APRIL 18 
A LECTURE ON POTATO CULTURE. 
MR. TERRY ANSWERS 13 QUESTIONS. 
Fields too small; too many varieties: weeds should die 
young; getting the most from clover sod; picking 
beetles by hand. 
Three Fields; Seven Varieties; Cut Them Down. 
Will Mr. Terry tell me what I should do under the fol¬ 
lowing circumstances: I have three pieces of ground to 
put in potatoes; No. 1 is an old meadow sod about two 
acres, and is about 25 rods long. It hss been in grass 
seven or eight years, but has become infested with Oxeye 
Daisy, wild cotton, etc., and I want to put it into potatoes 
to be followed by wheat. I expect there are a good many 
white grubs, and wire worms in it, and wouldn’t it be best 
to plow it as early as possible. 
No. 2 is of about the same size and shape, and is a two- 
year Timothy sod, too thin to be cut another season. It Is 
a part of a 7%-acre meadow, the rest of which will be cut 
his season and put In oats a year from spring. 
Pri i of this was manured last fall and the remainder 
will be before long. 
No. 3 contains 2)4 acres and is almost square. It 
is a good clover sod, but was pastured a little last 
fall. I want to put about half of it in potatoes and 
the rest in sweet corn, and will put it in wheat this 
fall if possible. My tools for cultivation consist of a 
No. 2 Planet Jr., horse hoe cultivator, and a six-foot, 
one-horse, slant tooth harrow. I have no planter, & 
and there is none near here, so I thought I would drill n 
the seed pieces in by hand, and cover with the cul- fife 
tivator. I can plant about as fast in this way as in ||g 
hills and cover with the hoe. 
not rot uext year. I would suggest selecting two of the 
varieties that seem to be the best for their soil, and after 
this year letting the rest go. Perhaps the young men may 
have got these varieties only to test them. In regard to 
one-eye cutting, see answer to another correspondent. As 
to one-eye pieces from a large potato compared with a 
small one with all its eyes but one destroyed, I can hardly 
answer directly, as so much would depend on wbat the 
small potatoes were, and the conditions of the field. Gen¬ 
erally speaking, I would prefer on my farm the pieces 
from a large tuber. 
I can keep seed best buried. In cellar I would keep them 
dark and as cold as possible, down to 34 degrees. When 
sprouts begin to start, then it may be best to spread them 
in the light and shovel them over often with a wooden 
shovel. I like to grow varieties that can be kept till 
planting time without sprouting at all. The first sprout 
is the best. I nearly always succeed in keeping mine in 
this way. 
where doing so might make the piece too small. For this 
reason there are occasionally two eyes on a piece. I do 
this because with the varieties I have grown and my 
methods of tillage, as well as the quality of my seed, etc., 
I have been able to get the most dollars to the acre in this 
way. It doesn’t follow, however, that it is the best plan for 
all. I know it would not be for many, unless they changed 
their practices to match. I am a specialist. This one 
thing I do—I take care of the potatoes from beginning to 
end In the best way I know how. I use no poison against 
the potato pests, but pick the beetles when the potatoes 
first appear pretty closely. We takeoff some of the larvae 
in pans with long handles, with long paddles (so long that 
we can stand up straight in doing the work). But the 
beetles are not so numerous of late years. My neighbors 
all follow the same plan and fight them systematically. 
Then a rank-growing variety and a rich soil help. The 
former on such land grow ahead of the bugs. I can do 
this work at odd spells with the regular help. There is a 
right and a wrong way of doing it, too. Practice 
makes perfect, together with study. For example, 
beetles fly only on warm days. With my rotation 
they must always come to a potato field. They do 
not winter there. They light on the first rows they 
come to. In days when they fly, we go back and forth 
on the outside of the rows, and catch them there be¬ 
fore they get all over. It would not pay us to hand¬ 
pick a small patch. The larger the field the less the 
trouble per acre._ 
& ^ THE POTATO SCAB. 
In the annual report of the Connecticut Experi- 
^ ment Station for 1890, Dr. Roland Thaxter gives an 
interesting account of his experiments with potato 
E? “scab.” The following synoDsis is made from his 
S’ report—the pictures shown at FJgs. 103 and 104 being 
the original ones used : 
Almost everybody who has raised “scabby” pota¬ 
toes has some theory as to the cause of the disease. 
