72 



THE LANCASTER FARMER- 



[May, 



moth" (Tinia) where it has an opportunity to 

 exercise a choice will always prefer a fine 

 ,fabric to a coarse one. In contemplating 

 wliat an insect physically and scientifically is, 

 we must not forget that it is a co-ordinate 

 factor in the constitution of the animal king- 

 dom, and that its existence, as a whole, can- 

 not be obliterated, without destroying the 

 equilibrium of nature. 



Selections. 



THE POTATO QUESTION. 



At the recently monthly meeting of the 

 Berks County Agricultural Society, "The 

 Potato and Its Cultivation" was the subject 

 discussed, and some interesting facts were 

 elicited. 



Dr. Aaron Smith referred to the importance 

 of the subject, and requested the large num- 

 ber of farmers in attendance to give their ex- 

 perience. 



S. J. Hill, of Kuscombmanor, said that in 

 his section the soil is a sand clay, with plenty 

 of small stones interspersed. He held that 

 the stones were of service in the production 

 of potatoes, because when wrown in such 

 soil the potatoes are usually mealy and very 

 palatable. In choosing a place for potatoes, 

 one should be selected where the sub-drainage 

 is carried towards the potato patch. Cultiva- 

 tion has as much to do with success as plant- 

 ing them. The potatoes should not be planted 

 too thick. 



President McGowen: "What kind" of pota- 

 toes do you plant?" 



Mr. Hill in reply said: "I always plant 

 large potatoes, but have them properly sliced, 

 so that only one or two stalks will come at 

 one place." Continuing his remarks, he said 

 that care most be taken in cutting the pota- 

 toes, and in laying them down. The pieces 

 should be laid in the furrow with the eye 

 down; if you place the cut side down it will 

 take longer for the stalks to root. The soil 

 should be well pulverized, and in plowing 

 between the rows, the soil should not be 

 thrown up too high against the stalks. There 

 ought to be an indentation where the stalks 

 are, so that the water will find its way to the 

 roots. 



Dr. T. S. Gerhart, of Robeson, asked Mr. 

 Hill what varieties ought to be planted, and 

 the latter said that he plants the Ohio Victor, 

 which succeeds best on his soil. Next to this 

 variety he would recommend the Peerless. 

 He suggested the changing of seed potatoes 

 every few years, by obtaining them from other 

 districts. 



Dr. Gerhart: "What has been your yield 

 per acre?" 



Mr. Hill: "On one-fourth of an acre, I 

 have raised one hundred bushels." 



Dr. Gerhart: "Do you use any phosphateV" 



Mr. Hill: "Our phosphate is barnyard 

 manure." 



V. T. Steltz, of Eobeson, said that he had 

 raised 400 bushels of potatoes to the acre with 

 barnyard manure, but had never used any 

 commercial fertilizers. 



W. H. Bitler, Esq., of Robeson said that 

 potatoes require pretty good soil, and their 

 quality is better when grown in sandy soil, or 

 on a hillside than when produced in heavy 

 soil. He was never able, however, to grow 



more than half a crop on the hillside. People 

 in buying potatoes generally prefer those of 

 large size, whether the quality is good or not. 

 Potatoes need a good deal of manure, and 

 barnyard manure is better than phosphates. 



James Buskhk, of Ruscombmanor, relates 

 his experience with phosphates, and said that 

 he had obtained a better yield by their use 

 than without. 



Benjamin E. Dry, of Rockland, agreed with 

 the views of Mr. Hill, who is engaged in 

 farming in an adjoining township. 



Dr. T. S. Gerhart said that there must be 

 something more in the soil than stones; there 

 must be the proper ingredients. He approved 

 of changing potatoes by obtaining seed from 

 otlier localities. The Early Rose is the most 

 profitable potato in his neighborhood. The 

 Peerless should be put in low-land. Potatoes 

 want good, rich soil. He has heard of such 

 yields as 600 to 700 bushels to the acre, but 

 in this part of the country the farmers are 

 satisfied with a yield of 400 bushels. 



Jeremiah Y. Bechtel said that he planted 

 some potatoes years ago in low ground, when 

 residing in Union township, and manured 

 them well, but the crop was not worth taking 

 up. The same year he put some on high 

 ground, witliout manure, and the crop was a 

 magnificent one. In the latter case, however, 

 the soil was "new land" and had never been 

 plowed before. He believed, therefore, that 

 new soil is what potatoes want. 



John Gottshall approved of using leaves as 

 a manure, and said that ground for potatoes 

 cannot be too much enriched. 



Dr. Gerhart : "How will clear, dry leaves 

 do?" 



Mr. Gottshall said that he had tried dry 

 leaves alone, with much success, but the re- 

 sults were not as good as when leaves and 

 manure were used together. 



