American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1915-11-25
A POTATO WINNER.

When Lawrence Estes OF Berkshire county,
Massachusetts,, won the district championship In
potato-club work In 1913, with a record of 244
bushels to the acre, he established a record that
would do credit to any farmer. Lawrence, how
ever, was not satisfied. He felt that his record
could be improved upon, and therefore enrolled in
the work in 1914. His yield was at the rate Of
440 bushels to the acre. His story is well told:
MY potatoes were raised upon a knoll sloping
southeast. The land was very stony until we dug
and blasted out most of the stone. This land is
a good. rich upland with a kind Of yellow subsoil
which is very useful; in a dry year 1t holds the
moisture, but in a rainy year it is never wet.
One good thing about this soil is that it will
never bake and crack In dry, hot weather. / Sc
lected this piece because 1t contained much quack
grass, and we have always had fine luck with
potatoes where quack grass will grow.
Il plowed this piece on May 81, using a two
way sulky pillow, tuning about six inches of soil.
1t was no great task to harrow, as we had po-
tatoes there last year, and dug them with a dig
ger, which leaves the soil quite mellow. About
a week after blowing / narrowed with a spring
tooth harrow, and planted my pototoes the same
day. ! had carefully saved my seed, selecting the
true-to-variety type. My variety is Green Noun
tain, which seems to thrive best here. l cut them
into two-eye pieces, or. when the eyes we're real
strong, into one-eye pieces.
I'VE use a planter which burrows the rows,
drops the phosphate and seed and covers them.
1t takes two men and a pair Of horses to run It.
One man has to drive and the other places the po-
tatoes when the machine misses. I planted the
seed a foot apart in the row, and the rows three
feet apart. | like to give my potatoes plenty Of
room, as the rots grow to a good length. 1t took
a bushel and a half of seed to plant my eighth
80 a, .nr 49, IN ,-,ul. - t-.ut4a Totau r
used about an equal amount when / hoed them.
I used commercial fertilizer when planting, which
cost me two dollars a hundred pounds, and an
other kind Of commercial fertilizer at hoeing time
time which cost $1.65 a hundred.
About ten days after planting. the weeds began
to grow 80 l ran over them with a weeder. l did
this again on June 18th and again when the po-
tatoes were about two inches high. Two weeks
later / put on the remainder of the fertilizer, scat
tering 1t In the middle Of the rows, being careful
not to hit the leaves. After this was done l
hilled up the potatoes.
II sprayed my p~ototoes twice, once on July
% and again on August 8. with a powder which
Is both a fungicide and an insecticide. We buy II
in kegs Weighing 100 pounds, costing about 81.
II hilled the potatoes twice after this. l like
the idea of killing them because 1t freshens the
dirt around the plants. My potatoes we're still
craving when the hard winter freeze came Oh
September 30 and killed them. I dug them JUS
two weeks later. This was as soon as they wer,
ripe enough to put In the cellar. We use a %
inch digger. which requires four horses to draw
II. After the digger has been through we bag tn,
potatoes. They are then loaded into the Wagon
and taken to the cellar, where they were sorted
and weighed. My eighth-acre plot produced fifty
four bushels of marketable potatoes and ont
bushel of culls. | sorted out the seed for mex
year, saving thirty bushels. These l will keel
until spring. when l hope to sell those l dom
need for planting, mt a good price"
Lawrence had strenuous competition for tn
state championship. Harold Cady, who ranked
second In the state. produced 400 bushels, at
cost OF $115,20, and with a net profit of 1925 t
the acre. Both these records were establishes
In the same county,