50 THE FARM. 



weather they should have a little air at the top. lu all cases have them 

 well sheltered; a very small leak will ruin a bank of potatoes. 



Points About Potatoes—In the judgment of the South DeerfieW 

 (Mass.) Farmers' Club, potatoes, when properly cared for, are, next to 

 tobacco, the beat paying crop a farmer can raise. The troulile is, potatoes 

 are too often neglected and receive attention only when other crops are 

 cared for. Turf land is the best, except in very dry seasons. Plow in the 

 fall and harrow in a good coat of manure in the spring. Tun'ow out, and 

 in the hills apply ashes and tobacco stalks cut about six inches long, at 

 the rate of sixteen loads per acre. Twelve hundi-ed pounds of fish and 

 potash to the acre, harrowed in, with a little phosphate in the hill, produced 

 a good crop. 



More attention should be given to selectmg good seed potatoes. Use 

 good-sized smooth tuber cut into four pieces. Change the seed every year 

 or two. The Early Rose is the best kind for home use. Peerless, Beauty of 

 Hebron, and Burbank Seedling give larger yields, but are inferior in quality. 

 The Snowflake bakes well. Early Vermont x-esembles Early Rose, and is 

 better in yield and quality. 



Hoeing potatoes is best done with a horse-hoe or tobacco-ridger. Go 

 through the piece three times with a horse-hoe, and you wouldn't need to 

 put a hoe into it; that is, on smooth land free of stones. To get ahead of the 

 bugs, cover the potato tops about an inch deep as soon as they are up; in 

 about a week cut a lot of small potatoes into four or more pieces and wet 

 them and sprinkle Paris green on them, stirring well until the pieces are 

 covered with it; scatter these pieces over the field, and the beetle will eat 

 them and die. If all do not partake of this wholesome diet and slugs ap- 

 pear, apply Paris green mixed with plaster. Potatoes are a paying crop at 

 fifty or sixty cents a bushel, and the small ones are excellent to feed hogs, 

 stock, and horses. 



Getting Potatoes Early. — Some years ago, writes a correspondent of 

 the Oardener's Mottildij, I conceived the idea of planting my potatoes with 

 shoots to them. Probably the sprouts suggested the idea; at any rate I car- 

 ried out the plan, and have been so well pleased with it that I have followed 

 it out for three years. A few weeks before planting tmie I select my seed 

 potatoes, and set them in a warm place to sprout. By the time my ground 

 is ready the shoots are about three inches in length. The potatoes are 

 handled carefully, so as not to break the growth, and cut up in suitjible 

 sizes, as in the ordinary way. One strong shoot is left to each piece. Tlie 

 seta must be put into the ground carefully, of course, or the shoots will bo 

 broken off. As growth commences at once, the green tops show in a few 

 days. There is easily a saving of two weeks time at the start. Those wlu) 

 have rather a low ground, which cannot be worked very early in spring, as 

 I have, will find this method will enable them to compote with then- neigh- 

 bors on higher gi-ound, with success. By July 10th, I was using fine Beauty 

 of Hebrous (an excellent early sort by the way), planted April 25th. They 

 were not then fully ripe, though the yellow tint iu the leaves was getting 

 quite perceptible. Generally the tops are dead at this date, but an unusu- 

 ally fine potato season kept them growing later this year. 



KaLsin;;; Potatoes. — The following euggestions are from a pracU'- i 

 farmer: 1 select a piece of suital^lo ground in the fall. Sod is beat, iii 

 nare it heavily with good barnyard manure, and plow under bo aa to k; .a 



