How to Grow Potatoes.

Manawatu Herald, 20 January 1898, Page 2

How to Grow Potatoes.

" ♦ A CHAT WITH AN EXPERT. A common object in every garden md upon every table is a potato, bat joinmon as they are there are .not my many who thoroughly underitand the cropping of them.. Having jome acrosß a man who has fieeii engaged in growing these tubers for Many years, and having watched aim at work, we thought the paftißiiars we gleaned from him; and other sources might prove interesting tO 3ur readers. THE POTATO. iA Before going into the question of '" growing the potato, we may as well sweep away one mistaken notion that exists, that the potato -is a native of Virginia. We are aware that in 1586 the potato w&i imported into England, as a rarity, from Virginia, but it had got to that country years previously, probably through the agency of- the BpuniSrau. j The potato is a native of the AddVs; particularly in Chili and Peru. It was first introduced into Europe from the region of Quito by the Spaniards in the earKer part of' ttie fifteenth century. - ■.;. .. : , THE EXfKBT. Mr William Hodgson is the map we refer to, and he is more popularly known as " Billy " Hodgion. He has resided in this district "a few years, but loarnt the business ol potato growing in the rich lands of the Hutt, where twenty-ton., cropi are not unknown. Mr Hodgson ii not only a potato planter, bat ii ready for any other work, and it would be hard to offer him a job at anything, if be had the time to do it, that he would not tackle and do ii well. We met Mr Hodgson on his own particular ground, a potato patch, and there anyone would see* at a glance that the business to him is ai simple as A B 0. Growing potatoes however is not quite so simple as it looks, and many a settler who has planted ( * spuds ' for half a century, could yet learn a wrinkle or two from Mr Hodgson. "Why do some peoples' potatoiri look bietter than others, the Bur> roundings being, apparently the same ?" was a question we put to Mr Hodgson to clear up. SEED. A great deal of the art of growing potatoes lies in the seed used. 11 Where I come from " said Mr Hodgson " theHutt, which is a gr^at place for potato gr&wrog v the farmer! are very particular about their, teed, generally growingtheirown. Potato*! grown early ar6 not good for seed, and it is the ru!e to grow lute crops for seed putpoae?, and thsn it ig found that there are very few blind ones amongst them/'- -.We unfortunat ly know that potatoas. are too frequently plauttd in this district without any questions being asked as to v?htn the teed was grown, tiih cornj-ponding unsatisfactory results. CUTTING. We were watching our *' expert " cutting bis seed for planting aVnd noticed that he would alway3 cut down the long length of the tuber. " Why do you do so?' We asked, and in reply we were told that though he could not explain the advantages gained by doing so, yet ho had- seen tba old men h9 had wotked with at the Hutt always doing so and " I reckon those old man knew better than I did about cutting potatoes, and therefore I always do so. I think that it is an advantage." We noticed tod," that Mr Hodgson threw but all potatoes having no eyes or those with very weak ones, they being what/ are known as «• blind ' and will either not sprout when planted, or" if they do sprout will be weakly and worthless plants. Our informant fruiy remarked" What is 'ktie'u.ae of taking the trouble of planting potatoes won't grow ? ■ The ground is wasted, one's labour irldsfc and all from tfcewant of a little^ care." Mr ;HddeScfc : believes in having the seed cut agocd* Biz 3. ' ■ •" ' ; °* ■-. Before planting -, pplatoeg, the ground cannot be too well worked The nearer t^e soil oan be gofc into the condition of an . ash bed the better, as the fine roots put out by rtn seed, on which potatoes grow, want easy soil to work through and the potatoes want fine soil in wbieh to swell. An inspection of a good growing crop will better enlighten our readers on the advantage of IoU lowing this advice, than any amount of explanation. A root will then be seen having two or three layers of potatoes resting upon one another, and as they have grown it .will fee seen that the lower ones have forced those near the aurfttce right to the " top and in some oases through the soil. ° m When the ground has been got" into first-class ordeisthen plough the potatoes in. This is as sure a way as anyother, and is decidedly quicker. The ploughing does not want to be deep, and the seed can be placed in the furrow, or on the out. side edge, thus letting the next tarn of the plough throw the soil over or with them. The seed should be placed nine inches apart, and in Bvery third furrow. It is of no advantage to make the rows of potatoes too far apart, as though there would

