San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1895-04-01
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Experience In Pot alto Raising.

Experience In Pot alto Raising.
Lancaster County, Pa. Cor. of the Country
Gentleman.
Now that the snow drifts are dis
appearing rapidly under the well
come influence of the sun, farmers
in this locality will be thinking Of
getting the first and one OF the
most important as well as best pay
ing field crops into the ground.
Nearly every farmer has his parti-
cular way and time of planting po-
tatoes. So it would be we'll for
every one who has been a success
full grower to give his method OF
growing this important crop. 1t
is an old saying that there is no
one so wise that he can not still
learn something. have never
raised potatoes on large scale, but
usually raise about three acres
each years, never paying any at
tention to the price; but in the
long run find the potato crop the
best paying one we raise. How
ever, when potatoes are extreme
ly low and drag on the market
we, as a rule, plant largely, as the
majority OF farmers cry, "Potatoes
don't payw and therefore just
raise what they need for family
use. Generally by the time the
crop is harvested the price has ad-
vanced to paying one, and finds
such farmers with none to sell.
We always plant our potatoes on
the ground that was in corn the
year previous, selecting low, but
thoroughly drained, ground; then
give it a heavy coat Of barnyard or
hog manure in the late fall or
early winter. The GROUND is then
left until planting time, and that is
whenever the ground is sufficient
ly warm to insure a speedy
growth, which mostly happens
about the Goth of April. We al
ways endeavor to plant as early
as we can to avoid the bugs, as
every one knows that they are
more destructive to the late crops
or weak hills in the row. We now
select pure variety Of kind Of
potatoes that are heavy producers
and have reputation on the mar
ket, and cut them to a single eye,
IL the prices are large-never more
than two eyes. Then we start to
the field with pillow, potatoes and
some good commercial phOsphat
containing a large per cent of pot
ash. We now start the pillow down
a cornstalk row, and the troopers
then follow. dropping the peices at
the land side of the furrow at a
distance Of about 10 inches apart.
Then another man follows With
the fertilizer, sowing it as near as
he can on the next furrow to be
plowed, or the one that is to cover
the potato.
We then plant in every third fur
row until done. II the ground is
mellow (Which it should be-, a
healthy roller is run over the patch,
and it is left for about ten days
and then thoroughly narrowed
with a good spike harrow-at least
three times. After we see them
peeping through the ground, we
repeat the narrowing, thus destroy
ing all weeds that will in any way
interfere with the growth of the
plant until it is large enough for
the single cultivator, which we
use often and as long as we can, or
until after blossoms appear. l
want no shovel pillow in my patch,
as level culture in nine cases out
of ten gives the best crops. We
have tried raising potatoes about
every:other way in planting, but
the above gives US the best satis-
faction. OF course, attention must
be paid TO the bugs, or a day or two
of neglect may let them ruin
the most promising crop.