320 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



and unlocks the door of Nature's soil storehouse so that the 

 crops' rootlets may enter in and get their fill of plant food. 



When the plowing is done, once in three years, we spread on 

 the surface from three hundred to five hundred pounds of 

 agricultural or slaked lime. This we use because it is two 

 to three years quicker than grO'und limestone has proven in 

 our 17 years of farm practice demonstration. This we use in 

 preference to quicklime, because it does not burn and injure 

 man:, beast and harness, and this more than pays for the slight 

 increase in cost per acre. As soon as the lime is applied we 

 lightly harrow it under. The rains and dews of early spring 

 will dissolve all that is needed and carry it down to the green 

 .<^tuff we have turned under gradually and in ample quantity to 

 keep our automatic crop invigorator working nights, days and 

 holidays. 



In my home section. Long Island, New York, for the last 

 ten years with one exception, we have been able to plow in 

 January, thus getting ready a deep reservoir to 'hold the moist- 

 ure which always comes early in the year, and freeze out 

 a lot of unwanted wild plants and injurious bugs. The freezes 

 of February help us out in this line, besides pulverizing the 

 soil. Early in March we plant many of our crops and start 

 cultivation soon thereafter. This cultivation is kept up at in- 

 tervals of ten days or two weeks, as needed, until the latter 

 part of June when crimson clover is planted, as a rule, for this 

 is our favorite fertilizer, for the only fertilizers we buy are 

 seeds and lime. On potatoes our spraying is done thoroughly 

 and as frequently as the season requires ; generally, three times 

 is enough. Last year, seven to nine sprayings were necessary, 

 and even then the wonderful value of seed testing was shown 

 by the fact that one variety of potatoes sprayed nine times lost 

 60 per cent of the entire yield, by rot, just plain wet weather 

 rot which the extremely thin, soft skin was unable to keep out 

 of the potato. Right side of this a variety, sprayed only seven 

 times, lost to us between eight and ten per cent because the 

 skins were tougher and thicker and kept out just the regulation 

 old-time wet weather rot. 



Seed selection has, in potatoes, increased the yield 27 per 

 cent. On Quick Lunch, Irish Cobbler and Green Moimtain, 

 the increase was practically exactly the same, and as real potato 



