Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1902-04-29

The time of planting potatoes is at
hand. Let us notice some of the neces-
sary things in order to get good crop.
First, the soil. 1t does not matter so
much whether the soil is sandy, mucky
or clay loan, only SO that it is full of
decayed vegetable matter, so it won't
run together and become hard after the
potatoes are planted. The soil must be
filled with plant food, especially so if
you are using variety that will give an
enormous yield. Remember you cannot
grow potatoes depending upon dry sand
and air to do it. The ground must be
put in good tilth. Rows should be three
feet apart and four inches deep. Seed
must be cut to one or two eyes and
planted IA inches apart in the row. If
potatoes are planted early, when the
ground is cold, they ought not to be
covered more than from one to two
inches deep.
If were to do the work without i'm
proved machinery would use the shovel
plough to make the rows, dropping by
hand, and covering with the harrow,
running the same lengthwise with the
rows and being careful that the end of
the harrow did not drop into the row, SO
as TO disturb the seed.
| would insist on every seed being
stepped on when dropped. The inch
and one-half or two inches of dirt which
covers the potatoes by the harrow will
soon warm up, and vigorous sprouts will
make their appearance. Then cross har-
row the field, which will leave it nearly
level. In this way of covering, potatoes
will make their appearance in from five
to eight days sooner than they would if
covered four inches deep to start with.
Clover sod turned over consider the
best for potato ground. On muck land
roll the ground twice before planting,
so as to firm it to keep it from drying
out. We have been using with great
success commercial fertilizer, containing
200 pounds of ground rock, analyzing IA
per cent of available phosphoric acid,
mixing with this 100 pounds of muriate
of potash, making 500 pounds an acre.
Where / used this last year my potatoes
yielded one-quarter more. Put on the
fertilizer with wheat drill, so as to
scatter it all over the ground before
planting the potatoes. After potatoes
are up give them thorough cultivation,
so as TO retain moisture and kill the
weeds. You cannot grow potatoes
without moisture, and pastured on
weeds.
Variety: The kind OF variety will tax
us to our wits end to make such choice
rs to get the best. In general, the va
riety should be white, should grow a
very large, strong vine, SO as to out
general the bugs, and the vines should
lop over so as to act as a covering to the
soil, keeping the soil mellow as well as
retaining moisture The surface of the
potato should be smooth, the eyes with
little if any indentation. Whether boiled
or baked, the potato should cook dry
and mealy, with tempting flavor, thus
itself to the consumer. We
have been raising the Whiton's White
Mammoth for four years, and it meets
these requirements the best of any potato
l ever raised. 1t is very prolific pota-
to, the tubers growing very large.
Hence it must have very rich soil TO do
its best. Where they grew at the rate of
6l9 bushels to the acre the soil was of
clay loan, and as rich as it could be
made with well rotted manure.
Last, but not least in Importance,
would urge that we select seed for our
this years crop that has not been injured
by being chilled during the winter. My
has taught me that a potato
will toughen itself, so that it will show
no pereeptible injury from frost, al
though the thermometer may register
two degrees below freezing. Under
such circumstances the tender germ will
have at least half its vitality, if not all,
frozen out of it. And the crop will be
half if not all destroyed, so far as that
seed goes. This has been long, cold
winter, and | am quite sure We shall
hear an endless amount of grumbling
relative to potatoes not coming up and
vines being sickly after they appear
There is only one way to keep potato
seed so as to be sure of success in the
crop, and that is TO have thermometer
IN the cellar and never let il get lower
than d or S degrees above freezing. l
Know from experience what it means to
have potato seed injured by the frost in
the winter. In the cold weather / have
watched the thermometer in my cellar !
and am certain that the seed
shall plant myself and send out has all
Is vitality.
God has said man shall obtain his
bread by the sweat of his brow, and this
sweat of the brow will have just as
much and more to do with the raising OF !
potatoes as the raising of wheat
Tribune Farmer.