ORDINAEY FAKM CULTURE. 317 



There were several competitors for the premium of one hun- 

 dred dolhirs which Mr. Bliss offered for the largest yield 

 from a single pound, with ordinary farm culture. I would 

 state, that there were twelve which exceeded my yield with 

 the Compton Surprise. 



Question. What do j^ou consider "ordinary farm cul- 

 ture"? It seems to me that is a pretty important thing for 

 us to understand. 



Mr. GooDALE. By "ordinary farm culture," I mean 

 simply an avoidance of slipping or sprouting. It is perfectly 

 well known, that immense crops of potatoes can be raised, 

 by cutting the sprouts off and dividing them into small 

 pieces. I mean, planting them, and manuring them as we 

 usually manure and plant for a farm crop, one eye in a hill. 

 That has been my practice for some years. If I use barn- 

 yard manure, I always spread it the previous year. I usually 

 put a compost into the hill. The compost that I use is com- 

 posed of charcoal dust, say two parts bone, or bone flour, or 

 bone meal one part, and sometimes ashes and plaster also. 



Question. That you use instead of the shovelful of manure 

 which common farmers use, I suppose? 



Mr. GooDALE. Yes, sir. 



Mr. Slade. Do you plough it in in the fall, or leave it on 

 the surface? 



Mr. GooDALE. I usually harrow it in in the fall. 



Question. How many hills did you make from this one 

 pound of potatoes? 



Mr. GooDALE. I believe I had about seventy eyes. The 

 gentleman seems to be surprised. I bought one pound of 

 Early Rose, which consisted of four potatoes. I waited a 

 a few days until they had started, so that I could see every 

 eye, and I made one hundred Mils out of that pound,^ with- 

 out any slipping or sprouting, any further than this : You 

 have noticed that where there is one large eye, there will 

 sometimes be quite a cluster of sprouts. I took a long, 

 sharp knife and divided that cluster nicely, so that I made 

 sometimes five hills out of a cluster. Some of the pieces 

 would be no bigger than a kernal of corn. I put the pieces 

 very carefully in the ground, with the eye up, and that eye 

 produced as much as any of the others. I raised one barrel 