Mr. Hill said he liad read about laying 

 potatoes right on top of the ground, with no 

 other covering than straw. 



John Gottshall said he visited a friend in 

 the West who sold his small farm of .35 acres 

 in this county for $3, .500, and bought a farm 

 of ISO or 190 acres in Missouri for $3,100. 

 He raised l,.5O0 bushels of wheat the first year. 

 Mr. Gottshall during his visit observed three 

 or four large heaps of straw, and asked what 

 they intended to do with it. "Use it for 

 covering potatoes," was the answer. "After 

 we have plowed our ground," continued his 

 friend, "we mark out the farrows, lay the 

 potatoes in the furrow, and then cover them 

 with straw. In the fall we pull away the 

 straw, and we thus raise 300 to 400 bushels of 

 potatoes to the acre." 



A. D. Trexler, of Albany, recommended a 

 thin covering for potatoes, and said that the 

 Ohio Victor will do best in heavy soil. He 

 believes that potatoes should be selected ac- 

 cording to the soil. The Early Rose will not 

 do as well in low ground as in gravel soil. 

 Whether large or small potatoes are planted, 

 they should be cut to obtain the best results. 



John U. Kaler, of the Eleventh ward, Read- 

 ing, formerly of Robeson township, related 

 the experience whieh he had years ago in 

 raising potatoes, He believed in cutting seed 

 potatoes to single eyes. From one eye he had 

 raised Qi pounds, and three of the potatoes 

 weighed over a pound apiece. He bought six 



pounds of Early Rose potatoes, from which 

 he raised seven bushels. He cut them to 

 single eyes, and from one eye had 4i pounds. 

 From a bushel of Harrison potatoes he raised 

 37 busliels. The ground was well manured 

 and well plowed. The soil was a sandy loam, 

 and the potatoes were never hilled up very 

 high. There are so many varieties now, and 

 what will do well in one section may not suc- 

 ceed so well in another. He believed good 

 stable manure to be about as good as anything 

 ever used, and said that the looser that the 

 ground is kept, the better. For planting pur- 

 poses he prefers a potato of good size. The 

 potatoes should be cut into s or 10 pieces, and 

 be planted in rows three feet apart, the pieces 

 being dropped at distances of 12 or 15 inches. 

 From 5 to 10 bushels of potatoes will plant an 

 acre. 



Howard Eschelman, of Robeson, said that 

 he believed in a thorough preparation of the 

 soil, and good cultiva'ion, in order to raise 

 large crops of potatoes. 



J. V. Bechtel said that it is better to plant 

 ground late than not to get it in proper con- 

 dition. In a dry season drought can be over- ^ 

 overcome by mulching. fl 



President McGowau said in regard to culti- 

 vating potatoes in a dry season, he favored 

 working the ground from the middle of the 

 afternoon towards niglit. He is opposed to 

 working the ground in the forenoon either for 

 potatoes or corn, as by attending to this in 

 the afternoon the soil will not dry out so 

 rapidly, when the moist sub-soil is brought to 

 the surface. 



Dr. Aaron Smith, of Reading, formerly of 

 Lower Heidelberg, said that in planting pota- 

 toes he would select a piece of ground not too 

 clayey or too rocky. He would plow it in the 

 fall as deep as two horses could tear it up, 

 as the soil absorbs from the air the fertilizing 

 principles that go to raise potatoes. If the 

 ground is of a limestone liature, it should not 

 be plowed when wet. In the spring he would 

 go over the land with a spike harrow, then 

 with a cultivator and then a roller. After he 

 liad done this, he would tear it up again with . 

 a plow. He would not plow the ground 

 quite as deep in the spring as in the fall. He 

 would thus obtain a loose, fertile soil that he 

 could cultivate with pleasure. He would then 

 furrow out his land, making the furrows _ 

 about 2^ to 3 feet apart, and run cross '■ 

 furrows the same distance apart. At the in- 

 tersection of the furrows he would plant the 

 potatoes. He would plant the best potatoes 

 that he could get, by having the nice ones 

 picked out of the general crop of the previoua ] 

 year. He would cut the potatoes in pieces, 

 leaving two eyes to a piece, and plant these 

 pieces in a hill, placed in triangular shape. 

 Barnyard manure is then put on top of each 

 hill, serving to keep down the grass and sup- 

 port the potato stalks. He believed in having 

 the potatoes deeply covered, in order that 

 they may keep moist. If they are planted on 

 top of the ground, the potatoes are green and 

 consequently very unwholesome. He objected 

 to planting potatoes two years in succession 

 upon the same tract. He had given nearly 

 30 years' experience to the subject, and had 

 produced 250 bushels to the acre, amidst the 

 ravages of the potato beetle, while his neigh- 



