Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1891-12-04
How bermuda rotntoes are drown.


The Bermuda potatoes are all grown in
the winter months. The Early Rose and
Prolific are used for early planting, and any
kind of red potatoes for the later planting,
but mostly Garnets Red has become by
unwritten law the Bermuda trademark,
and dealers in New York city do not care
to touch a late Bermuda potato without it
be red. Their customers, the grocerymen,
say the public do not believe potato is
from Bermuda unless it is red.
Many farmers are now, Oct. II, planting
Early Rose. which will be harvested in
from so to 80 days after the planting, or
about New Years. When these fields are
harvested. the farmer Immediately puts in
late onions, and gets two crops in one sea-
son. From now on upto Feb. - the farm
en- will plant potatoes as seems best or con-
ycnient, and the harvesting from these sue
ccssve paintings is kept up to about June
l. No doubt a Northern farmer would bc
delighted if he could have four months of
the year for planting and a corresponding
four or five months for harvesting. No
one plants after Feb. l5 as paintings after
that date run to enormous tops-some-
times six feet long-but not a tuber will
set
our potatoes for planting all come from
the North as potatoes grown in Bermuda,
and with great care kept over the summer.
are almost worthless for planting. Ar
rangements are made with farmers in
Maine, the Adirondack region, Nova SEQ
tia and New Brunswick to grow our red
potatoes for planting, Our Early Rose
comes from New York. We have great
trouble to make these seed potatoes sprOut,
as potatoes which have gone to sleep in a
Northern climate, not awakening until
April or May following, do not readily
arouse: they are more inclined to rot than
sprout, and it will not answer to put them
into the ground until they have sprouted.
Probably the most successful way to sprOut
them is to spread them upon dry floor
for few days until they are thoroughly
dried off from the steamship sweat. Those
inclined to rot should be picked out, and
the others put back into barrels and kept
in a dry, warm place. As soon as the
eyes begin to show signs of starting the
potatoes are cut into pieces with two or
these eyes and directly planted in the
ground.
The method of planting, after the ground
is thoroughly prepared with manure or an
artificial fertilizer, is to stretch garden
line across the field, and a man, following
this line, takes each piece of potato and
pushes it into the ground some three or
four inches. These rows are from Is to 20
inches apart, and the potatoes from four
to six inches in the row. This is a slow,
laborious process, but it is much the best
way, as the growth of the potato is some
what different than in the North. There
each potato plant sends out roots in differ
ent directions four or five inches long, and
on the end of these roOtlets the potato is
formed, frequently making large hill full
of potatoes. Here the potato "snugs up
close to the plant, only forming from ont
to three good marketable potatoes to each
stalk. BY no known method can the pota-
to be induced to stray away from the stalk
so we strive to have as many stalks Oh
plants to the acre as is possible. After tho
rows can be seen through the field, mer
are put i'm with spading forks, spading care
fully between each row, the rows being Sc
close together that a horse cannot be used
4 week or ten days afterward the potatoes
are hilled up Tor, as we say, nodded by
hoe, and nothing more is done until har
yesting, as the vines soon cover III TN
ground, and no weeds can grow.-BermU
dd Cor