ROOT CROPS. 217 



WORCESTER NORTH. 



Statement of C. M. Woodward. 



Potatoes. — I hero present for your consideration the fol- 

 lowing- statement of an experiment in raising potatoes the 

 present year. The land upon -which my potatoes were raised 

 was broken up on the 5th of June last with a Michigan plough, 

 ploughing very deep. Young apple trees had previously been 

 placed in the piece, at the distance of thirty-six feet each way. 

 The different squares between the trees, which contained about 

 four and four-fifths rods each, were planted on the 6th of June, 

 and treated alike in every way except in the application of dif- 

 ferent manures. Two squares were manured by a small hand- 

 ful of plaster in each hill at the time of planting. In the next 

 one I put the same quantity of plaster, and, in addition, one table 

 spoonful of guano, placing the plaster under, and the guano 

 over the seed. On the next square only guano was used, be- 

 ing applied in the same way as the plaster. On the fifth square 

 no manure of any kind was used. The potatoes were hoed 

 twice, and dug on the 17th and 18th of October. 



The average amount dug from four and four-fifths rods, on 

 which plaster alone was used, was four and four-fifths bushels, 

 or at the rate of one hundred and sixty bushels to the acre. 

 The amount raised on the piece on which both plaster and 

 guano were used was six bushels, or two hundred and eight 

 and two-thirds bushels to the acre. On the piece on which 

 only guano was used there were five bushels, or one hundred and 

 seventy-three and eleven-twelfths bushels to the acre ; and on 

 the piece on which no manure was used were three and three- 

 fourths bushels, or one hundred and thirty and ten-thirteenths 

 bushels to the acre. 



The potatoes were of the kind called "round reds." They 

 were large and fair, though much larger where the manure was 

 used than where it was not. The seed potatoes were very 

 small ones, having been separated from the good potatoes last 

 year. 



The cost of the manures I am not prepared to give, but it 

 could not have been very large. The difference in the products 



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