134 POTATO CULTURE. 



hard and dry, 20 of them may get discouraged before night, 

 if they agree to dig as much as I. This, of course, is for 

 very long rows, where every thing is clear, and I can go 

 right along steadily, and waste little time in turning. 1 

 made this statement at the Wisconsin Potato Institute, and 

 some growers thought it too strong ; but one man, who raises 

 100 acres, stood by me. I know what I am saying, because I 

 watched what men did on neighboring farms last fall men 

 just picked up by the day. I could make a stronger state- 

 ment than the above from what we did. I never feel quite 

 as much as though a farmer is somebody as when on that 

 digger, with soil in just about the right condition. Doing 

 the work of 20 men ! Why should I not feel important ? 

 And it costs me almost nothing. I do all the digging, with 

 the aid of the horses, which would stand in the barn if I dug 

 by hand, and nearly all I save is clear gain. And then, 1 am 

 independent. I don't have to pay men, and beg them to 

 come too. It is pretty hard to get men to dig potatoes here 

 now, and it is as a sort of special favor to you if they come 

 at all. 



Now, where a man has other work for his horses at the 

 time, the digger will not, of course, pay as well. If we were 

 drawing to market with two teams, as we once did, I should 

 not feel as big over my digger. That year, when we had 

 nearly 7000 bushels, and my man dug them at a cost of one 

 cent a bushel, and by straining every nerve we hardly got 

 the crop all to market before winter, with all our horses, it 

 would not have paid me to stop to dig with a machine. We 

 were not ready for it then : we are now. I want to be fair, 

 and give all sides. One more point about the digger : I don't 

 want to lead you one inch out of the way by what I say. 

 With the stone-shields on, the digger will of necessity clog 

 up with earth some after a shower, when soil is moist. If 

 there are no stones, take the shields off and you can go when 

 quite wet; but then, a gravel hill may bother by furnishing 

 little stones to drop into the chain. Now I believe you have 



