Close 

 Planting 

 for Table 

 Size 



Protection 



from 



Frost 



Spraying 



Keeps 



Crop 



Growing 



Longer 



*' Seeding: The seed (consisting of small potatoes about 

 the size of hen's eggs) is cut usually with two eyes to each 

 piece and dropped from 10 to 14 inches apart in the furrows. 

 The tendency is, however, to reduce the distance between 

 the rows, to plant the seed thicker, and to use a little more 

 fertilizer in order to encourage a larger growth of table-size 

 potatoes. The seed is covered from 2 to 4 inches deep, 

 and it takes about 15 bushels per acre. 



''Amount of Fertilizer: The quantity of fertilizer 

 applied per acre will vary with its strength, but the usual 

 practice is to apply in the rows from 1,200 to 1,500 pounds 

 per acre, of a grade that averages to test 4 to 5% of ammo- 

 nia, 6 to 8% of available phosphoric acid, and 7 to 10% of 

 potash. Some farmers favor the higher percentage of ammo- 

 nia to force growth in our northern latitude, and the higher 

 percentage of potash to benefit the clover crop which follows 

 in rotation. The usual practice in this section is to apply 

 all the fertilizer at time of planting. 



''Cultivation: As soon as the potato tops begin to 

 show, they are covered from 2 to 3 inches deep with dirt 

 with a two-horse hoe. This is called 'covering,' and 

 protects them from frost. Besides the potatoes seem to 

 come up stronger than where it is not done. When the 

 covering is finished, we begin to cultivate deeply between 

 the rows; and when the vines are about 3 inches high, we 

 ridge the earth up with a two-horse hoe. This is called 

 'hilling.' About a week or ten days later, we hill again, 

 piHng more earth around the stalks. We keep the culti- 

 vator going between each hilling, and finally, when the tops 

 are too high for a two-horse hoe, we use a one-horse spade 

 plow which throws the dirt both ways; and this ends the 

 cultivation. 



"Spraying: We begin to spray when the potatoes are 6 

 to 8 inches high, using Bordeaux Mixture, and continue it 

 during the season, — ^in all, about six or seven times. During 

 the first two or three sprayings, we add poison to kill the 

 potato bugs. If well sprayed, the tops keep green and 

 growing until the frost kills them, which is about the 20th 

 of September. 



"Harvesting: The potatoes are dug with a two- horse 

 digger, beginning about the 1st of September. They are 



40 



