]NEW ENGLAND 



PUBLISHED r. rTMmilvrw7slirrAKl). UCKMKX liLUMJlNGS, CONtiKl.ss S I IlKF-T, (^X)U1!TII DUOli FROM STATK riTRKl.T.) 



,. II. 



BOSTON, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 18-23. 



No. 9. 



'aHiHi's and Ganlcncr's llcmeiiibranccr. 



[d¥ the F.mTon.] 



rHERIXG AND SECURING rOTATOE 



. must acknowledge thul the topic ot'our 



nt discoui-se is somewhat thread-bare, and 



kclv to he very lerlile in entertaining mat- 



Biit, though we may state what many "!' 



caders knew before, onr observations may 



w to some ; and will, we hope, he thonglit 



jslinit, because it may be lor some peo- 



intercst to attend to them. 



th rcsard to the time in which potatoes 



i be dng, we find some difference of opm- 



mongst practical larmors with whom we 



conversed, it is acknowledired by all tiiat 



should not be taken from the gronnd till 



are fully ripe. This may be known by 



ipearance of the tops, which will begin to 



assoon as the roots have arrived at ma- 



. Al'ler that period, we are told by some 



ators, it is important that the potatoes 



1 be gathered and housed as soon as possi- 



l)ut others say that they will keep as well 



ter in their native beds till frost comes, 



n any other situation. Some say that the 



will actually increase in size as well as 



ve in quality, after the tops begin to de- 



d therefore digging potatoes ought to be 



it work, which the farmer perl'orm? in 



n helore the ground freezes. And a nri 



the American Farmer, vol. i, p. 154, sjys 



Dtiitoes should be dug as soon as ripe to 



t a secund gro-jL'th. But we do not tin 



is danger in our climate of potatoes grow- 



ice in one season. Vie cannot say, how- 



which of the opinions relative to early or 



^ging is most correct, but till better in- 



d should feel disposed to gather pota- 



i soon as convenient after the tops are 



■d, either by ripeness or by frost. At 



ve should not put oflf the digging of them 



ery late in autumn lest cold weather 



destroy or lock them in the ground till 



most expeditious way of gathering a po- 

 rop is, tirst to run furrows on each side 

 rows, and then a deep one in the middle, 

 turns up most of the roots to the surface 

 purpose of picking up by hand. In this 

 however, we should apprehend some 

 and should not advise it except when po- 

 were very plenty and labor scarce. A 

 vith four prongs, with the addition of 

 nay be called a fulcrum, fastened by 

 ot to the back part of the handle 

 : used for raising potatoes without the 

 a plough. This is recommended by (he 

 •s' Assistant, but we believe that a hoe 

 rongs, (such as are sold at the Agricultu 

 re House of R]r. J. K. Newell, No. 20, 

 mt's Row, Boston) would be a still better 

 lent for the purpose of gathering this 



old fashioned mode of harvesting pota- 

 vhich is now very justly rejected by all 

 ened husbandmen) was to dry them in 

 as much as you would grass, intended 

 . ThU was formerly and for ought we 



know to the contrary, is slill the practice in ' about of sand and roots till all are laivl in, giving 

 Great Britain. Rees' Cyclopedia, (Art. Pota- the whole, on every side a roof like ?(Iopo ; llieu 

 toe,) savs "As soon as potatoes are gathered cover this hea;( or ri if go all over with about 

 they should he allowed to remain sniiie days ^) twoinchesof sand, overwhi(h lay a good coat 

 i/n/, brfure thftj are stnred.'''' This is exactly of drawn straw up and down as if thalchin,; ;» 

 wrong^ and in our climate, an exposure of tivo i house, in order to Carry olT wot and prevent its 

 or three days to a cloudless sun in Se|)leml)er or ; entering to the roots; then dig a wide trench 

 October, would cause potatoi^s to turn green, round the heap, and cover the .straw \vith the 

 stronsr, and become in some degree, poisonous, ' earth so dug up, to a depth sufficient to preserve 

 It is now said by practical farmers that the less | the roots efl'ectually from the frost. Au opening 

 the roots are exposed either to sun or air after! may be made on the south side of this heaj), aijd 

 bein"- taken from the ground the better, and tliat i coini)letelv covered with bun<lles of straw so a: 



it is well to permit some part of the soil in 

 uhich the}' grow to adhere to audio mixed 

 wilh them, when they are deposited in their 

 winter rjuarlers. It is recommended, however, 

 not to dig and house (lotatoes imincdiaidtj after 

 a soiikiii" rain, but to let them remain a few 

 days in the hills, to get rid of their sui-perffuous 

 moisture, which, according to some rural phi- 

 losophers, will in due time, be ex|'.elled by the 

 lii'inciple of vegetation, or vital energies of the 

 root, unless the ground is very wet. 



