and it will make just as gooC
potatoes as the slip. Some think {
nicer, smoother potato grows from thu
cut vines, but | think them no better
for use.
AS to cultivation, as soon as the
grass begins to come, bar off your pc
tatoes, but not too close, hoe them on
nicely and throw the dirt back t
them and we'll up into them, and yol
may let them go. If your work ha
been well done, you will make pota
toes. One good working is all suffi
Gent. Any more would do harm. a
you would destroy many young root
lets that make the potato.
Now to save them and when to dig
Never dig before they are ripe, tor
YOU do, it matters not how they ar
mt nm. thew will rot. Take pntato