St. Landry democrat., 1884-08-09
Level Culture of Potatoes.

raising potatoes. 1t is excellent in the
main, but if he will allow me, I will
suggest how an improvement could
probably be made in one particular.
He SAYS: II cultivate often and care
fully, both ways, until the blossoms be-
gin to appear, when we hill them up
with horseshoe or shovel-ploW, MAX
ing as high and as broad hill as we
conveniently cam
Now, will he please tell us why he.
makes such high broad hills, and why
his cultivation ceases at poisoning
time? By changing his practice little.
in these respects | think he could add
considerably to his average yield, if his
soil is suitable, and it would seem as,
though it must be a pretty good potato,
soil from the crops he raised. Thirty
wears ago, when | was a small boy, [
used to hill potatoes in my fathers gar
den in New York, just as Farm Mana
ger does now. My father used to insist.
on my making the hills large and dish
inc so as to sscatch the rain When
[ began farming remembered the les
son, and noticed also that other people
hiIled their potatoes, and | did like.
wise. If | had been asked why did
so, [ should certainly have preached
the 'catch the RAIN theory, with per-
feet assurance that it was sound doc
trine Furthermore, [ stopped culti-
waiting when the blossoms began to APP
pear, because tother farmers did, and
because they said it would make the
potatoes set again Now, I have not
only discarded shovel-plows entirely,
but keep the. cuItivator going without
regard to blossoms as long as horse
can get between the rows, and often
times after the vines touch each other
With all due respect to our fathers and
other people, can not help thinking
that this plan is in accordance with
common sense as we'll as practical sue
cess.
The habit of killing probably came
from the necessity of keeping the tubers
out of water on land that was too wet,
Ton such land it may be necessary yeti,
or else from planting in shallow
mark, when it becomes necessary to
hill up to prevent the tubers from be-
inc burned by the sun. | can think Of
no reason why reasonably shallow Gull
tivation should stop at blossoming-time,
unless some one wanted an excuse for
doing as little work as possible. Hills
are made broad and dishing to catch
the rain, I suppose, on the supposition
that the roots of the potato are all
right under the hill, and that they want
water there. What are the facts?
Farm Managers potatoes. planted three
feet apart each way, if the soil is,
drained aud reasonably fine and mel
low lit probably is to bring the yields
he has had), before they are full
grown, will send roots across between
the rows in every direction in search of
food. If he will take pains to carefully
wash ont thrifty hill I think he will
be surprised to find how completely the
little roots occupy all the ground be-
tween the rows. The roots, of course,
are mostly in the lower part OF the
plowed ground. There will be few
near the Surface. If the surface of the
ground is kept level, or nearly so, q
shower soaks in all over alike, and each
root gets its share. They want the rain
lust as much between the rows as in the
hills. If the potatoes are planted
moderately deep, as F. G. has SO per-
sistently land correctly, as think) adj
vised in your columns, and the surface
is nearly level, and kept constantly
stirred, the crop is in the best shape,
not only for catching rain, but to en-
dure hot, dry weather--one Of its great
est enemies.
During such weather, cultivation
moderately shallow, so as not to lnJure
the roots (say two inches deep, may be-
kept up without regard to poisoning
time, and with great advantage to the
| crop. Two inches of fine, mellow earth
on the surface help greatly to check
evaporation and to keep the ground
moist and cool where the potato roots
are, as it needs to be for the best results
| Suppose one hills up his potatoes with
the shoVel-plow, what does he do? lie
| piles the mellow earth, which should
| make mulch all over the surface, up
| about the hill. This is well, perhaps
| if he could get as much more to put IN
| between the rows again, but instead he.
leaves this space (where q part OF the
roots are), bare, hard and exposed to
the hot sun. Ii he should cultivate it
| again he would injure the roots, which
are now near the surface, and the soil
! in the hills will certainl y dry out more
than if it were down nearly level and
protected by mulch OF fine earth. On,
| undrained land, in a very wet season, 81
part of the water might run off to adj
vantage, perhaps, if the potatoes were
hilled up, but it would be better to
underdrain, plant deep and not hill much
| Il like to throw q little earth into tho
hills with a horse hoe), as one would
then have q chance to get the lest pos
sibIe crop without regard to the season
| We are having a Very hot, dry time
| here now (June 81, and | am using a
slanting board, attached to the rear Of
the cuttivator, which pulvertzes and
smooths down the marks left by the