WAY OF GROWING POTATOES 96 



Then the newly-formed pit is built up in the manner 

 explained above. 



Better still than re-pitting is to bring the potatoes 

 home and put them into a house. They can then be 

 graded and picked over during any wet weather which 

 may prevent outside work. 



Of course, where the potatoes are to be sold in 

 February or so, there is no need for re-pitting. They 

 can be graded and picked, bagged, and sent direct to 

 market. 



Some farmers prefer to take the small potatoes from 

 the general bulk at the first pitting, and this is quite a 

 good plan to follow wherever there are suliicient hands 

 to do the work ; the small and bad potatoes can then 

 be used for pig feeding. Generally though, where 

 potatoes are grown to a large extent, there is a great 

 hurry to get them all pitted immediately they have 

 been dug, especially during dry weather conditions. 



As well as taking out small potatoes, some farmers 

 also pick out the potatoes intended for seeding next 

 year — ^that is, the potatoes about the size of a hen's 

 egg. For seed the writer prefers to have a small 

 portion of the land dug while the potatoes are in 

 their green state, putting them direct into boxes on 

 shelves, and letting them "green," green potatoes 

 being so much better for seed. 



One mistake very often made, and a very serious 

 one indeed, is to use potato haulms for covering up the 

 pits. Now, if by any chance the tops have been 

 blighted, the rain washes the spores of the disease from 

 the haulms down to the potatoes ; as a result, half the 

 potatoes go rotten. Potato haulms should never be used 

 for this job. Neither should they be used for bedding, 

 no matter how hard up a farmer may be for litter. They 

 should be gathered together, put into a heap, and burnt 

 on the field. 



