The Portland daily press., 1894-04-26
POTATO GROWING MADE EASY.
Helpful Suggestions Concerning Method
That Saves Time and Labor.

Helpful Suggestions Concerning a Method
That Saves Time and Labor.
In deciding upon speciality location
must be considered The largest part of
the potato crep must be grown within
few miles Of a shipping station, as the
bulk makes too much cost for hauling
long distances Do not be handicapped
from the start in planting ground I'M
suited or ill prepared.
Potatoes require melloR soil. Depth
and looseness are more necessary than
richness A writer in The American
Agriculturist tells that horse manure
spread on clover sod year previous to
planting is the best preparation. The
land is plowed in the fall; twice dragged
in the spring with spring tooth har-
row. The drills are marked out three
feet apart with a two horse reversible
pillow, letting the pillow run as deep as
when the land was first plowed, turning
all burrows down hill, which forms a
bank on the lower side. Where land is
steep the soil cannot be worked up to
the hill from the lower side. The other
way is marked with narrow toothed
marker, which drags some fine earth
back into the furrow, which makes a
perfect seed bed.
The cut seed is dropped and stepped
on by boys. With the same plow and
one horse walking in the trench the seed
is covered, throwing the soil the same
way as before, not back. The tubers are
covered six to eight inches deep, and
the ground is two thirds replowed. The
potatoes will be long time in coming
up, will escape the first crop of bugs,
will withstand drought, can be narrowed
several times and, best of all, will be
strong, rank growers, soon shading the
ground with their foliage. The author
| ity quoted says that he has never yet
| found a new tuber below the piece plant
| ed nor above that point on the stalk
which first saw the light, no matter how
much soil was piled around it afterward.
| Therefore it is best to plan so as to have
long bearing stem, with tubers at
| tached far enough from each other te
expand fully instead of a hatful OF the
| size of hens eggs attached to two inches
| of stalk.
| From the time the potatoes are planted
until they break through the GROUND
they are dragged several times with {
| heavy two horse spring drag, drawn II
the same direction they were covered
but not across the burrows. This level
! down the two burrows partially ane
forms rounded hill, completely mel
lows the soil in the hill, kills all weeds
can be done by boy at a very small e1
pense as compared with cost Of cul
tivating and is infinitely better in TIL
4 quality of work done. By this process
no hoe ever goes into the field, nor an.
sunburned potatoes come out The roo
growth is enormous. Some OF the root
are 30 inches long before any tuber
have set. The after cultivation is yer.
shallow to keep the ground from crust
ing over after rains and to keep the sol
fine and mellow, so as to serve as mulc]
in times Of drought.
| Select some large yielding, medium
late, disease resisting, long white potato
and the battle is half won. Do not lie
your seed sprout The largest yield gain
ed last season by the writer was wit
seed placed in crates and covered wit
land plaster, which kept it cool. Whel
planted, the buds were swollen full, bu
not enough to break off. The rule is t
seed according to the quality of the land
The poorer the land the farther apart tn
hills and the less seed.