The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1894-05-04
PROFIT IN TT.
Description of a Minnesota Industry
But Little Known, Yet Important.
To THE EDITOR.

|
To THE EDITOR:
Complying with your request, ]
will endeavor to give the readers
of the FREE PRESS a description
of an industry carried on on large
scale in certain section of this state
which came to my attention within
| the past week during visit to several
points on the line of the ST. Paul &
Duluth railroad, of which | had nc
previous knowledge, and which maa
be new to others as well. refer to
the raising of potatoes in large GUAM
titles for shipment.
The farmers in the vicinity of North
Branch, Harris, Rush City and Pine
City are all engaged in this industry.
L was informed that it is common
thing for farmer to have from forty
to fifty acres of potatoes under culti-
walton, and in some cases fields of one
hundred acres or even more are to be
seen.
The planting, cultivating and dig
ging is sometimes done by hand, but
quite often by machinery, and i'm
proved machinery is being rapidly in
troduced and put in.
Where machinery is employed the
planting is done by machine which
does the marking, opens the furrow
drops the seed potato and covers it,
This planter can be operated by boy
old enough to drive team in straight
line. The cultivation is by the ordi-
nary horse cultivator, and the potato
bug, which of course is right at home
in such region, and must be taken
into the consideration, is fed his neces-
sary rations of paris green by means
of "bugging machine" made by
mounting barrel on wheels and con-
Meeting it to sprinkling attachment
much in the way in which an ordinary
street sprinkler is arranged. The
mixture of ''pizen" and water in the
barrel, one horse in the shafts and
boy mounted on either the horse or
barrel to drive, completes the outfit.
The boy, with this machine, is given
a stint Of ten acres as day S work,
and the average boy finishes the job
by five o'clock, having by that time
fa5 liC p1n1t linda
Digging machines are of various de-
signs, but mostly suppose on the
principle of the pillow. All hands are
kept busy digging in the fall, and dur
ing this time but few potatoes are
marketed, though immediate neces-
stiles compel more or less selling, so
that buyers are on hand as early as
the 18th or Goth of August each year.
BY planting both early and late vari-
ties the digging season is made to ex-
tend over several weeks of time, and
an early crop is provided for the i'm
mediate needs already mentioned.
Each farmer has an underground
root cellar provided with the proper
ventilatOrs into which goes the bulk
of the crop until the fall work is out
of the way and leisure is had to
market it.
We are used to thinking that pOta-
toes must be brought in before cold
weather comes or during mild spells
but the temperature does not regulate
the marketing in the vicinity named
To be sure it must be considered, but
"Jack Frost" does not control the situa
tion. Those who live near to the sta
tions often warm their potatoes in the
cellar and, lining the wagon boxes
load in the heated tubers, and by 8
hurried trip bring them safely tC
market. Many farmers however, have
their wagons Or sleds fitted with
stoves, and by this means market theil
crop at their convenience without any
risk whatever. Occasionally, but moi
often, load will be chilled and have