Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1891-01-24
Eartta xHtststts,
Another Potato Experience.
Cor. Country Gentleman.

OOT' OOunIy OeHtltuluH.
About twenty years ago / found
myself in the same dilemma as the
one now confronting Mr.. Terry
with very costly lot of potatoes on
my hands, and the unsolved problem
how to get the greatest crop possible
from them. The lot of 35 pounds
had cost me So a pound, round sum
we will all agree, yet almost insig-
nificant when compared with the
price / was asked for a single speci.
men-for&y-siT dollars for potato
weighing not over half a pound !
This was just after the introduction
Of the Early Rose when a potato
craze possessed the community.
Having drawn the elephant the ques-
ton with me was what to do to make
the most of him. BY none of the
ordinary ways of propagation, how
ever so much stimulated, could a
crop be expected that would pay for
the investment at the highest price
the market would bear.
My thoughts turned at once TO the
resources of the greenhouse with its
propagating bench. l waited on a
nurseryman who had large resourse
and considerable experience in this
line. We talked over the matter and
he told me some interesting facts.
Two years previously, starting with
single Early Rose potato, he raised
from it the same season 100 bushels of
very fine tubers, and had had like
success with the Early Vermont then
inst introduced.
His method was to sprout the tu-
bers in the propagating bed, and as
soon as the shoots were 4 or 5 inches
long to take the tops as cuttings and
put them in bed with bottom heat
These would root in week or ten
days when they were ported in q
inch pots, and cuttings were taken
from their growth to go through the
same process. These plants were
turned out into drills 3 feet apart
and given the same amount of man
ure and the same cultivation as W.
commonly give potatoes in field cul
ture.
The result of our conference wa
that 1 engaged the nurseryman t,
take my 50 pounds and make tn
most of them, agreeing to take a!
risk from drouth and rot, and pa,
him cents for each plant whel
transplanted in the'open ground, h
to give them plenty of manure an,
good cultivation. 1 brought my pc
tatoes to him rather late in the sea
son to make the most plants by hi
method of propagatiLg; nevertheless
he planted somewhere about eigh
acres when he concluded that tn
season was too far advanced to max
it wise to proceed farther. The sea
son proved to be very dry one an
the crop suffered severely, giving m
but small crop of small potatoe
for which paid the nurseryman {
per contract $1,000.
There can be no doubt that II
process was too hurried to Obtai
such strong and stocky plants {
would have insured a fair crop und,
almost any conceivable condition
where there was no rot. As the il
crease by this method of propagate
is something near akin to geometl
cal ratio, believe that starting ST.
ficiently early with barrel of tube
and the requisite facilities at. cor
mand, an industrious man mig
cover his farm the same season wi
potatoes, and very likely be compe
ed to hire little more room from
neighbOrs.
My attention was called to one i
teresting phenomenon connect
with the vines transpJanted into t
flower pots. If they were left the
too long, punches of small potato
would appear above ground whe
the leaves joined the stalks.
]. j. H. GREGORY
Marblehead, MISS.