106 AGRICULTURE OE MAINE. 



to be planted with a planter, and I believe we cannot afford to 

 plant in any other way. A potato about the size of a hen's egg, 

 or a little larger, is, all things considered, the best. A man who 

 is planting only an acre or two does not consider the labor of 

 cutting the seed of much consequence, but with the man who is 

 planting ten acres or more, it becomes a matter of importance, 

 and with a medium sized potato the labor of cutting is very much 

 lessened. Take such a potato, cut the stem end off about one- 

 third the length of the tuber, and split the remaining two-thirds, 

 beginning at the seed end. This gives three pieces of uniform 

 size, and you will always find two or more eyes to each piece. 

 This method of cutting saves time, as it is only necessary to give 

 one good look at each potato as you pick it up, to be sure you 

 cut the stem end off first, and such seed will work much better 

 in a planter than if cut in all shapes and sizes. As it is not 

 desirable to cut the seed much before planting, the saving of 

 time in cutting is of value. A few hours exposure of the cut 

 surface of the seed to the air to dry it off is of benefit, but if it 

 were possible I would not have seed cut more than a few hours 

 before planting, and would rather plant as cut than have it kept 

 over for even a few days. The only objection to using freshly 

 cut seed is that the fertilizer will stick to it, the acid eating into 

 the freshlv cut surface. This objection, however, is very slight 

 with some planters. 



How thickly this seed is to be used in the drill depends some- 

 what on the fertility of the soil. A naturally rich soil could 

 handle more seed than a poor soil. I plant about fourteen inches 

 apart in the row, with rows three feet apart. I think this is about 

 right for land that has not been plowed or fertilized for fifteen 

 to twenty years and does not produce a half-ton of hay per acre. 



Get the rows started straight when planting, and keep them so, 

 as much better work can be done, both in cultivating and spray- 

 ing. The cultivator should be started as soon as the planting is 

 finished. A span of horses with a riding, spring-tooth, double 

 cultivator is much the best, as not only can the work be done 

 twice as fast but it can be done much better in all ways, especially 

 if there is any witch grass. Keep the cultivator going at least 

 once a week, — twice a week if you can get time, running as near 

 the rows as possible, and if this work is properly done you will 

 find that vou will not have a weed or any witch grass between 



