New Britain herald., 1916-02-02
Pla1nVflle News PAGAN GIVES TALK
 TO POTATO GROWERS
Local Man Explains His Success
 Before State Association
SIX APPEAL FOR REDUCTIONS

Supreme Representative - Freight
 Trains in Collision Here-Briefs.
 Explaining his success as a potato grower and offering suggestions for the raising of the tubers under the most unfavorable conditions, Joseph A. Fagan's Scotts Swamp, who has been called by some expert agricultur- lists-"Connecticut's Potato King," read a most interesting paper this af- ternoon before the Connecticut Vege- table Growers association at it's an- nual meeting in Hartford.
 MT. Fagan's treatise follows:
 When the secretary of the asso- citation of Connecticut Vegetable Growers MT. Huber asked me to re- port at this meeting the success of my crop of potatoes on my Scott's Swamp farm I hesitated for I felt the crop was more or less of a failure. But when I learned the fate of my brother farm CTS through out the state and the country generally I wasn't quite so downhearted.
 'I planted 396 bushels of seed, the greater part DGlnS w OTlu WOnderS and the balance Vermont Gold Coin.' The, Gold Coin seed was grown in Connecticut and about one-half the Worlds Wonders seed was grown on my own farm and the balance in Ver- mont.
 Some of the land was ploughed in the previous fall and some of it grew potatoes the year before. The soil was mellow and I ploughed and har rowed once before planting. AS the seed showed no evidences of scab 1t was not treated.
 ''The seed was cut by commencing at the stem end being sure to have one eye on the first piece. l was particular tc cut in wedge shape pieces, all the others after the first piece having more than one eye.
 'I began planting about April goth with an Aspinwall planter, four pick CTS on each side thirteen inches apart in the row, the rows three feet apart, and deep enough so that the seed would be four inches underground when the land was leveled off. The covering disks were removed from the planter and if the seed was left exposed 1t was covered by hand.
 Fertilizer.
 '"The fertilizer is applied as soon as ter with a plate inserted that causes the fertilizer to drop on two rows at once. about fourteen inches on the row, seventeen to eighteen hundred pounds to the acre. I then use a har- row with teeth pointing back drawn lengthwise of the rows.
 "As soon as the rows can be traced I begin cultivating,-quite deep at first, but after two cultivatings I be- gin to ridge up with a tobacco ridger.
 Last year weather conditions had to be met so our methods were some what changed, the excessive rains caused so rapid, a growth I couldn't use a ridger to any advantage, so I placed the soil part way up with a cul- tiNator and finished ridging them up by Understanding I have never been obliged to do before in my fif- teen years of raising potatoes.
 "I commenced hoeing July 9th and the results were very satisfactory, as believe the good sound crop l pro- duced was due in no small measure to this work When I once started the cultivating l, kept it up, using Plan ct Junior cultivator with three teeth going a good depth to let in the air and to give drainage on ac- count of the extremely wet season.
 T formerly practiced flat culture but on the advice of Dr. G. P. Clinton of the experiment station in 1914 I began to ridge up, and this became absolutely necessary in 1915 on ac-