538 THE HOME, FARM AND BUSINESS CYCLOPEDIA. 



HARVESTING is accomplished by cutting with the scythe or the new- 

 implement called the Pea Harvester, which is attached to an ordinary 

 mower, or, when fully ripe, so that the roots pull out easily, with the 

 horse rake. When thus gathered into heaps and well dried, they may be 

 threshed out and the haulm carefully stacked and saved. 



THE POTATO. The soils best adapted for potatoes are friable, sandy, 

 and loamy. On such soils potatoes are often grown systematically and 

 extensively as a staple crop in the rotation ; but on strong tenacious clays 

 with a retentive subsoil they do not thrive. Potatoes, however, have a 

 wonderful adaptation to soils of various textures and composition. They 

 do well on virgin soils and turfy land ; and though subject to be cut 

 down by early frost, and again to suffer in the tops by autumn frosts, po- 

 tatoes are grown under a great range of temperature. 



To produce abundantly, potatoes require a fertile soil, and if not already 

 sufficiently rich, manure should be spread on the surface before ploughing. 

 If a tough sod, it should be ploughed the preceding fall, or if friable it 

 may be done just before planting ; but in all cases the land should be put 

 in such condition as to be perfectly loose and mellow. Hills are the most 

 convenient for tillage, as they admit of more thorough stirring of the 

 ground with the cultivator or plough. Medium size, split potatoes have 

 been ascertained from numerons experiments to be the best for planting, 

 and when seed is scarce, it is sometimes economical to quarter them. Six 

 or seven e}^es should be placed in each hill, or if in drills, the pieces should 

 be planted ten inches apart. The distance both of hills and drills must 

 depend on the strength of the soil and the size of the tops, some varieties 

 growing much larger than others. Cover with light mould to the depth 

 of four inches, and if the soil be light, leave the ground perfectly level ; if 

 cold, heavy or moist, let the hill or drill be raised when finished. Subsoil 

 ploughing is a great help to potatoes. The sets cut from the seed end 

 give a much earlier crop than those from the root. 



When the plants first appear above ground, run the plough through 

 them, and throw the earth over them two or three inches, and no injury 

 results if the tops are partially or even entirely covered, in flat cultivation. 

 The ground should be several times stirred before the tops interfere with 

 the operation, but never after they come into blossom. If in drill, use a 

 light harrow just as the plants appear, and afterwards horse hoe when 

 required. 



HARVESTING AND STORING should not be commenced until the tops are 

 mostly dead, as the tuber has not arrived at full maturity before this 

 time. They may then be thrown out of the hills or drill by a plough, 



