Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1886-03-04
POTATOES.


be dry or well drained. 1t is of no use
to try to raise potatoes on wet soil.
2. 1t ought to be rich in the elements
which go 10 produce the crop, especially
in potash and phosphoric acid. 8. 1t
ought to be clean. The great secret of
success in potato-growing is thorough
preparation of the soil. Not one farmer
in twenty outside of those who grow
potatoes for market put as much work
upon preparing the ground as would be
profitable. If the soil Is lumpy as when
first turned, the rootlets find little to
sustain the young plant. A feeble plant
insures small yield with few market
able potatoes. A clover sod turned
under in the fore part of September is
the best seed bed, unless you have new
land. If not rich, cover with manure
before blowing.
PREPARATION.
The soil should be thoroughly mel
lowed to the depth of four or five inches,
which can be done to perfection by the
Disk or Acme harrows. / use an
Acme. If you have not these, cul-
tiyate and make as fine rs you can the
top soil, then replow six inches deep.
and harrow till fine. Mark out with
single shovel, or small diamond pillow
four inches deep, rows running across
the wash of the land. Drop by hand
and step on each piece, cover with the
small diamond pillow or corn sulky
using only the front shovels; this will
leave quite ridge. When the first
potatoes begin to come through the
ground or before. harrow thoroughly
with smoothing harrow, cross-wise;
this will leave the ground smooth and
will kill all the young weeds that have
sprouted. Cultivate once week, and
when or 3 inches high throw little
dirt towards tie tops. When blossoms
begin to appear, and while they stand
up straight, throw the dirt to them and
hill up with the corn sulky, or small
diamond pillow. You must keep them
clean if you expect to raise good crop.
Ii weeds appear before they are done
growing take them out with a cult
yator or hoe. On sandy land, plant
deeper and cultivate fiat,
SEED.
1t cut, large potatoes are best, as
they give more nourishment to the
fibrous roots when first started.
as they feed upon the starch in the po-
tato. A medium-sized potato, about
the size of hens egg, planted whole,
will give the best results. They will
return double what potatoes will if cut
to one or two eyes to the piece, and
only piece put in a place, that is, on
land sufficiently rich to produce good
crop. If not very rich, the less guam
tity of seed is probably the better, as
large quantity of small and spindling
tops will give nearly all small potatoes
on posrish land. Most of the small
potatoes grow from the eyes on the
seed end; pare it off, and YOU will
have q greater number of even-sized
potatoes.
Early kinds that have small growth
of tops can be planted much closer than
late, tall-growing sorts. All tall varie-
ties when planted close, require lighter
seeding. especially on rich soil, or suffi-
cient room In the rows with heavy
seeding. Yet single-eye or two-eye
pieces we contend are insufficient on
any land on which it will pay to raise
potatoes. Early dwarf potatoes yield
the most when whole seed is used. I'M
der all circumstances, even when
planted as close as six inches in the
row.
To prevent scab from wire-worms
eating the potatoes, use a mixture of
ashes, salt. lime and sulphur, putting
in the salt and sulphur when shaking
the lime. Put handful on the hill.
1t is good fertilizer for potatoes.
Hot scorching sun after shower.
and hot winds the last of July and in
August, will cause blight on tops and
rot in potatoes. Plant before corn. or
as soon as the ground is in good con-
dition.
To prevent exhaustion of soil, the
ground after potatoes should be sown
with wheat or barley, and seeded with
clover to remain two years. Sowing
with oats would still more exhaust the
potash, as so bushels of oats takes five
times as much potash as Is bushels of
wheat. (wheat lbs, oats 20 lbs.)
$50 bushels of potatoes takes 50 lbs. of
potash. % bushels wheat, 8 lbs: so
bushels corn, II lbs; 80 bushels oats.
20 lbs. The $50 bushels of potatoes
will take 81 times as much as wheat
and AZ times as much as corn, and q
times as much as oats. Hence ashes
spe cial fertilizer.
Nitrogen. Phos Acid Potash
Potatoes, 40 bu.. &c lbs is lbs 50 lbs
Tops, 900 lbs...... I'LL