The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-03-03
s0ME ADVICE ON
THE GROWING or
IRISH POTATOES
Experiments Have Shown, pro-
lessor Massey Says, That
Two.eye Pieces Are Best
For Planting

rfsnatch. Prof. w. +. Massey gives
orae advice in the planting Of Irish
,ot,toes and on other subjects Of
,mnortance to the truck growers and
.,rnors. one Of the letters answered
nv him vas:
ny which do you consider best to
.iort TWO eve pieces Of the Irish
potatoes or 70 quarter the potatoes?
!, IS all right to run out n fur
rows and put in n rertlllzer and
mo, run a sweep through to mix
Two fertilizer with the soil? Is it a
Inod nlan to use stable n un-
Ar notstoes? Will beans make a
nood money crop in the coast sec
fionq What kind and O fortified,
etc
10 this re replied:
Experiments have shown that large
niaces of potatoes will max more
n~otatoes than small ones, but there
gill not be enough difference to make
mn for the greater expense for seed.
Two eve pieces are best for planting.
OF course, the fertilizer should be
mixed with the soil in the fuI ows.
and il matters little what you use
10 mix it. h truck armer plant
rnap beans, and generally they are
fairly profitable, and do not cost a
yreat deal to grow. The CONNER
cial mixture, 1914 is very good for
beans. ana the Black Valentine is
as early az any. But If your query re-
sers TO dry beans, then I would ad-
wise you to let then, alone. for we
cannot make them as profitable AS
they are made in the North. It is
not advisable to use stable manure
under Irish potatoes, as it is apt to
favor the scab fungus.
Old Rose Bushes.
"As you seem willing TO advise
about flowers. 1 would like to know
what to do with some old rose BUSH
IS that have been on our lawn for
twenty-five years in one place. They
June. They are what we call month
" roses. The larger roots seem
dead, and Their are old dead stems
above ground" There is a limit to
the life Of all created things, and
rose bushes are no exception, though
they are very long lived where taken
care Of. The fact that your old
rose bushe5 have dead roots and dead
stems above ground shows that they
have been neglected in the past
Standing in one place for twenty
five years, they have about used uI
the plant food in their reach. A rose
bush is a greedy feeder, and will use
"A much manure as a corn plant. ant
probably in all these twenty-five years
YOU have not though Of manurinl
them. or cutting out every spring tn
dunted wood.
II you want to keep them. yol
should o cut away all the deaI
wood and the stLN1ted growth. AM
dig IN around them q heavy coat o
old rotten manure This, I think
will r~ejuvenate them, but the bes
thing hat you can do will be to CRU
them out and get good new plant
Of the modern improved Hybrid TIE
roses, and prepare the soil deepl
and manure heavily and then atten
10 them every year and keep theI
properly pruned. cutting out oil
stunted growth and shortening tn
new canes slightly. Roses have bee
It is hardly worth while to try I
renew very old bushes Of the o.
common kind.
Strawberries and Isasberries.
What do you know OF the ProGre
siVe strawberry MT the Red Tr'
raspberry offer in Il circular I sci
Irom a Western farm" The Pr
g~ressive strawberry is M of the be
OF the fall bearing varieties. l kno
nothing about the Tree raspberry, II
he farm Offering them. They may
All right, so far as ] know. | 'ha
me Superb and the Americas. OF t
t~ah-bearing Strawberries, and the
TOO, are good. The Progressive
the latest n sent out, and I ha
not yet fruited it, but 1t is grow
mere. The best fall bearing ras
perry ! nave tried Is the ST. Reg
and have a very l~ate-fruiting blac
berry, the Nanticoke, which has fri
rs late "a september. For a ma
crop, l know no better strawbcr
man the Chesapeake.
Making "a Fertilizer.
i have 1900 pounds OF salt III
rings, 500 pounds of chicken MANI
and two tons of hardwood ash
what chemicals would you q
make a fertilizer for corn and pc
toes?" None at all. In fact, ] WO,
not mix these materials, for the II
IN the ashes will carbonate the a
monia in the chicken manure and
organic matter in the behring's, q