The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1902-02-01
FARMER AND PLANTER
THE LATE IRISH POTATO.
Advantages Of GROWING the Late
Irish Potato In the South Not 70
BE Overestimated.


hardly be overestimated. In the fir,
place potatoes dug in November wi
:. keep perfectly all winter in barre
or boxes in q closed house. The ten
perature may go down to freezin,
i but If the barrels are covered ther
i will be little il any danger of injur,
!, In fact Irish potatoes need to b
kept cool. We have kept them pei
r fectly piled up under a shed and co,
= cred with only about one foot of pin
|. straw.
: This wonderful keeping quality O
J the late Irish potato enables tn
, grower to market them to advantage
7 There Is at least six months in which
to dispose of the crop, and the grow
; er can watch the market and plac.
them when the price is good. An
other advantage of this crop is that
our southern home market through.
out the winter, is the best in the
country for Irish potatoes. The price
last winter in Atlanta ranged from rs
cents to 81 per bushel, while at pres
ent, owing to the short crop north,
they are bringing $40 per bushel.
The south is a large consumer Of
this vegetable. and throughout the
winter the supply has come principal
~ from the north and west. The city
OF Atlanta alone consumes between
two and three carloads day during
this period.
Outside of the market and keeping
qualities, we have the further adj.
vantage OF being able to grow these
potatoes on land which has already
made a crop of something else. This
year we planted them after early cab
bage and turnips. The land for these
crops had been heavily MANFRED with
heterogeneous fertilizers, and after the
cabbages were of we replaced and
worked the land down fine. 1t was not
necessary here to use ammonia ON the
potatoes, there being already an
abundance of this element in the soil. |
The land was of sandy character,
and on such land potash always
shows marked effect, especially on
q root crop like potatoes. We there
fore only used acid phosphate and
murlate OF potash in preparing our
fertilizer, and applied it at the rate
OF 500 pounds per acre. A fertilizer
for this crop on such land should
anaiyze about 10 per cent. phosphoric
acid and per cent potash. For the
Early potato crop the fertilizer should
contain ammonia also, about three or
our per cent. and for the late crop,
where the land is deficient in this ele- ,
nent. In
We are digging our potatoes now
he 18th of November-and they are {
he finest I ever saw. One of the best 8
ills produced from one vine ten '
arge potatoes weighing nearly one I
alt pound each, or four and one-half |
ounds Tor the ten. This means.
nth perfect stand. over five hum
red bushels per acre. Unfortunately
or us our stand is very poor owing n
the exceptionally wet weather in "
ugust which rotted the seed before s.
mad time to sprout. In spite of all e
lis, however, our potatoes are turn p
g out close to two hundred bushels
II acre. This may seem somewhat e.
Iaggerated, but when one hill win g
'oduce four and half pounds of m
'fatoes, and we have a great MANY t.
st as good, you can easily figure
hat the yield win be per acre. 81
There are thousands of acres ~ fiji
ndy loan land all over the south tn
which these late potatoes can be ga
own to perfection with proper at. ar
ntion and fertilizer. am firmly
nvinced that the time is not far Sc
slant when the south will grow ali ma
her Irish potatoes, both early and su
e as well. So
The potato referred to in this IN
nee is not the late potato usuallv WI
own as the second crop, but a late as
1ety called the Lookout Mountain tn,
ich produces but one crop in a sea- fro
J. the seed being kept over and
nted the goth of July and the 18th rec
August. The second crop of such SO
ieties as Early Rose, Bliss, mo
umph, Early Ohio and Others can sue
De made very remunerative and bet
erves more attention from our of
tnern farmers, especially for seed YOU
poses for the next spring plantinrN she
second crop seed is much sum- swi
20 the northern grown stock I,
they produce fewer small not.
;, are earlier and the vines .re
h more thrifty. =
de by side in the same field this egg
the northern and southsrn Cur
vn seed produced potatoes which theI
ed like different varieties ~. -
'gh they were Of the same sort mat
gether, the late Irish potato at drin
south furnishes a field for enter emo,
worthy of the earnest attention I-Br
ur 1armers.-F ]. Merriam. b. is Il
3 Farm and Ranch. best
p rT0Urn oc--- time
A6N FALLS. e
Aver.~. r.. kept