The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1904-02-06
Potato Growing.

Reading The Stockman and Farmer of
October -, 1908, | was very much in
terested in an article by Alva Agee, emit
tied Potatoes for Profit. grow pota-
toes on my farm as my principal money
crop and | can vouch for every word he
says. This year was my poorest crop IN
many years, making about 125 bushels per
acre. 1t was owing to a wet season and
late planting My farm contains 40
acres, situated in Prince Georges county,
Maryland, east of Washington, D. c.,
and about y miles from the market The
soil is dark loan, with the tops of the
hills clay, but has no stone, sand or gravel.
My experience in potato culture agrees
with Mr. Agee' thorough preparation Of
the soil and rillage, a liberal application of
manure and fertilizer, and good market.
PREPARATION.
always try to prepare my land, or at
least a part of it, year ahead for pota-
toes. take piece of sod ground which
| think is suitable for potatoes, plow in
June, and sow COW peas, and as cannot
get enough good potato land in one field
{ l plant from 20 to 80 acres) have the
potatoes in two fields | generally take
part of sod field which | am going to put
in corn and take the best of it and pillow it
late in the fall The land like best is
deep dark loan, not wet but nearly level
but in the amount | plant | generally have
three or four acres in rather stiff clay, |
cut my peas or pasture them and cover the
ground with manure in the winter or early
spring | feed through the winter from
40 to 50 beef cattle, using up all my straw
from about 50 acres of wheat and corn fod
der from about the same number of acres,
the fodder being shredded with Keystone
mastieator The pea patch pillow in early
spring about ; inches deep The sod land
Is covered with manure and replowed in
the >piiug Both fields are thoroughly
narrowed several times aud the ground
made a. fine as possible | then take Il
wheat drill aud drill about coo pounds Of
fertilizer, composed Of blood, bone and
tankase from 4 local abatSoir, mixed with
dissolved south Carolina rock. ,ulpha,e Of
potash and small quantity Of nitrate Of
soda. TIKI. /, formula given me by the
Maryland Experiment Station, using the
blood bone and iankage a. a basis.
sEEp POTATOES
Wuhuut good seed sou cannot raise a
a stod eTup Of potatoes We Try TO get
rur I-iatus- a. far north a pus>Ible They
give the beSt results. with the exception
e vhat we term second yruP seed i e,
potatoes lu. in the summer and replanied
and which make crop thai tall which are
,,lnali, a. guod a northern grown seed |
have grown TIN, year about 80 bushels
For our earliest potatoes ~ plant the
INK Early, potato that i about two
weeks earlier than the haEiy Rose 1t
make a setf small vine -lass from four
10 rlzbi marketable potatoes &" the hill.
aud q ytry few small ones, aud ia twenty
four barrels IT pata;ae. yog aiil only have
fsorl cue IL two barrels 81 second size. |
don think thj, j. true uame Tor this
potato - there j. ouly one dealer III Maine
potatoes that hsudlrs this potato and he
us the IutrsziRlef 10 the " Washington mar
set. am under the impression they are
the E4T|s Fortune that Mr. Ages speak,
= generally plant halt # my crop in
thF, pssto and the balance ia t'reen Moan
ra,u | get my potatoes IN March sax
ibem IA corrosive suhlimate hour, cut
them and cover with plaster and sulphur
PLANTING.
After drilling in the fertilizer | run
light iron harrow : feet wide in front Of
the potato planter, plant IN rows : feet
; inches vide and Is inehe- apart in the
irill fur NX Early and 3 feet for Green
Mountain, Is inches ia driIl use
Robbins planter and u>e from 800 to 400
pound, u fertilizer in the drill making be
tween poe and 600 pounds Of fertilizer
TO the acre The planter plants about {
inches deep, throwlng a ridge about ;
inches more on the potatoes. plan, Is
early A. possible, commencing in March If
the weather Is favorable and Try to finish
by the middle Of April Planting early Is
very important. a It gets the potatoes
made before We have that drought IN june
which we generally have
CULTIVATION.
Is >oau a. the potatoes have commenced
"a ,pguut aud We seq one here aud there
sc run light smoothing harrow with the
teeth .lantipg back ward ert~sways over the
ridges Then in few days We run Hal
luck Success weeier both WAYS over them
ever few days until they get to be between
three and four inches high, \ boy with
one horse can work 20 acres a day with the
weeirr By going over - often you de
stToy all weeds Now take your riding
culliyator, put on long aud narrow plates,
and cultivate a. deep aud elise a posi-
Die We work potatoes only once wIth the
riding cul,Natur, then we take the one,
horse eultiya:or aud 70 over the field abou,
once in eight DAYS until the vines meet in
the rows, and At the last working We 20
only once in the row aud then down the
middle The cultiyator makes only small
hill. practically level cultivation Dur
ins The cultivation Of the potatoes | pay
particular attention to the bugs, and As
soon as they hatch | use one and one half
pounds Of PARIS green 10 200 pounds Of
land plaster Oue application Is generally
enough.
plGuING AND MARKETING.
As soon as the potatoes are large enough
they are dug with Hallock Success dig
ger and put in barrels and hauled in spring
wagons, to keep from bruising them to the
Washington market This Is about the
last Of June, and we continue 20 haul in bar
rels until they are ripe when We use thick
3 bushel bags. We make two grades OF
potatoes-primes aud seconds. One trm
has been handling nay potatoes Tor over
twenty years, and | have established a
reputation as to honest packing Ny pc
tatoes run uniform through the barrel
without any facing, and as soon as they
are unloaded they are sold at the highest
market price; in fact my seconds bring al
most as much as some people 5 primes,
The real small potatoes cook for the
hogs. | send II barrels in a load when
sending them in barrels When sending