The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1900-07-10

manure per acre When some of
our farmers begin to appreciate this
statement they will stand aghast. A
ton of stable manure is about one
good two-horse load for average sized
| horses. The loads run about two to
the cord, which would be ~ to 10
cords. A cord is 128 cubic feet. But
many farmers are used to apply ma
nure by the bushel, which approx
mates to one and a fourth cubic feet
Since there are 128 cubic feet in a
cord, there must be in a cord then
about 410 bushels and in rs to 10
cords 3,O5O to 400 bushels of ma
nure per acre. Adding a ton of high
/ grade commercial manure the cost
is from $35 to $50 per acre. But
there is a large residuum of manurial
elements which succeeding crops can
take up.
Mr.. Rudd's article is as follows:
Probably there is no vegetable
now in use that is used so extensive
ly as the Irish potato. And notwith-
standing the fact that the crop is
easily raised and the climate of Mid
die Tennessee will admit two crops
Is9 year, there are many thousands
of bushels of potatoes bought and
brought here from different sections
of the North to supply the consum-
ers of this country. With our expe-
rience for the last seven years there
has not been a season that has been
so dry that we could not raise a pay
ing crop either of the first or second
and rarely ever that we could not
raise a fair crop of both first and
second crops.
Oftentimes the first crop can be
shipped North, bringing fair profit,
and if not they can be shipped South
in the latter part of the summer,
bringing a fair price. The second
crop is always a sure money crop,
rarely ever bringing less than dol
lar and sometimes a dollar and fifty
cents per bushel for seed, being far
more valuable than NOrthern-grOwn
seed. Although we do not raise
potatoes on a large scale, yet we
rarely ever receive less than $50 and
sometimes 800 clear profit from an
acre of ground, rarely ever yielding
less than $50 to 200 bus. per acre in a
dry season, with the prospect for 300
or 400 bushels in a good season. AS the
Irish potato is largely composed of
water one who understands and puts
in practice the principles Of fertii-
zatiOn, together with the principles
of cultivation as pertaining to soil
moisture Claid down and fully eX-
planned at the different farmers in
stitutes this last winter by that most
eminent scientist Andrew M. Soule)
need have no fears as to the result
of raising Irish potatoes.
AS success depends to a great ex-
tent upon rapid growth and quick
maturity it will not do to ecOnomize
in the use of fertilizer. We never
use less than a ton of high-grade
fertilizer per acre, together with not
less than Is or 20 tons of stable ma
nure spreading the manure broadcast
/ in the winter, sometime before
/ spring work begins then as the
ground is dry enough to work we
begin by cultivating the manure into
/ the surface with cutaway plOw
some or inches deep. Then by
using a turning plOw we can plow
the ground deep, leaving the ground
we'll pulverized. Potatoes require
most thorough preparation of the
soil as they will not do we'll in clods.
and there is no crop that will re-
spond more readily to good cultiva-
ton. Heavy fertilization requires
far more thorough cultivation. AS
soon as the ground is prepared we
lay off the ground about % inches
wide with large shovel plow with
wings drawing in the wings: this
leaves a broad furrow. We then
scatter the fertilizer in the furrOw
we'll up on the sides of the furrOw
then follow with a borrow and
narrow calf tongue plow, thus mix
ing the fertilizer with the soil and
preventing the seed potatoes from
coming in contact with the fertilizer
which is important when so much
fertilizer is used. We then drop the
seed potatoes (Which have been cut,
and spread to dry "A hours before