THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



17 



DIGGING POTATOES. 



Potatoes are best jfrowii in elrills tliat are thirty 

 inches apart, as tlie width of interval f^ives room 

 for working the hmd in the hollows, to kill the 

 weeds and pulverize the soil, and also for the 

 tubers to spread and multiply in the ridglet that is 

 raised by the plough over the dung. The proper 

 ground for potatoes is a heavy damp loam, of a 

 good depth, of which the bottom is generally firm 

 and retentive ; and the land being wrought, and 

 the potatoes j)lanted, during the damp weather of 

 the spring months, by the end of April, the bot- 

 tom of the ground becomes very much consolidated 

 from not being dried by the Summer exposure. 

 The intervals of the drills are ploughed during the 

 early summer with the miniature plough drawn by 

 one horse, which is much the best horse-hoe, after 

 all that has been spoken and written on the subject 

 of drill hoes and scarifiers. On stiff bottoms, of 

 all kinds, it far exceeds any scuffler yet known : 

 the narrow-pointed share pierces the ground, and 

 raises fresh soil to aflbrd evaporations ; and if 

 double time is spent in the hollow of each drill, 

 the superior effect amply compensates the time 

 that is spent. The light scuffler with knives 

 makes very good work behind the ploughings, by 

 which two furrows of loose soil are produced, to 

 be wrought and pulverized by the lighter im- 

 plement. The sole plate of all ploughs sledges 

 the ground underneath its action, closing the pores 

 and shutting the orifices of the soil, and denying 

 access to air and moisture. The bottoms of potato 

 grounds are much closed by this sledging action, 

 from the damp condition of the Spring cultivation 

 of the land ; and by the Summer working of the 

 intervals by the miniature plough ; and lastly, by 

 two furrows of the double mould-board ])lough, 

 which moves along the bottom of the interval, in 

 earthing-up the drills, and, with a long sole-plate, 

 sledges and consolidates the ground l)eneath its 

 action. In this manner, the entire under-surface 

 of the ground is rendered firm — and that in the 

 pores and orifices : the modes of working the land 

 and cultivating the crop, all tend to produce this 

 result. 



The general maturity of potato crops happens 

 in the month of October, when the drills are split 

 by the double mould-board plough, or raised and 

 thrown, or cast, over by the common implement — 

 the stems being fiist pulled by hand, and carried 

 from the field. The tubers are exposed to view, 

 gathered by hand; the ground harrowed; and 

 root?! 82 Vm gathered. This ploughing sledges the 



bottom of the drill that escaped the Summer work- 

 ings; and, when the land is sown with Autumn 

 wheat, the furrow of that ploughing does not 

 penetrate below the former workings ; and the 

 consolidated condition remains of the imderground 

 to rest in the future crops. The last sledging is 

 above, rather than beneath, the former operations 

 — covering the whole with a fresh repetition. 



The digging of land, by spade or fork, surpasses 

 in effect the ploughing of the ground, in a very 

 chief advantage of the narrow angular points of 

 the implements piercing the underground, and 

 leaving holes and cavities, pores and orifices, which 

 remain open, for the permeation of air and moist- 

 ure. The moved soil is also laid more loosely 

 together, and enjoys the benefits of that condition- 

 Weeds are completely removed from the land; 

 and stones are very conveniently gathered at the 

 same time. Digging or forking of the ground is 

 most advantageously performed after the plough- 

 ings of the land have been done, in order that the 

 ground may remain in the open condition from the 

 loose movement of the soil for the future crops 

 The Autumn is a very proper season in which to 

 open, by digging the under-stratum of stiff" lands, 

 that are not clay soils with wet bottoms, and not 

 proper of being mixed with the upper ground. A 

 portion of the subsoil may be raised by digging; 

 and the unmoved stratum, must be pierced by the 

 points of the implements to open the passage of 

 air and moisture. The stems of potatoes must be 

 pulled by hand in October, and carried from the 

 field—the adhering soil and tubers shaken, or torn 

 away, and the potatoes gathered and conveyed to 

 the store pits. A man, provided with a three - 

 pronged dung-fork of the farm, is appointed to dig 

 one drill of the potato ground, and pushes the 

 implement into the soil as deeply as can be done, 

 raising a load of earth, which is thrown abroad, 

 and scatters the tubers into view. A woman, or 

 lad attends each digger- gathers the potatoes into 

 baskets, which are emptied into carts that carry 

 the loads to the store-yard. At the same time, 

 any weeds that have escaped the Summer cultiva- 

 tion and cleaning of the land are gathered by 

 hand from the loosened soil, and laid into heaps ; 

 and the field stones are also gathered and placed in 

 small collections, as the work proceeds. A super- 

 vising care makes sure that the bottoms of the in- 

 tervals of the drills are dug by the fork, whicli 

 underwent the cultivation of the Summer working, 

 and have been consolidated: each digger must 



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