1908 
FEBRUARY, 
The result of too shallow planting (2 inches); tubers are 
exposed and get sunburnt, hilling is necessitated 
full size. ‘The earliest of this class is Bur- 
pee’s Extra Early, an oblong, white or very 
pale brown tuber, with the finest cooking 
quality of any variety that I have ever 
known. Early Bovee, Early Rose and Early 
Beauty of Hebron are also excellent varieties, 
a little later in season. 
Among the latest and most productive 
sorts I consider the Vermont Gold Coin 
the most satisfactory, being vigorous, blight- 
resisting to a great degree, and producing 
a large crop of large, smooth, white-skinned 
potatoes, which have a finer cooking quality 
than any I have ever grown, with the excep- 
tion of the one just mentioned. 
Other excellent late varieties are Carman 
No. 1 and Carman No. 3, Rural New Yorker 
No. 2, Green Mountain (or as it is locally 
known in this section, State of Maine), Sir 
Walter Raleigh, and Uncle Sam. Irish Cob- 
bler, a second early variety, is quite popular 
in some sections on account of its strong, 
vigorous growth and _ productiveness, es- 
pecially when grown in moist soils, but it 
is decidedly inferior in quality to the other 
varieties named in this list. Nearly all 
these later varieties have long tubers which 
are also broad and thick, and of smooth, 
regular outline and show but little waste 
in preparation for the table. 
Cut the seed to pieces with two eyes for greatest results 
THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 
It is worth while devoting some space in 
the family garden to a planting of potatoes 
for early use, although the main supply can 
be grown more cheaply under field culti- 
vation. Special attention and extra feeding 
and frequent cultivation are necessary for 
the best results with the very early varieties, 
and these can only be given in a garden. It 
is usually better in small gardens of less 
than a half acre to grow the more succulent 
vegetables only. 
HOW TO RAISE “‘ NEW ” POTATOES 
The ground for the early planting should 
be well drained and on a warm, sunny slope, 
but if the garden is level with stiff, heavy 
soil, the ground can be made warmer and 
drier early in the spring by laying it off in 
raised beds with shallow walks or ditches 
at intervals. It is best to have the ground 
prepared in the fall by spreading a heavy 
coat of stable manure and plowing or dig- 
ging it under before the ground freezes. 
THE DANGER FROM MANURE 
Fresh stable manure plowed or dug under 
in the spring is apt to lead to scabby tubers. 
If the land was not manured in the fall 
commercial fertilizer had better be used 
for the garden plantings, or else a compost 
of hard wood ashes mixed with poultry 
droppings. Paradoxical as it may seem, 
heavy applications of long or strawy ma- 
nure used in this way make a heavy soil 
lighter and looser in texture, while on a light, 
sandy soil they will make the land of heavier 
and more loamy texture. If manure is 
applied in large quantities, liberal applica- 
tions of air-slaked lime should be given too. 
It is almost impossible to over-enrich the 
land if the fertilizing elements are thoroughly 
mixed with the soil before planting. The 
fertilizer manufacturers have for potatoes, 
special brands which show a high percentage 
of potash, and they will also be found excel- 
lent for garden crops in general. Four quarts, 
or even more, of a good fertilizer can be used 
to a row one hundred feet long, or a large 
handful can be mixed with the soil in the hill 
where the plant is to grow; but if such 
Well prepared land. 
Tubers ree 
Four inches is the proper depth to plant. 
main covered and level culture can be given 
liberal quantities are used, be careful to stir 
it into the soil with a rake or hoe before 
planting the seed. 
As early in the spring as it can be worked 
in good condition, dig or plow the soil to 
a good depth, raking or harrowing the sur- 
face to a medium fineness. Mark out the 
rows making furrows or drills with the hand 
plow or hoe about three inches deep and 
putting the fertilizer or compost in the 
bottom. Cut the seed potatoes into pieces 
having two eyes to each, and lay these pieces 
with the cut side down in the bottom of the 
drill or furrow, and twelve to fifteen inches 
apart. Small or whole potatoes, or large 
potatoes cut in halves lengthwise can be 
planted in the same way, but are liable to 
throw up a greater amount of stalks. These 
must be thinned out when hoeing, as other- 
wise the potatoes will be comparatively 
small. For the best development of the 
tubers, leave only one or two strong stalks 
to a hill. 
The space between the rows should be 
governed by the method of cultivation. For 
the hand or wheel hoe two feet apart will 
suffice, while if a horse cultivator is used, 
the rows should be fully three feet apart. 
For the earliest crop, plant the seed near 
the surface, as growth will then start more 
quickly than if the seed pieces are covered 
Is not four inches deeper than you thought? 
