Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1906-06-29
2 agricultural.
GOOD PROFIT IN GOOD POTATOES

More interest is being taken every
year in Maryland in potato culture and,
although the big crops reported from
Maine are not often equaled, they could
be if as much attention was paid to the
crop in sections suited to it here as is
paid to it in Maine.
Mr.. A. T. Griffin, Penobscot coun-
ty (Maine) farmer, tells in the Ameri-
can Cultivator how he manages his crop.
He writes:
CATER my potatoes begin to come
through the ground l take two-horse
hoe and cover them up SO that nothing
can be seen Of the potato top. Then
run a one-horse cultivator through
the rows. Just as soon as the potato
again breaks through the ground | again
run the horse hoe over and cover up
the tops, then run the cultivator be-
tween the rows again. | cover the po-
tato tops three times, and when the tops
come out of the ground the fourth time
it will do your eyes good to see them
grow.
Covering the tops as soon as they
break ground covers to potato beetles
up. and they have no chance to lay their
eggs on the young plants, and the plant
seems to thrive much better under
ground than out when young. l never
put hand hoe to my potatoes, but l
run the cultivator and horse hoe until
have destroyed all the weeds and the
tops are too large to drive the horses
through the rows.
"Some farmers make great mistake
in putting off digging their potatoes till
after heevy frostS come. l dig my po-
tatoes just as soon as the tops begin to
die, and put them in dry, dark place.
The cellar is the very best place for
them, unless you intend to put them in
the market Then tho barn or shed is
all right. provided you keep the place
dark. l never would have my potatoes
dug with four-horse potato digger, be-
cause the digger bruises large part Of
them. Besides, good many are left
in the ground, especially if the ground
has much witch grass. use potato
digger, and find it the best and cheapest
way to get my potatoes out of the ground.
The first thing / do is to pull all the tops
from the field, then run the digger
through every other row.
"When have opened rows enough to
keep the men picking for the day I stop
the team until the next day, and 80 on
till the last row is done. Then | take a
spring tooth harrow and harrow the
ground twice over. That takes every
potato out of the ground, and when
through we have no scored or jammed
potatoes, but on the contrary. as fine
potatoes as possible, and we have the
ground in fine condition to pillow for the
next crop.
81 have no trouble in growing three
hundred to four hundred bushels of
Green Mountain potatoes to the acre
with no other dressing than fertilizer.
But I use the best l can buy, and one
ton to the acre. l don't wish to plant too
early or too late, but when the ground
is in good shape and the weather warm.
Before / plant l intend to have the
ground worked in rs fine condition as
possible, then | like to furrow out
good depth and cover light 1t is no
trouble for any farmer to be successful
in raising potatoes if he will use COM
mon sense and good judgment, with
plenty of bone and muscle.
''In raising potatoes the most essen
tial things are good seed, good fertilizer
and good cultivation. In fact, it re-
quires all those from the time the seed
is in the ground till the potatoes are
harvested. The greatest mistakes are
planting too much land with too little
fertilizer and with too little attention to
the growing crop. l would advise farm
ers to buy complete manure. 10 per
cent. potash, for potatoes, as l find it
the best thing l ever used. Barnyard
manure is not as good for potatoes, be-
cause potatoes are more liable to rot and
do not ripen so early"