POTATO CULTURE. 51 



and pulverizes and grinds it very fine, and covers the two 

 rows at once, in a most perfect manner, as fast as the team 

 can walk. At the ends, cover a few hills with the hoes, 

 beforehand. 



To use these tools to the best advantage, one wants long 

 clean fields, and the land should be made mellow and fine- 

 just such lots and land as every farmer orght to have ; but 

 they will do good work on rough land. The marker will riot 

 tear up sods like a one-horse plow, as it is always held per- 

 fectly steady* When a man puts in his potatoes with these 

 tools he can have the pleasure of knowing, when he gets 

 done, that he has not only done fast work, but that the 

 marking and covering have been done in the best possible 

 m-inner. The rows are as nearly straight, and of equal dis- 

 tance apart, as it is possible to get them ; the furrows are of 

 uniform depth, and the covering is done as nicely as the best 

 gardener could do it with the fioe, and twenty times as fast. 



A writer in a western paper once made fun of my straight 

 rows, and thought potatoes would grow just as well if they 

 were a little crooked. I imagine he never kept 50 to 75 miles 

 of potato-rows clean (perhaps he never saw that many). If 

 he had he would know hew much easier and cheaper it could 

 be done, to say nothing of looks, when the rows are straight 

 and of uniform distance apart.^ 



Those of my readers who have read the Rural New-Yorker, 

 or that valuable little book on u The New Potato Culture," 

 by the editor of the literal, Mr. Carman, know of the Rural's 

 trench system. Mr. Carman has long advocated this plan, 

 and shown the increase in yield from following it. And 

 still he has never claimed to be able to tell just why it was 

 so. He has thought that, perhaps, it was partly because of 

 the extra tillage from plowing out the furrows to plant in, 

 and moving the soil back. If you notice closely you will see 

 that this plan of mine is essentially the same as the Rural' 's, 

 but adapted to field culture in a large way made fast and 

 simple. The writer studied it out from his own experience, 



