THE POTATO. 



BY E. C. ROBERTS, OF SALEM, WASHTENAW COUNTY. 



As in the animal, so in the vegetable kingdom the numerous families 

 have their circumscribed bounds, and flourish best in their indigenous 

 soils. The potato is a native of the high and elevated regions between 

 the tropics, and has flourished well in many lands from the equator to 

 the polar regions for nearly three centuries. This circumstance proves 

 it to be a hardy plant and among the esculeut roots it stands first in 

 point of value and it would be hard to supply its place with another. 

 I believe I have found the desideratum by observing nature's unmista- 

 kable laws. 



First. I select a piece of arable land — sheltered from the west and 

 northwest winds, declining to the east or northeast, on which I have 

 harvested wheat, oats or corn the same year — and plow it in the fall 

 by throwing it into ridges as is frequently done for corn in the spring; 

 Early the next season I mellow my land thoroughly, then throw it into 

 beds about four feet wide, in a direction that will allow the water to 

 drain oiT in the furrows between the beds. I then make two furrows^ 

 about six inches deep, lengthwise of each bed. In these furrows I 

 drop whole, sound, well-shaped, middle-sized potatoes, of some hardy 

 variety, about one foot apart, and cover with a hoe, making the ground 

 level. By the middle of May my plants are generally fit for hoeing. . 

 This I do in a way to destroy the weeds, melhw the ground and leave 

 it level as before. From time to time 1 pull the weeds, if any attempt 

 to grow. Late in the fall I cover the beds with leaves, or straw, suflS- 

 ciently to prevent the roots from chilling or freezing; tour inches are 

 generally sufficient. Early the next spring I dig and plant other beds 

 as I planted them the year previous; always observing to have my 



