The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-01-19
AGRICULTURAL.
Potatoes without Manure.

Bulletin 140 of Cornell University
Agricultural Experiment Station con-
tains some very valuable suggestions
to potato growers. For three years an
experiment has been in progress at
Cornell to learn the value of tillage
and to ascertain how many times it lie
best to cultivate potatoes. A gravelly
and naturally poor soil was selected for
the experiments. Some of the plats
were cultivated excessively Chirteen
umee), some only few times. The
lessons learned are the following: Po-
tatoes need much moisture. To secure
this the land was plowed deeply in the
spring as soon as the land was dry
enough. Then it received several har-
rowings. This prevented the evapora.
ton OF the water from the soil, a very
important point. Potatoes need great
deal Of water, and il the land is in good
condition to receive and retain the
spring rains, great saving Of moisture
will be effected. Then by frequently
stirring the surface of the ground with
. fine tooth implement like harrow or
woeder, moisture can be saved through
the whole season. For as soon as the
tops spread 30 as to cover the surface Of
the ground, the evaporation Of water will
cease. A plentiful supply of moisture
without manure or fertilizer lie of far
more value than great deal of fertilizer
with lack Of moisture. Hence the great
point in potato culture is to secure
full supply Of moisture. But this is not
all. Frequent tillsge makes the plant
food in the soil available. Most soils
under ordinary cultivation contain
plant food enough for full crop Of pc
tatoes. What is needed is that it
should be make available, should be set
at liberty 30 that the plants can use it
for growth, instead of its being locked
mp in the earth. The blowing and bar-
rowing are q great help in this. Early
blowing and frequent working with the
harrow before the crop is put in are
great help to the crop. The narrowing
is not to be done all in one day, but at
intervals. The planting at Cornell was
done with pillow, furrow being made
with double moldboard pillow, the po-
tatoes dropped, then covered with the
same by blowing furrow between the
rows. This loosens up all the soil 80
that the potatoes can grow sideways as
we'll as upwards. 1t is explained that
the reason why potatoes grow up out
of the ground is simply because the
soil is more mellow there, and they
grow in the direction of the least re-
sistance. Hence if the soil is loose on
each side of the hill, the potatoes will
not grow out of the ground as they will
if the soil on each side OF the hill is
hard. The usual reason given for hill
ing up potatoes is that it keeps them
from growing out of the ground. But
there is no need of this in level culture,
II the ground is made very mellow.
A striking lesson is given in the harm
killing does. One plot was hilled,
another left level. The latter yielded
thirty-seven bushels more of potatoes
than those hilled. 1t is evident that
billing potatoes does not pay. Another
great help in securing large yields of
potatoes is the early and frequent use
Of Bordeaux mixture. The first insect
enemy of the potato is the flea beetle,
very small, black, shiny insect which
attacks the plants as soon as they are
out Of the ground. The Bordeaux mix
ture checks their ravages. The yield
per acre on plat cultivated eight times
and sprayed four times was 1884 bushels
and 357 bushels. This was last year
when potatoes generally yielded 80
poorly.