CULTURE OF POTATOES

Auckland Star, Volume VI, Issue 1695, 24 July 1875, Page 6 (Supplement)

CULTURE OF POTATOES

Having raised this vegetable on both prairie and timber soil, my experience proves that new timber soil is much the best adapted to growing potatoes. Forest leaves and leaf mold are the very best fertilizers for potatoes. Farmers residing near the timber can easily gather forest leaves and mike a c>mpost which would be very valuable. The manure of stock -yards should be scraped up with a scraper into roundor long heaps, mixing in at the same time a few tons of loaves and leaf mold, leaving a depression on the top of the pile, into which may be emptied all the wash water and slops of the house; also occasionally adding wood ashes, lime and salt. Gentle rains, sufficient to dissolve the compound, would be of service to assist fermentation and prepare the vegetable matter to absorb the ammonia. Do not allow ifc to get too wet, so as to suffer Io3S by leaching. As a substitute for forest leaves, our prairie farmers can use straw and refuse hay, of which they have an abuudance. Running it through the hay cutter would better prepare it for the compost. It is an excellent plan when early crops are grown to harvest them as soon as possible for the early market, and sow the ground immediately (without ploughing) to buckwheat, n.illet, or oats, and plow it under just before

eeziog. This will leave the soil light and porous, and if good, productive varieties are planted and cared for, large crops may be expected. The ground being in good condition, mark check rows for hills 3x3 or 3x2 feet. If for drills mark 3 fact, and plant one eye 10 to 20 inches apart, according to variety. Those of dwarf-tops will do quite as well to be nearer together.

Select tuber.-', largo to medium size, cut one eye in a piece, commencing at the butt, and turn the tuber as you would in sharpening a pencil, leaving the centre portion for the top eyes. I prefer pUnting in checks a3 above described. If the seed is a new variety and you wish to make the most of if, then plant one eyo in checks 3x3 feet. If you wish to make the moit of your ground, plant two or three eyes iv the wide checks for large spreading tops like the Compton Surprise, while those of a medium or dwarf tops, should be planted in 3x2 foot checks. The ground being prepared, plant as described, and cover about four inches deep with a ridging plough, leaving tho soil as light as possible. Just as the plants are coming up pass a seeding bush crosswise of the ridges. This will sweep off the small weeds and lumps; by the next morning you will see splendid rows of potatoes, clean and nice. If you are in a buggy country, prepare for them by using Paris green and plaster. The benefit the plaster will be to the crop will pay for putting on. Buy tbe pure Paris green, and it will require but little, well mixed with the plaster, to ' fix 'em.' Plough first time crosswise fif the ridgeß, after which cultivate the other way just as soon as tbey are high enough to receive dirt enough to cover the weeds. About twice going through with tho hilling plough will be sufficient. The last time ploughing should he just before the potatoes set. Should weeds appear in the hill, pull them out. In this way I raise large crops wi hont hoeing. Beep the bugs off and you are all right.— George White, in Western Farm Journal.