Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-11-10
The Potato Crop.

one reason why less attention Is paid
~ most farmers to this crop than to
Others is probably because there is much
surety manual la. required in raising
anu harvesting it; Improvements in ma.
cnlner:y have not been so great in this
direction as in others, and farmers are
not to be censured if thew deyote the
larger part of their acres to crops that
car be planted and gathered with more
eas han this; However, the fact
stands out plainly that potatoes are q
profitable crop; and now that there is
really little to fear from the attacks of
The Colorado beetle, if care is taken, it
#oul seem a wise plan for farmers
whose land is adapted to it to cultivate
the potato in larger areas. Some Sec
tlons seem to be more conducive to dis
ease in the potato than others: but if a
lew points of culture be borne in mind
there will be little or no fear of the no.
tato rot.
i. Tubers that are not mature when
planted induce feeble growth, being
wanting in the starch element which
nourlshes the young plant; hence care
should be taken in the selection of seed.
2: Excessive fertilizing, especially
with heterogeneous manures, causes a too
rapid and therefore weak growth of tho
plant. This should be avoided, as such
fertilizers are an immediate cause, it is
claimed, of fungus growths, which are
the prime causes of decay.
3. Make the location of the potato
patch on rather high ground. Low, wet
lands favor decay, owing to dampness.
This should always be avoided; and
especially should excessive dampness be
excluded from the cellar in which pota-
toes are placed.
Without stopping at this time to con-
slider the kinds of soil best suited to the
potato, the planting and cultivation, we
pass to the %seasonable work of
gathering and storing the crop. There
might be little need Of saying much on
this point were it not hat there are still
many farmers who pay but little atten-
tlon to hls'very important part of tho
work. The potato is not bound to keep
from decaying if conditions suited to
bring about such a state are present.
Some men go into the potato field Just
after a rain, throw out the tubers Gov
cred with mud, and hurry them awayto
the bins. OF course they rot. Or they
leave them exposed at another time to
the clustering rays Of the sun, which in
lures them. 1t is time and money lost
in the end to dig potatoes when the
weather and the soil are not right. Men
sometimes need to censure themselves
more and the weather, the s'bugs," and
the variety of potato less, as some va
rieties seem predisposed to rot more than
others.
On most farms the hoe and the fork
are still the only implements used for
digging, though some make use of the
pillow and in rare instances. some'patent
machine finds its way to the field. No
doubt there will be, perhaps now is, a
patent potato digger that does good
work; but we are not fortunate enough
to have seen it yet. But in the use Of
the hoe or fork much care is necessary
not to injure the tubers. Those hat are
bruised and hacked up are on the short
cut to the pig-trough, and such should
not be put into the bin with the sound
ones "Bad company corrupts good
MORALS" is true in the potato bin.
Different methods of storing for the
winter are practiced with varying sue
cess. Some prefer the trench system,
some the mound SYSTEM, and some al
ways make use of the cellar; and in
many respects the cellar is preferable.
One has the opportunity Of knowing
what is going on in the box or bin in the
cellar, when he can not so easily deter
mine the fact in the mound or trench.
A good frost-proof cellar, under house
or barn, free from excessive dampness,
and he has agood place for his potatoes.
But if under the living rooms, we have
this word of caution: Never allow de-
caying potatoes, or vegetables Of any
kind, in fact, to remain there a day af-
ter their presence is known. Unhealth-
full odors. positive disease may be the
result to the family above stairs. Pre-
caution is always wise.-Cor. N. Y. In