38 POTATO CULTURE. 



CHAPTER IV. 



Shall we Plant Deep or Shallow ? 



With this question we must consider, also, whether we 

 will cultivate nearly level, or hill up ; for, if we plant shal- 

 low, it will be necessary to hill up more or less to prevent 

 the tubers from growing out of the ground. The majority 

 of farmers, probably, still raise potatoes by planting in a 

 shallow mark, and then hilling up with a plow of some kind 

 when they are about two-thirds grown. On undrained clay 

 soil, where there is danger of stagnant water injuring the 

 crop in a wet season, this practice had better be continued, 

 on the ground of choosing the lesser of two evils ; but in 

 good potato soils, moderately deep planting and very slight 

 hilling is undoubtedly the better practice. Even on tile- 

 drained clay soil, deep planting and nearly level culture 

 would not be the best plan in excessively wet seasons, al- 

 though averaging better, perhaps, than shallow planting and 

 hilling, all things considered. There are reasons, of course, 

 for this hilling up which is so universally practiced. Farm- 

 ers did not have smoothing-harrows, horse-hoes, and good 

 cultivators years ago. I am not an old man, but I can 

 remember when such things were unknown. The plow came 

 first, and was made a general-purpose tool. It would throw 

 earth over the weeds, and save hand-hoeing. It was, very 

 naturally, used for this purpose. Hilling up, in connection 

 with shallow planting, not only prevented tubers from grow- 

 ing out of the ground as much, and kept them out of water 

 on undrained land, but more of the stems of the vines were 

 covered in the earth, and from these covered portions were 

 sent out more roots and bearing stems. The practice was a 

 necessity with shallow planting. It increased the crop in 

 one way, and protected it, while injuring it somewhat in 

 another. 



