Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1893-01-12
FARMERANDPL PLANTER.
DIVERSITY ON THE FARM.


Raising Irish Potatoes a Good subatithto
for Cotton where Soil Conditions are
Favorable.
A great many persons in the south
are very favorably SITUATED for making
the growing of Irish potatoes very
profitable business. Those who have
good land close to the railroad are Tire
ones who can make, this business the
most profitable of course. 1t was never
intended that every@farmer should en-
gage in like business. There must
be diversity on. the farm. One farmer
must make specially of the thing and
another farmer must make a speciality |
OF another. II will not do for every |
farmer to grow the same. products.
Overproduction would Immediately re-
suit. It's q fortunate thing that every |
farmers taste does not lie in the same |
direction.
With the rapid growth of this coun-
try, however, and the constantly in
,sreasing number Of nonproduccrs, that
Is nonproducers from the soil, there is
20 great danger of first-class food pro-
ducts being produced beyond the de-
nand for them There is no reason for
believing that first-class food crops that
are produced in good merchantable
condition, that is of good quality and
size, will fail to resell at remunerative
prices in this steadily-growing country.
Hundreds of trucksters in the south
have made money by raising first quail
ity Irish potatoes, and in the coming
time there are hundreds and thousands
more who will find it doubtless one of
the most profitable features of their
field culture.
We know many who have under
taken to grow Irish potatoes for north
ern markets who did not make a sue.
cess of it, for the simple reason they
did not grow merchantable quality
| of potatoes, and were not business
men enough to ship and sell them to
advantage when they made good crops.
1t is one thing to make a good crop
and altogether another thing to mar
ket it to advantage. All over the
world there are farmers making good
livings off Of very small areas of land,
in many instances not more than an
acre, and from this up to ten or
twenty. They are experts in their
special line of work and every man
must become an expert before he can
make the best of his business.
In the south the first crop of potatoes
is planted either in January or Febru-
airy. In southern Georgia and Florida
January is. the month, but north of 80
deg. February to Is is the most suit
able period for planting the first crop,
until the 35th or 36th parallel is reached.
Above that line March planting is more
appropriate. The writer has grown
many thousands of bushels of Irish po-
tatoes in the past twentyyears, either
as first or second crop, and about the
first thing he learned in reference to
the crop was the utter uselessness
of attempting to grow it without
adequate preparation of the soil
and v. judicious manuring OF it.
There is very little land in the south
naturally rich enough to grow large
crops of potatoes such as grown in the
north and northwest. If not in need
of nitrogen, they are more likely to
need potash or phosphoric acid. 1t will
be found difficult matter to make
land too rich for Irish potatoes If it Is
applied properly.
In these sections when early Fcbru-
airy planting is the most appropriate,
preparation of the soil should begin in
December-at any rate early in Jan
uary. If the land is in stubble. il
should be turned under in December
and wide, deep burrows should be laid
off at ~ or feet apart and good
compost applied to these burrows
The burrows should be listed on an ad
ditional manure put into the list fur
rows. At planting time these lists are
deeply opened to receive the seed
There should be two eyes to the cut
and piece dropped every 10 or Il
inches in the furrow. 1t requires
from eight to ten bushels of goot
! potatoes to plant an acre properly. l.
cut to single eyes five bushels can bt
made TO plant an acre, but the yielt
from such is nothing like as large al
} that from the heaviest seeding. 1t il
much better to use cuts with two eyes
The soil being prepared deeply an(
J thoroughly at planting time it only
. needs to give the crop frequent ant
: shallow cultivation to bring into per
: lection. When the soil is stiff and in
clined to run together, one deep pillow
r ing may be called for shortly after thu
, potatoes come up. But on rich, loan,
soil deep cultivation is more likely tc
t do harm rather than good in ON
droughty, spring climate. = Cor il
I | Southern Farm .t.r.. '.. 90