Iron County register., 1888-05-31
PLANTING POTATOES.
A Crop That Can Re Grown ON Almo'
Any Reasonably Dry Son

A Crop That Can he Grown ON Almose
Any Reasonably Dry Son
The potato is one Of the important
crops of the farm. and one which un-
der ordinarily favorable circum-
stances can be grown with as little
trouble as the average Of crops.
Within the past few years, or since
the advent OF the Colorado beetle.
cultivation has been attended with
more trouble because Of the extra la
Dor required to destroy the beetles or
their larv@. The last season was an
unfavorable season because OF blight
that largely affected the crop. reduce
ing it in the aggregate amount very
much With proper care potatoes
can be grown upon almost any soil
that is reasonably dry. and that is
possessed Of fair fertility. although
sandy loan is usually preferable.
This vegetable will usually
succeed fully as well. and probably
better. upon a soil that has been de-
voted to pasturage for some time. II
seems to thrive best when obtaining .
share of its nourishment from an old
sod. and another important consider
alton is that with such conditions the
tubers are usually cleaner and
smoother than when grown upon old
land. or that has been under previous
cultivation Tor little time.
Potatoes will seldom do we'll IL
planted upon the same soil for sue
cession of years; the tendency Is to
roughness and scabbiness. The soil,
as before suggested should be fairly
fertile. and any supposed deficiency
should be provided for by an applica-
ton upon the surface after blowing.
which should be to depth Of six to
eight inches, and then thoroughly in-
corpora ated with the soil by means of
narrowing. One important point to
be secured is light soil. as the POI
tato will seldom thrive in one
that is compact and hard. II this con-
dition can not be secured by the usual
tillage of the soil. it should be pro-
vided for by other means. and one Of
the best is to use some coarse. strawy
manure placed in the furrow with the
seed.
After the surface is made mellow by
sufficient narrowing. the field should
be furrowed to mark the rows, and
these f furrows should be made to q
good depth, as we believe, all things
considered. that it-is better to plant
to a considerable depth. We havo
considerable faith in horse manure for
potatoes. having always secured good
and satisfactory results from its use.
Some times it has been strewn in tho
furrow and the seed dropped upon it,
and some times the operation has been
reversed. Our practice has for some
time been to cut fair-sized pota-
toes to two or three eyes and
drop single piece for a hill. the
pieces being dropped about one foot
apart in the row; as sort of stimu-
liant. small quantity Of superphos-
phate may be dropped by the side Of
each hill. and if the soil Is free from
stones the covering may be done by
the use of the plow.
Ashes are recommended very highly
by some in the planting of potatoes,
but we are compelled to say that our
experience has not encouraged their
use, but this may have been because
Of some popularity of the soil. As
soon as up the potato crop should be
hoed and kept clean Of weeds or
grass; there is nothing that will af-
feet the growth of the tubers more
than thick growth of weeds in the
rows. Clean culture is always to be
recommended, but with potatoes II
seems to be an absolute necessity. -
Vim. H. Yeon,ans, in ~ y Observer.