The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1901-03-07
PROFITABLE FARMING.


Smyrna, Cobb county, Ga, grew last
year over 200 bushels of Irish potatoes
per acre. They are in his barn now,
as sound as when dug last November.
The variety grown by Mr.. Dunton is
the Lookout Mountain and he has no
difficulty in disposing of every potato
at one dollar per bushel. Il is stated
that between two and three carloads of
Irish potatoes every day in the week
are shipped to Atlanta by Northern
growers, the freight being 80 cents per
bnshel.
Mr.. Dunton says the cost of growing
these Irish potatoes was very little over
$25 or $50 per acre, including rent,
seed, fertilizer, labor and all. This
leaves, figuring the potatoes at the low
est price, rs cents per bushel, net
profit OF over 800 per acre. What bet
ter paying crop can the Southern farm
er ask for?
Irish potatoes, says Mr.. Dunton,
must be Kept cool" They are not like
the sweet potatoes, and all you have
to do is to see that they do not freeze.
Il never made any money on Irish po-
tatoes," he said, until / got hold of
this late variety. They are the coming
potato for the south, and do cot have
to be rushed on the market like early
potatoes for fear of decaying. You
can put them up and have six or eight
months in which to market your crop"
Dry weather in the fall does not inter-
fere, if the land is prepated to hold
water by blowing deep and subsoiling,
keeping the surface cultivated, leaving
it smooth and level. "A sandy bottom
is about the best place l have found
for these potatoes. l use two large
horses and pillow deep, and then have
small horse to pull the subsoil pillow be-
hind. | mix all my own fertilizers.
Potatoes must have considerable pot
ash to be mealy and of fine flavor.
use 800 pounds to the acre. Ammonia
per cent, phosphoric acid per cent.
and potash 5 per cent; mixing with a
shovel until it was a uniform color ,125O
pounds of cotton seed meal, 100 pounds
OF acid phosphate, high grade, and 125
pounds of muriate of potash, which
made $500 pounds of fertilizer, enough
for three acres. | applied this in the
drill, and mixed it thoroughly with the
soil before dropping my potatoes"
In cutting potatoes, cut to one or
two eyes to the size of the piece, each
eye should have sufficient potato to in
sure a healthy plant. drop them II
to Is inches apart, in rows four feet
wide and cover about inches deem.
My experience is don't plant freshly cut
seed for this late crop especially. My
best success is by cutting my potatoes
few days, in advance of the time |
wish to plant, spreading them out on
the barn floor until the cuts are dry be-
fore they are planted. For this late
crop never plant until after the 10Th of
July, and from then to the middle of
August in this locality. I get level
tillage by using broad cutting imple-
ments, Il wide sweep that have a num-
Der of narrow teeth that throw the dirt.
Then clean the middle by running once
or twice to the row. Nothing makes
land wash worse than scooter or
scrape.
Il begin the cultivation of my Irish
potatoes with Halleck S success weeder.
which takes strip seven feet wide,
and one man and horse can cultivate
twelve or fifteen acres per day. hardly
ever do any hoeing"
Mr.. Dunton's sweet potato culture il
well known to our Marietta people. He
says he has grown $50 bushels of sweet
potatoes to the acre, the average is 200
bushels My sweet potatoes are put
up in two large bins, thirty-one feet
long, seven feet wide, in the clear, four
and half feet high and have double
walls, with twenty inch space be-
tween, filled with sand. The cover
slopes each way from the center, with
six inch air space at the top, covered
with board, This roof, or cover, to
the potato bin, is also covered with four
or six inches of sand The bins are
built independent Of the barn, but in
the barn, and the potatoes rest on the
ground, and have no litter or straw
either over or under them. | EXPECT
to remodel my bins, making the walls
somewhat thinner, and using sawdust
to I'LL in between instead of sand. Saw
dust, l am satisfied, will be much the
best; rats cannot work in it as it will
fall in on them, and there is always
more or less dampness rising through
the sand which tends to rot the timbers
and planks." He says he never has
lost potato, as the bright yams pulled
out of the bin indicated. 1.-The main
thing to keep sweet potatoes sound is
to handle them AS little as possible and
be careful that bruised, cut or frosted
nOfatOpE do 1NOt no iptC ba ha1I-