The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1898-03-05
1000 BUSHELS PER ACRE.
That's the Quantity Of Potatoes
Raised in California by a System
sent to Talbot.

We take the following from the Easton
(Md. Ledger, which will be of interest
to many Of our readers, and it would be
well if some our progressive farmers would
give it trial
DIR. Charles Lowndes has received let
ter from gentleman in California describ
ing new way of planting Irish potatoes.
This gentleman says he has raised from
1000 to $500 bushels of potatoes per
acre by this system. In Talbot an aver
age of 80 bushels to the acre in lots of
from 10 to 20 acres is considered a good
crop.
The California plan, which is entirely
new to Talbot farmers, is as follows:
"Sprout the potatoes before planting.
Ii the potato is put in the ground in the
old way it takes about 120 days to get
full-grown. Over half this Time is con-
sumed in sprouting the plant. By plant
ing the little sprouts you control the num-
Der in the hill, give each fair share of
the fertilized area, and save half of the
usual time in growing the crop Pulver-
ize your soil well and plow out rows by an
up and down furrow, leaving small balk
if convenient, Make the row 18 inches
wide and feet from center to cen
ter. Drill in the fertilizers and the
drilling will level down the balk and
leave Il small trench. Plant the pota-
toes right along continuously so that
that each Is inches square shall have so
Or 60 little spuds From the center Of
each row to the center of the next is Just
36 inches, which gives 18 inches of un-
planted ground. This gives $500 So
called hills to the acre, and will require
500, 600 plants or little tubers.
Fifty or sixty days before planting
time put the proper number of spuds in
kegs or barrels in a cellar and raise the
temperature to IS to 80 degrees, and
keep the air tolerably moist The spuds
will soon sprout, and each sprout will be
found several little tubers varying in size
from q sixteenth to half an inch through
When the ground is ready knock down
the kegs and shake apart the spuds.
Break off the little tubers and plant as di-
rected. Give each tuber space and plant
from fifty to sixty to the square, cover in
and treat just as the ordinary planting.
For each l 900 hills it takes four and half
bushels Of seed potatoes. For each 200
hills it takes $50 pounds nitrate of soda,
25O pounds muriate of potash, and $50
pounds Of superphosphate or ground bone
that has been so treated that the phos-
phorous is in soluble form. All of the
potash and all of the phosphate should be
mixed and carefully drilled into the rows
so that they are evenly spread over the
bottom of the row. 1t is well in most
soils to add to the mixture one quarter of
the soda. Dissolve the rest of the soda
and put half on the plants two weeks after
they come up; the remainder is put on
two weeks after this If the soil is wood
infested it is best to put all of the soda on
in solution after the plants are up.
''If the soil is naturally alkaline, lime
will not be needed, but the potatoes must
have lime at the rate of 5 pounds to the
thousand hills This amount is unusually
present in the soil, but an excess added
will do no injury. This rate of fertilizer
is on the basis Of l5 pounds to the hill,
and supposing that the soil contains silica
and fair amount of humus. The best
form of fertilizer for particular kinds of soil
can only be learned by experience The
kinds given are recommended for this sandy
soil that have been cropped. =