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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 



THE PLANTING OF THE POTATO. 



As the season for planting the potato is at hand, I 

 venture to make a few remarks and to give a few prac- 

 tical suggestions upon potato culture. I do not presume 

 to offer anything new or novel in management, but a 

 few plain general observations, and directions which the 

 inexperienced potato-grower may find useful, and to 

 remind the expeiienced man of the necessity to keep 

 close to the best practice, and to be unusually careful to 

 plant none but the most approved varieties. 



The Preparalion of the Seed. — The tirst point is 

 the hmd.— The land or soils best suited for the culti- 

 vation of potatoes are mild loams. Retentive clays or 

 sandy soils are not well adapted to the growth of pota- 

 toes. Strong loams do much better ; and good peaty 

 soils answer well. Sandy loams, where the loam predo- 

 minates, is an admiro^ble soil for potatoes. Upon this 

 point I would venture to observe that any soil of rea- 

 sonable depth might be truly adapted to the growth of 

 potatoes by culture. We cannot sufficiently estimate 

 the value of deep cultivation. By it we can prepare 

 the soil — yes, any soil — for almost any crop which the 

 farmer may incline to grow upon it. In this way the 

 modern system of cultivation by steam power will 

 achieve great things. By it heavy clays will soon be 

 turned into strong loams, and strong loams into those 

 mild soils, which, of all others, are the best, and consti- 

 tute the perfection of potato farming. 



The pi-eparation of the land for the potato crop 

 ought to commence immediately after harvest, or, at all 

 events, immediately after wheat-seeding. The land 

 to be chosen would depend much upon the rotation of 

 the farm. The potato crop is generally a substitution 

 for the fallow crop — if so, the first business should be to 

 manure it ; for it is found that where manure 

 is recently applied before planting, the crop is 

 sure to suffer most from the potato disease. 

 The mauagement should consist first of deep 

 ploughing — certainly not less than eight inches 

 deep : the manure, where applied, to be very carefully 

 turned-in. Early in the spring the first thing is, either 

 to cross-plough it, or drag through it, by steam power 

 or otherwise, cultivators to the full depth, and presently 

 afterwards tore-cross it : all to be done in fine weather, 

 otherwise no free or open mould will be got, which 

 is so essential to the prosperity of the crop. The 

 harrowings and other workings must follow, so as to 

 bring it into a thoroughly pulverized state. When this 

 is attained, it is fit for planting— only awaiting a suitable 

 time. 



T/ie Modes of Planting.— These are various. The 

 most common mode is to plant every third furrow. 

 Another mode is to open the soil, plant along the open, 

 and close the soil again, as in ridging. Another is to 

 plant along the prepared soil by spade, making crevices 

 at proper intervals, into which the plant or set is 



dropped. Another is to form beds, or plant along the 

 surface, leaving a space, which is dug out, and thrown 

 over the top: this is called the " lazy-bed" system. 

 Another is to make a trench with the spade, plant the 

 sets, and hoe the trench in. This is the general garden 

 practice. For ordinary field practice the third furrow 

 system is the best. Two furrows are opened the whole 

 length of the field, so that the planters are planting 

 the two furrows on the one space while the other is 

 preparing, and so on throughout the field. The distance 

 from set to set is of great importance. If too near, the 

 potatoes are small and numerous, but not marketable. 

 The experience of a great many extensive growers, 

 farming in the district from which I write, proves much 

 in favour of wide intervals ; none planting at a less 

 distance than ten inches apart, while many prefer fifteen 

 inches as the minimum interval, providing the sets are 

 large and sound. My own practice, derived from long 

 experience, has settled down to planting from eleven to 

 thirteen inches as the intervals from set to set, not in- 

 cluding the set itself; depending, however, much upon 

 the variety planted, early potatoes being planted 

 nearest, and large haulmy varieties the further distance 

 It is a great point to have them so planted as to produce 

 the greatest quantity of marketable potato, i. e., the 

 greatest weight or number that will not pass through the 

 meshes of an inch and quarter riddle. If the object is 

 merely to grow seed potatoes from a new or approved 

 variety, by all means plant them at narrow intervals, 

 and from sets with plenty of eyes ; but if the object is 

 to grov7 a marketable crop, by all means plant them at 

 vnde intervals in the rows, at the same time having a 

 wide space between the rows. This will be found the 

 best practice in planting. 



The size and preparation of the sets is another 

 matter of great consequence, and is not well under- 

 stood by ordinary planters. Every perfect eye in the 

 set will produce a shoot or stalk, which will 

 require room and nourishment, and will produce 

 fruit or tubers. These being so close and crowded will 

 of course be stinted or restricted in their growth ; 

 hence the whole crop will be small and unsaleable as 

 food. To obviate this the set should all be looked over, 

 and any superabundance of eyes must be cut away, so 

 as to leave not more than two or three good eyes at the 

 most. The cutting away of " the rose" is often suffi- 

 cient, as that part of the potato contains the most eyes. 

 When this department of the business is carefully at- 

 tended to, the potato set will only throw out one, two, 

 or three strong healthy shoots, which rapidly get away 

 into a fine full growing potato plant, vigorous and 

 promising ; but with many eyes we have many shoots, 

 all weak and tender, and their produce not exceeding a 

 walnut in size ; here, in a great measure, is the clue to 

 the fact of the stinted growth of so many of our potato 