In some parts of Great Britain the farmers 

 are very careful to sort and separate their pota- 

 toes in the field, when they g.ither them, put- 

 ting those which are small, diseased or cut wilh 

 the hoe by themselves, to be used in autumn, or 

 the fore part ot the winter for the feeding of 

 stock, &.C. This is, no doubt, a very correct 

 mode of procedure, and those who are not too 

 much in a hurry to do their work well, will find 

 an advantage in adopting it. Others assort their 

 potatoes when they store them, by lotting them 

 run down an inclined plane of net work made 

 of strong wire, with meshes which will pcrmil 

 the small potatoes only to pass through them. 



There are various modes of securing pota- 

 toes for winter and spring use. Almost any 

 method will answer by which you can kceii 

 them from wafer and frost. \Ve will however 

 describe or advert to some directions given by 

 different writers relating to this subject, which 

 may perhaps be of use to some, though they 

 suggest nothing new to some othw-s of our rea(i- 

 crs. Dr. Deane says " there is no difficulty in 

 kee])ing potatoes through the winter in a cellar 

 that is free from frost. Caves, dug in a drv 

 soil, preserve them very well. They should 

 be covered with two feet of earth over them. 

 If they are in danger of frost in a cool cellar, 

 they should he covered with a little salt hay 

 [probably straw or fresh hay will answer.] In 

 cellars they are more forward to sprout in the 

 spring than in caves." In Lancashire and somv 

 parts of Scotland, it is a common practice to 

 dig pits in the potatoe field, where the soil is 

 light and dry, and putting in potatoes to the 

 depth of three or four feet to lay a litter of dry 

 straw over them, and then cover them up with 

 earth so deep that no frosts can affect them. 

 Mr. M'Mahon gives the following directions for 

 preserving turnips, carrots, parsnips, &c. which 

 we presume would answer as \vell lor potatoes 

 as for either of those roots. " On the surface 

 of a very dry spot of ground, in a well slielter- 

 ed situation, lay a stratum ot sand two inches 

 thick, and on this a layer of roots, covering 

 them with a layer of sand, and so continue layer 



to have access to the roots at all times, when 

 wanted either for sale or use. 



"• Some people lay straw, or hay, between 

 the layers of roots, and immediately on the top 

 of them ; this I do not approve of, as the strav,- 

 or hay will become damp and mouldy, and very 

 often occasion the roots to rot, while the sand 

 would preserve them sweet and sound." We 

 think that this method of preserving such roots 

 as would probably be wanted in the winter 

 would be found preferable to putting them in 

 caves, or pits, which it might be <liilicnlt to 

 open and close alter severe frost has commenc- 

 ed. They might, no doubt, be preserved ia 

 the manner pointed out by Jesse Buel, Esq. (in 

 the first volume of this paper, page 106,) for 

 securing ruta baga ; but as tlvey would be more 

 liable to be injured by frost than that root, they 

 would of ^irse require a thicker coat of earth 

 or other WTterial for a covering.* Care should 

 be taken H'.. to lay them in too large masses lest 

 they heat -.'.nC. spoil. !f yon have great quanti- 

 ties to preserve you may either make a propor- 

 tionate number of pits or heaps, or place them 

 in a trench or rciw, which may he longer or 

 shorter as the case may require. They should 

 have a light covering when first buried as they 

 will swcal, and be apt to rot if placed in too 

 warm a situation; and as winter approaches 

 more earth may be placed over them, till they 



*On reflection we believe it -Kill not be amiss tn 

 "ive, in this place, Mr. Buel's directions on this sub- 

 Ji'Ct, in order to accommodHte such of our readers ciji 

 may not be in possession of our first volume. "•To 

 preserve the roots dig about one foot deep on the side 

 of a hill, leaving; the bottom inclining, and siiflicitntly 

 IjioaJ each way to be able to pile iu the space, in the 

 form of a' cone [or sugar loaf,] 100 bushels. Place the 

 roots in it, and bring the top to a point as far as piac- 

 ticable. Cover with straw and then dirt. 1 hey will 

 bear considerable frost without injury ; [potatoes are 

 more liable to injury from frost.] 'lake care to dig a 

 trench round the mound to turn olf the water." 



A writer with the signature " A Farmer," whose 

 communication was published in our paper, vol. i, p. 

 354 gives the following mode of securing potatoes, 

 which we believe very judicious, and republish for the 

 nasons above mentioned. "When the potatoes are 

 ripe in the fall, that is when the vities are dead, 1 dig 

 them and jyit. them into a pit, dug on a knoll with a 

 trench two feet deep, leading from the pit out, in 

 which 1 place a common pump log, wilh (he ei;:l to 

 the edge of. the hole. After placing boards over the 

 hole, cover the whole with a thickness of earth suffi- 

 cient to prevent the frost from reaching them. In this 

 way any quantity can be put together without any 

 dan-er of their heating. Care should be taken to pre- 

 vent the mice from getting to the hole thro' the log, 

 by nailing a piece of tin with holes punched in Jl at: 

 the outer end." 



