' . AND OTHER For, AGE PLANTS. 27 



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ground,, which will bring many bushels more to the light. But 

 still many will be left for cows, sheep, hogs, mules and hordes to 

 glean after a rain. 



Time to harvest. I would prefer, if I had the making of the 

 seasons, to dig a day or two after a light fr^st to scorch the leaves 

 and check growth. As to wet or dry condition of the ground, I 

 find little difference as to the keeping of the tubers. I have felt 

 obliged to harvest when the tubers were covered with mud, 

 sometimes the potatoes much smaller than the mass of adhering 

 mud. They have kept perfectly sound through the entire year. 

 It is more pleasant and rapid work to harvest when the ground 

 is dry enough to crumble freely, but I have not found the 

 tubers keep any bettei than when put away wet. A cold rain 

 on them while harvesting is damaging. 



Bat there is one infallible rule I think as to the time to har- 

 vest. Break or cut a few tubers ; if the raw surface dries and 

 .scabs over promptly, and the air is not too cold, the crop may 

 be harvested at once without reference to any other indications. 

 It will be hard to make the tubers rot. But if the raw surfaces 

 do not so dry, many will rot no matter what course and meth- 

 ods may be adopted to prevent it. The later the harvesting can 

 safely be delayed the better as some varieties grow most rapidly 

 in the cool autumn when the nights are chilly. 



Seed and planting. My rule is never to plant the small, re- 

 fuse potatoe t s. This soon runs down the valuable tuber. I se- 

 lect my roots for planting while harvesting, reserving for that 

 purpose the largest, smoothest, most perfect tubers, and as near- 

 ly globular as possible. In February I make a hot bed, in 

 which I place these potatoes close together, but not touching. 

 The bed may be a yard wide and long enough to produce as many 

 plants as may be desired. If the tubers are very large, I split 

 through the middle and place the cut surface downward. As 

 soon as the plants are large enough in April, they should be 

 drawn and set out, the beds being at least four feet from middle 

 to middle, and the plants along the middle eighteen to twenty- 

 four inches apart. Frequent drawings should be made. It is 

 not necessary to wait for rain, "seasons." Make a grout by 

 mixing in a hole in the ground recent cow dung and clay with 

 water, dip the lower part of the plant in it, set out, pack earth 

 firmly at bottom of root without bruising, pour in a little water, 

 then cover the damp surface with earth loosely and your plant 

 will grow. 



Cut vines also grow very readily managed in the same way. 

 Whether cut vines or plants, I prefer to have not more than two 

 eyes or leaves above ground. Either grows best by being put in the 

 ground slanting. It consumes time and makes some work to 

 cut off all the leaves from the part to be put in the ground ; but 

 I prefer to do it, because the earth can be so much more nicely 