bp more soil tot feed, each seed, yet there would be greater space for the tops to cover. In late crop?, especially, the advantages of the top 3 covering the spaceß between the rows is very marked aa it keeps the sun off those which pressure "of the lower potatoes, have forced to the top. , AFTER PLANTING. d?He potatoes having been successfully ploughed in the- ground should ftt oflce be tine harrowed, and on the sHodts of the potatoes appearing above grpttodi.ajj^itt.tine harrowed. It done at the time we mention (he young shoots come to no harm and a great deal of labour is saved. When the shoots are six or seven inches high the scarifier should be ran between the rows, and then soon afterwards the rows require handhoeing to clean between the plants. After this give one more scarifying between the rows. The patch should be in grand tilth and then on a favourable, oocasiion the plants should be earthed up. This is better done after a shower .of rain as the moistiire will be better retained around the roots. For potato work tho Planet Jr. implements are far before any others, the scarifier being conveniently made so -that its width of cutting' can be adjusted to the width of the rows, and the moulder throws up the ground on both sides as the horse takes it up and down the lines. Our "expert" having done this work on the potato patch we havt mentioned is a very practical believer in his advice and he knows that a clean crop "goes a long way to securing a good crop." THE TIME TO DIG. Potatoes intended to be pitted should not be taken out of the ground until the " haulm " or tops have died right out. Mr Hodgson avers that potatoes grow more at the time the tops are dying than at any other time, a question he has often proved. TOT SOIL. Aa Mr Hodgson has grown potatoes in different places around the township we are anxious to know how his crops had turned out, and he said they had all dojM very well with him whert only one crop was taken, but the land would not give two crops running. In the Hutt he has known as many as thrte or four crops of potatoes being t&ken in succession off one piece of land. For late crops about here care must be taken to get a plot that is not too dry. < Last year with a crop of the " Brown Eiver " and " Chicago Markat " he put in just-, three hundredweight and dug thirty-sir saokri of large ones and two sacks of small ones. Seeing that twelve sacks of potatoes are reckoned to the. lon the result was very satisfactc*s: CHOICE OF POTATOES. "Save you any <$£riicular liking to certain potatoeaj*' " There are t^ery many sorts of good potatoes; The 'Brown River's,' are very good, and I like them as welt as any." 11 What do you reckon good early potatoes ?" we asked again. "The 'Early Beauty,' 'Early Rose,' ' Beauty of Hebron,' and •Frukes.' The 'Early Beauty' is oval, pink, and Boraetbink like a Chicago Market. The • E iriy Rose ' is a. round potato, aUo pink, and so is the 'Beauty of Hebron.' The 1 Flukes 'are a long white potato-" Having heard of other early kinds we- inquired about the " Bretza's l$PEe " and the *,Whlte ElefjSiifSs," and ware assured they were Vfcry good of their kind. "What you should cjky" said Mr Hodgson, '• is to plant fptfr early potatoes in rotation, so mat they come in in cpnyonieat lot?, one after another. Thus you could plant "Early Beauty," then in a short time follow with the •» Early Rose " and so on. He also reckoned for lata crop 3 the Brown River, Chicago Market, and Circular Heads were better than any, though ha favoured good JJerwents, but made the strong assertion that good Darwents were not to be obtained here. A good B^r went will be found, so we were told, to be rdugh oa the top of the potato round the eyes. Certainly the Derwents do seem to have depreciated to what we remember them to have been yeara ago.