Some claim that it is caused by excessive moisture 
° 3 * in the soil, others think it is produced by irritation 
brought about by substances or insects in the soil 
that scratch or mar the tubers, still others think it is a re¬ 
sult of chemical action due to the presence of lime or oxide 
of iron in the soil, while another theory is that stable man¬ 
ure induces the disease. The trouble about all these theories 
is that perfectly healthy potatoes are frequently produced 
in wet soils and with stable manure, while scab frequently 
occurson light, dry land. Dr. Thaxter thus dismisses the in- 
sect-eating theory: “Turning to the theories which con¬ 
nect the ‘ scab ’ with the action of some organism, vegeta¬ 
ble or animal, the ‘ insect ’ theory is one very commonly en¬ 
tertained, especially by farmers, ‘insects ’ including earth 
worms. This idea is based upon the fact that scab spots 
form an attractive feeding ground for a variety of insects, 
especially wire worms, myriapods and mites, the common 
occurrence of which, especially in the deeper scab spots, 
has led to the belief that the two were directly associated. 
That this is not the case has been shown by careful obser¬ 
vation, the only connection between the two restiDg on the 
fact that the injury already existing from a quite different 
cause is often extended by them very considerably.” 
The earliest botanical explanation of the cause of scab 
was in 1842 when Dr. Waliroth attributed it to the action 
of a certain fungus. It has since been shown that this 
was another disease entirely, and only in recent years has 
the true disease been carefully studied. 
Without going into a detailed account of Dr. Thaxter’s 
experiments—of interest mainly to botanists—or giving a 
description of the disease, which is familiar to all who eat 
potatoes, we may say that experiments were made to learn 
if the disease could be transmitted by infection, like 
small pox or measles in a human subject. It has been 
proved that it can. At Fig. 103 is a photograph of a scab¬ 
by potato as it was taken from the soil. As these scabby 
potatoes grew in the field, the microscope detected a gray¬ 
ish film in connection >vith scab spots, and this substance 
was taken for inoculation. Potatoes in half a dozen or 
more hills were infected with the disease. The tubers 
were uncovered and lightly touched with a needle that 
had been dipped in the diseased substance obtained from 
scabby tubers. In every case, within three days, the point 
touched by the needle showed symptoms of the disease, 
and subsequently developed into scabs. 
This was not considered a fair test, as potatoes in neigh¬ 
boring hills were afterwards found diseased, so another 
test was made with potatoes growing in a greenhouse. 
One or more potatoes in each of 18 small hills were 
inoculated with the disease. In every case but one they 
became “scabby.” At Fig. 104 is shown a photograph of 
one of these potatoes. The letters “ R. T.” were traced 
with the needle bearing the disease. See how closely the 
scab has followed it. There were 36 tubers left unaffected. 
Of these 31 were quite clean, while five showed one to 
several scab marks—only three of which were affected in 
the soil. 
The substance of the matter is that Dr. Thaxter con¬ 
cludes that the “scab” disease is always accompanied by 
a particular fungus. What it is and how to prevent it are 
matters that have not yet been determined. We are just 
beginning to understand the disease. Let us remember 
that for centuries doctors were in the dark respecting 
human diseases which are now perfectly well understood. 
Let us hope that this scab disease will be accurately de¬ 
termined, and that a remedy for it may be found—at least 
that we may know how to avoid the conditions most 
favorable for its development. 
banks and Empire State, but do not care to plant 
many of the latter on account of rot. I have also seven Specimen of Ordinary “Deep 
bushels of Everetts, two bushels of Summits, three 
of Charles Downing, four of Rural Blush, four of Amer¬ 
ican Giant and one of Sunlit Star. Ought I to get one or 
two barrels of Munro Seedlings at $4 75 per barrel ? Ought 
I to cut to one eye and plant 13 inches apart ? Should I 
plant pieces smaller than small hulled walnuts ? Will a 
whole potato of that size, with all eyes destroyed but one, 
be as good as a piece of the same size cut from a large 
potato? The potatoes are in the cellar under the house. 
How can they be best kept from sprouting ? Should they 
be kept moving from one barrel to another and perfectly 
dark, or ought they to be exposed to light and air as much 
as possible ? 
My plan is to plow No. 1 as soon as the ground gets 
reasonably dry, and then, before planting, give it a 
thorough stirring with the cultivator, work it down solid 
with the harrow and crusher and furrow it as deep as pos¬ 
sible. No. 2 will not have a very stiff sod but will be the 
last piece planted, and on it will be too many stones to 
allow the use of either the harrow or weeder, so I thought 
it should be plowed two or three weeks before planting 
and then whenever I had time to spare, I could be harrow¬ 
ing and crushing and getting the stones off. No. 3 will be 
awfully weedy I expect, and will have to go without any 
manure, so I thought it would be best to plant it in checks 
3 x 3 or 3 x2X feet apart with sweet corn the same, and use 
hen manure and phosphate In the hills. Should they be put 
in the hills or on top after the potatoes are covered ? The 
farm consists of 130 acres, 65 of which have been and will 
have to be plowed from time to time. My brother and 
myself own the place, and he is only 19 and I, 25. E. T. 
