, 1885-05-20
Something About Po,atoe..

many OF our readers would be surprised 70
know the quantity Of Irish or white potatoes
that are annually grown in the United States.
In good years the crop amounts TO 200, 900, 900
bushels, and both supply and demand arc
increasing at a rapid rate.
Big stories Of fabulous potato yields are
misleading. When not lies they are apt TO
be puffs OF some patent fertilizer. Recently
was published in an agricultural paper a
statement that 42X bushels Of potatoes had
been grown from a single pound Of seed, the
variety known as the Dakota Red. This, OF
course, was a very wonderful story, and the
reader naturally looked to sec how it was
done. The method Of culture was fully ex-
planned, apparently. But reading on ons
perceived that this miracle had been wrought
by the use Of a certain patent fertilizer whose
name kept constantly recurring in the arti-
Gle. That was the African In the woodpie,
so to speak The whole gorgeous potato
story was nothing more or less than an adver-
tisement of Mr.. Blanks miraculous manu-.
featured manure.
The best potatoes in the country are raised
in the western states Of the union. What is
known as new ground produces the finest
crops. 1t is loose and mellow, and contains
a quantity Of potash and nitrogen, which
this f~avorite tuber feeds on. In the absence
OF new ground, however, fertilize pl%entifully
49, Wth7AOtaI4 ntADAt LlhuuIG, mlAtl
lightly with wood ashes. II you cannot get
the stable manure, a fertilizer made of bone
dust and ashes is excellent Spread a mix
eure OF 200 pounds Of good ashes and 200
pounds of bone dust to the acre upon your
potato ground broadcast; then plant the po-
tatoes; cover them partly; sprend 200 pounds
more upon them in the hills or trenches. and
finish covering.
The best possible situation for potatoes is a
strong clover sod upon a northwestern expo
sure. SO says an ~agriculturist who has
written a prize essay on potato raising.
Plant as early as you can for the early
tubers-as soon as the sun begins to warm
the soil sufficiently. to admit Of working.
author of the prize essay mentioned al
ways plows his potato ground in the fall,
and puts on the manure in the spring. Put
the late paintings well Off towards warm
weather. Furrow the ground in rows about
three feet apart and cover four inches deep.
The native American farmer is apt to be
slovenly in the matter of keeping down
weeds. In parts OF Europe the race OF weeds
is well nigh extinct in the vegetable garden.
1t makes one melancholy as a sick rat to ride
past many OF our -farm-gardens in July and
see tho weedstrangled vegetables struggling
for life. Keep the things down.
The prize potato-raiser cover the seed with
a one-horse sh%are-plow, and cultivates with
the harrow the first time. After that he uses
a sprsng-tooth cultivntor.
II TO PLANT.
Everybody has his own favorito potato for
planting. Avoid the gross, big, watery
kinds. A smooth, fine-grained, mealy tuber
Is the best. No better potato than the Early
Rose was ever produced, for all purposes.
But any one given variety deteriorates after
it has been cultivated a generation or so, and
new varieties must be found. 1t is said that
the favorite Early Rose already begins to de-
cline According to some good judges, the
coming potato is the variety known as the
Little Muddy. 1t produces a larger yield tc
the acre than any other kind, it is claimed
an immense yield, in truth. Try some of thu
seed IL you can get it.
PREPARING THE ED
Plant fair, moderate sized potatoes. Many
prefer them cut to a single eye, but that is {
question not yet decided. About ten day.
before planting time bring seed potatoes into
the light and air. This is a matter Of i'm.
portance. 1t viii strengthen the sprouts and
forward them. Examine each potato singly,
and see that it is perfect, fair, pure and free
from scab or other disease. The way to
stamp out potato scab is to plant only pure
seed.
Finally, pay no attention to miraculous big
potato stories. Go on your even way. Plant
the best seed in good ground, manure plenti-
fully. Keep the ground mellow, and don't
leave a weed in the patch, and you will have
as good a yield of potatoes as anybody needs.