282 ANNUAL REPORT 



can be started in this manner and transplanted when the weather 

 is suitable and thus gain a week or more. He had also used 

 Meadow moss with good results. 



EARLY POTATOES. 



I shall have to ask for a little time to speak on this subject. 

 It is necessary to make an impression if there is any benefit 

 -derived from what is said. I will therefore relate a story. 

 (Laughter.) 



Mr Allyn here told an anecdote of a man who was perishing 

 in a blizzard and whose life was saved by his fellow traveler who 

 used such rough treatment as to arouse the anger of the man who 

 was about to perish with the cold. 



For one of the earliest varieties of potatoes he would choose 

 Ohio. About the middle of March cut them with a knife, leav- 

 ing two eyes to a piece. They are placed in the hot-house and 

 half an inch of dirt spread over them. In a short time the roots 

 will be two or three inches long. As soon as the weather is 

 suitable they should be taken outside and planted. When 

 the ground is prepared take them in baskets, roots and 

 all, to the field; as one drops them another follows and covers 

 them. If there is danger of heavy frost after the potatoes are 

 above ground, take the shovel plow and cover them up. You 

 can't keep doing that all summer, but if treated in this manner, 

 as described, they will be two to three weeks earlier than by the 

 ordinary method of planting. In this way you get control of the 

 market and you can readily get two dollars a bushels for the 

 crop. By the time farmers come in with their potatoes you can 

 put them down to a dollar. 



Mr. Underwood. How do you hold them back! 



Mr. Allyn, You can hold them back if you are careful. If 

 you have no hothouse to start them in you can start them in 

 your kitchen, and beat your neighbors. Most people who fail 

 with potatoes do sb because they don't plant early enough; 

 they delay too long. If potatoes are sprouted and have lost half 

 their vitality they are not fit to plant, and if planted too late 

 are apt to be spoiled by dry weather. Have your i^otatoes cut 

 a couple of weeks before planting and as soon as they send out a 

 few vigorous sprouts, plant them. Cover four to five inches 

 deep in good soil and give good cultivation during the season. 



