Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1901-02-08

me Information rs TO planting pOtatOeS OH
rather heavy land not using n machine plan
teri am quite familiar with their culture
rs practiced in Europe, but am told it would
not work here. My plan has always been TO
draw out straight drills y Inches apart wilma
double moldboard pillow, manure heavily in
drill, plant sets, and cover by sp1tting the
ridge with the same pillow. II the sets were
considered too deep, | run over the drills
with n chain brush. why don't the plan
work here? | saw n farmer last summer
earthing up potatoes with Il single furrow
pillow. lie had, Of course, to make two jour
neys IN one drill. | would be sorry to have
to adopt that method, but think 1t cannot be
the general way of earthing up~.-lnquirer.
In preparing the ground for potato
cultivation to obtain the best results, it
should be well plowed in the fall, and If
manure is to be used this should be
spread in the spring after the ground is
sufficiently dry. If sod land or land in
elined to be heavy, carefully cross plow
and thoroughly harrow, using, If neces-
sarv. a leyeler or fine tooth harrow IN
orUct that the soil may be well pulver-
izeo, after which planting may he
done. OF course it Is well understood
that good crops cannot be raised from
poor seed, and the wideawake farmer
will plant only strong, vigorous seeu
potatoes raised on land other THAI ms
own. Increase in crop will pay the eN
ira cost of the best seed many times
over. 1t has been clearly demonstrated
by the different experiment stations III
cutting seed potatoes that the highest
Weld per acre is obtained from sets OF
four eyes to the piece.
M, ,l,, 81 ,ufpr rather heavy An0.
especially If clayey, for the growing
potatoes would not ordinarily be n GOOD
one, at least except for dry seasons. 1t
would certainly be hazardous in such
land TO manure in drills, rs it would be
likelvto result in a crop badly affected
bv rot. There are but few varieties of
potatoes raised in New England that are
not very susceptible to disease If planted
on very heavy lard with barn dressing in
drills. These include among others
Bliss Triumph, or as it is sometimes
called Stray Beauty, White Bliss or
Pride of the South, Rural New Yorker,
Great Divide and Dakota Red. The gen
eral rule throughout the potato growing
section of Aroostook county is to use
fertilizer for the growing of potatoes and
to grow them on light, loamy soil, the
preparation of the ground being practi-
cally the same in any case. The heavy
land and barn dressing is devoted almost
exclusively to the hay crop.
There is no good reason why the gen
eral plan of cultivation as outlined in the
above inquiry should not work to good
advantage in New England other than
the fact of additional expense incurred
by reas on of not using improved mach
inery, although no progressive farmer
would think of using a single turrow
pillow for earthing up or hoeing potatoes.
1t was the general practice for several
wears in the early history of Aroostook
potato raising to plant potatoes in drills,
covering or splitting the ridge with
double horse hoe and using brush har-
row after planting to equalize the depth
of seed, but to compete with other Sec
tons and make potato growing a Imam
cial success it is now necessary to use
improved machinery, such as the planter,
bicycle hoe, sprayer and digger. Indeed
the ordinary amount of help that the
average farmer commands makes il
impossible to take care of a large acre
age without adopting improved methods.
With an improved planter two mer
and two horses will plant about five
acres per day, the machine making the
drill, distributing the fertilizer, dropping
the seed and covering as fast as the
horses can walk. TIE second man is
required to replenish the machine viii
] f,rt;1;y.r md roo1 uf thu and or OtiHdln nj
the land used. according to the length OF
rows. OF course methods of cultivation
are largely the same in any case. Where
improved machinery is used, the weeder
is employ ed Just as the plants are break
ing ground and the weeds are removed
from bet Wctn the lows without injury tC
the plant.
As the plants reach the height of two
or three inches the improved cultivatol
is used, by which a man with two horse:
Will cultivate about five acres per day
and far better thar the work could pos
sibly be done by any other means withou
regard to expense. As the plants in
crease in growth, the cultivating Is con
tinued, the hills or rows being gradually
formed until the plants are nearly Of
quite in blossom. OF course it is ntCes
sary to watch the enemies of the plant
Several applications of bordeaux MKT
ure should be made as a preventive o
rust or blight, taking care to add enough
paris green to kill the potato nugs.-E
l.. Cleyelandin New England Homestead
\ Woman's success with Turkeys.
81 made 81, 800 last year raising tur
keys" said Miss Anita Martin, a young
woman who is known in Texas, her la
tive state, as the Turkey Queen"
"Until five years ago we didn't rais'