The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1900-03-24
FARMER AND PLANTER.
ABOUT IRISH POTATOES.
Some of the Conditions Necessary to
Make . Success of the Crop
In the South.

u makc y SUCCESS VI ILLS CIoP, We
must first select the right kind of soil
to grow them in. This soil should be
loose: light sandy loan being pre-
ferable, which should be well filed
with humus. Ournorthern friends have
their best success on a clover sod,
which furnishes this humus; but at
the south, we must depend principally
upon the cow pea to tighten our soil,
and supply us with this vegetable mat
ter. A piece of light, loamy land that
was in corn last year, and well ma
nured for that crop, and which had
COW peas sown in the corn and the
vines allowed to die on the land, will
90 finely. Or a piece of new ground
where the stumps have been grubbed
out, SO it can be broken deeply, is also
a good place. As soon as teh land is
dry enough in the spring,
break deeply with two-horse pillow.
If you are not so fortunate as to pos
sess big pillow, follow behind the one
horse turn pillow with long, narrow
sharp scooter, in the same furrow.
Tier harrow down fine with cutaway
and smoothing 'harrows, and lay off
y"ur rows three feet apart with double
mould-board pillow, running deep
enough so the seed will be four inches
below the surface when the land is
level. In the meantime have your
seed potatoes cut to two good eyes,
trying to have the pieces as even in
size as possible; see that your seed are
medium sized tubers and good smooth
stock, free from scab. Do not cut too
many ahead, for we want to put fresh
ly-cut seed into freshly-opened fur
rows. Drop your pieces ten to four
teen inches apart, according to variety.
Fairly varieties requiring closer seed
ing than the later maturing kind; and
cover lightly about two inches deep.
Then your are ready to apply your
fertilizer.
This fertilizer should contain q
good per cent. of potash for best re-
suits, and to make the potatoes nice
and mealy. Soggy and watery pota-
toes are usually the result of def
CLERGY of potash in the soil, so that
this matter is very important. A fer
tilizer for this crop should contain am
monia, six per cent; phosphoric acid,
seven per cent, and potash eight per
cert, and can be made by combining
SOC pounds dried blood, $50 pounds
acid phosphate and 800 pounds muri-
ate OF potash, or sulphate of potash,
if it is preferred, to make ton. APP
ply this in broad band on top of the
row at the rate of 1000 pounds to the
acre, for the main crop, if your land
in good. But 1000 pounds will be
founo to pay better, especially on the
early crop, which needs forcing. Now,
put two good burrows on every row,
and your planting is completed.
The cultivation of this crop should
commence almost Immediately, by
running a moothing harrow
across the rows as soon as the land
is dry enough, after rain. Keep the
crust broken in this manner, by run
mig first cross-wise and then length
wise of the rows, until the plants are
wei! up; when the cultivator with mar
row teeth can be used. This cultiva-
ton should be frequent and shallow
and as nearly level as possible, keep
ing il up until the vines begin to die.
As the plants become large spray
them with Bordeaux mixture, as a
preventive against blight. Keep
sharp lookout for potato bugs, and
catch the first ones that make their
appearance. By looking the field over
once week these pests can be kept
in check; and with us, the method has
been cheaper and more satisfactory
than to use poison.
Careful attention to details are the
requisites of success with the potato
CT Oh, as withmost other crops for that
matter.-T. J. Merriam. Battle Hill,
Ga.