Trumbull Co., O. , 
ANSWERED BY T. B. TERRY. • 
I see nothing to be gained by the early plowing of No. 1. 
I would certainly do no plowing for potatoes until the 
ground was dry enough to crumble nicely. Ground is so 
easily injured by tramping when even a little wet, or 
pressing it with the mouldboard or the sole of the plow, 
unless it is very light. No. 2, with its “ Timothy sod too 
thin to be cut another season,” reminds one ot a quite too 
common practice. When these young friends get settled 
down to farming they want to plow for potatoes or corn 
a heavy clover sod that has just come to its best, and the 
results may be surprising. . Jp 
Before going any further, I want to make a suggestion in w 
a general way. Here is quite a large farm—130 acres, in- I 
eluding 65 that have been plowed. Three little patches u 
are spoken of for potatoes. One contains about two acres, 1 
and is 25 rods long ; the second is about like unto it; the Lim^nr - 
third contains 2% acres and is almost square and is to be ^ 
put into potatoes and corn together. Here are five to six 
acres of potatoes. To fit the ground and care for the crop 
on these three patches owing to their size and shape, I will 
venture to say, will take twice the time all through that 
it would if they were all in one strip, say 14 or 16 rods by 
60. On my little farm most of the rows are 60 rods long, “Deep” Scj 
or more. This reduces the cost of production. Study, 
boys, as soon as possible to get rid of these little patches would not war 
and have long fields, in regular rotation. Let the clover 
A planter is not needed for so few acres. Use a jointer practically but 
on the plow and do a nice job, and with care you can it till June an 
mark out and cover with the cultivator, without bringing It is a way mu 
up much sod. I planted many an acre in that way, a question of v 
years ago. I set the cultivator wings to throw the dirt in, I must plant « 
and used two horses. One horse walking in the drill you plant late 
would misplace some seed. I always marked out and ging, which do 
planted soon after plowing and harrowing. climate, and v 
In regard to varieties, our friends have altogether too grain, it may 
many now, unless they are seedsmen. Two varieties for planter and He 
the main crop I think better than more. The Monroe of Breed’s weed 
Seedlings do well for me, and the price is not high for this It will work to 
year. The Empire State is a good potato, too, and may and clean. I si 
I do not see the object of “ working the land down 
solid.” Neither would I furrow “ as deeply as possible; ” 
a depth of four inches will on the average do as well as 
a greater one (and this only for drained land), and the 
potatoes can be dug more easily when planted shallow. I do 
not harrow much before planting. Harrowing after 
planting to kill weeds and level the ridges often makes the 
soil more solid than I would like to have it. The weeds 
on No. 3 need not cause any trouble, if the land is drained. 
That barrow used just right will keep them down until 
one can cultivate the land. I have never been seriously 
caught on my land. On undratned land in a wet time 
there might be trouble. I have had no experience with 
or rather have obtained no benefit from using phosphates. 
A Clover Sod; Cutting “Seed;” Killing Beetles. 
Will Bro. Terry tell me which is the better time to turn 
under a clover sod—spring or fall ? A part of my potato 
ground the coming spring will be a moist, sandy loam sod, 
wonderfully fertile, and drained naturally. The fall’s 
aftermath left was uncut and ungrazed; could I leave 
it till June and turn the clover under ? What is the best 
potato planter and the best digger ? What is his opinion of 
Breed’s weeder ? What is the best way to put down the 
potato bug ? Has he tried the Champion Potato Bug 
Destroyer ? My land is perfectly clear of stones, stumps 
and clods. Does Mr. T. still cut potato seed to one eye ? 
I never did so until two years ago, when I grew 3,500 
bushels from a little over 13 acres. The soil and season, 
of course, were very favorable. I intend to invest in a 
potato digger and planter and Breed’s weeder this spring. 
Ontario, Can. r. a. c. 
ANSWERED BY T. B. TERRY. 
As a rule, I do not turn under clover sod until the 
ground is dry in the spring. I prefer to have something 
growing on my land all the time as nearly as possible. I 
One cent will mail this paper to your friend 
in any part of the United States, Canada or 
Mexico, after you have read it and written 
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