March 2 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
144 
Farmers’ Club. 
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£ar/y Potatoes Left Undug 
Is it your experience that early potatoes, 
dug, say in July and August, as soon as 
the crops die, are of better appearance and 
better quality than where the same pota¬ 
toes are permitted to lie in the ground 
until October or November? There seems 
to be a difference of opinion about this, 
some people claiming that potatoes lose 
in quality or become soggy when permitted 
to remain in the ground after they are 
fully ripe. 
Experience varies in different seasons 
and in different soils. A potato is in its 
perfection as soon as the vine which pro¬ 
duced it is dead, and commences to de¬ 
teriorate from that time. It is best kept 
by means of a cool, moist and even tem¬ 
perature. If the soil is an open one, and 
the season neither hot and dry nor very 
moist, the conditions should give satis¬ 
factory protection until Fall. If the crop 
is housed in a cool cellar as soon as ripe, 
where the temperature is uniform, and 
protected from any shriveling by a moist 
covering or otherwise, the result ought 
to be very near perfection. 
Massachusetts, jabez fisher, m. d. 
We much prefer to dig our potatoes 
as soon as thoroughly ripe, and as in 
this locality the medium early potatoes 
give best results, the proper time for 
us to dig them is in the latter part of 
July or early August. We can see no 
gain by letting them lie till October or 
later, and can see much against this 
practice. Potatoes as soon as ripe will 
dig much more easily than late, as the 
ground is apt to be drier, and not so 
hard, and if properly taken care of ear¬ 
lier, there will be no weeds to contend 
against. We also find that they will be 
of better quality, as we have found them 
to become soggy if they lie too long in 
the ground. If dug early wireworms, 
grubs or Quack grass will not be so apt 
to trouble them, and it is our opinion 
that less scab will be found in the 
early-dug potatoes. If there is danger 
of decay we also should dig. We heard 
a grower once say that “if they are go¬ 
ing to rot I’m going to leave them in 
the ground till they get through.” We 
think this poor policy, as we have sold 
and had consumed a good many pota¬ 
toes that we are morally certain would 
have been lost if left in the ground a 
month. We don’t like to dig just after 
a heavy rain, nor during very hot, 
muggy weather, but when the air is 
warm and clear and the potatoes dry 
quickly. Another great advantage in 
early digging is that we can use the land 
either to grow turnips or seed down with 
grass or rye. Here we plant the pota¬ 
toes as early as possible, so that they 
can make use of all the early rains, and 
will be nearly mature before blight con¬ 
ditions appear. When we dig our pota¬ 
toes in July we find a good market at 
fair prices, as a good many slack farm¬ 
ers are haying then, and do not stop to 
dig, so that ours are sold before the gen¬ 
eral crop is in competition. 
Connecticut. h. g. Manchester. 
The quality of the tuber is determined 
by the variety and the soil it grows in. 
Some kinds will be of good fiavor, mealy 
and pleasant, even though grown on 
heavy clay soil, and foliage is killed by 
frost or blight before tubers are ma¬ 
tured. New Queen and June Eating are 
familiar examples, while some like 
White Seedling and others of the Ameri¬ 
can Giant class are rarely of good qual¬ 
ity even on our upland, dry soils. Dig¬ 
ging out, or leaving in, would not change 
the result. For seed purposes I prefer 
to leave all varieties in the ground un¬ 
til September rains begin, and the wilt¬ 
ing, hot weather of August is over. 
Where land is well underdrained, and 
there is no danger of rot I would rather 
they were left in the ground till Octo¬ 
ber. Last season my 125 varieties were 
all matured, very early, by the excessive 
drought, but were not dug until the last 
of October, and came out fresh, plump 
and sound. They are much better than 
withered, dried-up tubers dug soon af¬ 
ter death in August for seed, and I think 
for table use also. I do not believe that 
they absorb any moisture from the soil 
to make them soggy after growth 
ceases; if they did it would cause them 
to rot. It would increase their weight, 
and some Yankee would have discovered 
it before now. I think that the process 
of ripening continues after growth of 
foliage stops, or is dead—which would 
tend to make them better. 
c. e. chapman. 
Potatoes that are fully ripe will never 
gain in quality by being left in the 
ground a month or two, but will surely 
lose in quality and dryness. If grown 
on moist soil, or wet with frequent show¬ 
ers, dig early potatoes and store them 
in the cellar, as that is the best place 
for them. If the weather is hot pick up 
as fast as dug; do not let them get hot, 
or they will surely rot if piled together 
in any great quantity. 
New York. geo. a. bonnell. 
Soft Bone and Meat. 
S. R. B., Neto Castle, Del.—I have a chance 
to buy 10 tons of soft bone and meat at 
$1 per ton of a leather and tallow dealer. 
They have been steamed until quite soft, 
and there are no pieces of bone larger 
than a hen’s egg. Would it pay to get it, 
and what properties would it contain? 
Ans.—T his contains nitrogen and 
phosphoric acid, but no potash. We can¬ 
not tell the amount of these substances, 
as that depends a good deal on the per 
cent of water. It is a great bargain at 
$1 per load. We would dry it out with 
fine dirt or plaster and use it for corn 
or garden crops. 
Power for Irrigating. 
A. L., Pine City, N. Y.—I have about 10 
acres of land lying on both sides of a creek 
that never gets dry. I wish to take water 
from this creek during dry weather to 
water this land. I am raising apples and 
small fruits. I am purchasing H4-inch 
iron water pipe (second hand). I think of 
getting a small engine on trucks so I can 
move it as need may require; also a pump. 
How much power do I need, and probable 
cost? 
Ans. —It is of doubtful expediency to 
use 1%-inch pipe to carry water for irri¬ 
gating 10 acres. A very large quantity 
of water is required for thoroughly irri¬ 
gating. One inch of rain on 10 acres 
equals 271,540 gallons, a fiow of 50 gal¬ 
lons per minute for 90 hours. In hot, 
dry weather one inch of water, or even 
more, will be needed every week on some 
crops. The friction of water in iron pipe 
increases as the square of the increase 
of water forced through it. That is, the 
friction on a flow of 100 gallons per min¬ 
ute is four times as great as on 50 gal¬ 
lons. If main pipe 2% inches in diam¬ 
eter were used the l^-iach pipe could 
be used as laterals, and water allowed 
to flow from two or three pipes at once. 
Unless the engine is wanted for other 
purposes, I would advise having engine 
and pump stationary. For my irriga¬ 
tion plant and for one that I installed 
for Scribner Bros., at Neversink, Sulli¬ 
van Co., N. Y., a 2^-horse-power gaso¬ 
line engine does the work of pumping 
150 gallons per minute 24 feet high, and 
200 gallons 18 feet high. Write to United 
States Department of Agriculture, Wash¬ 
ington, D. C., for Bulletin 87 on Irriga¬ 
tion in New Jersey. This bulletin gives 
detailed information concerning several 
irrigation plants. The cost depends on 
conditions. In my own case and that of 
Scribner Bros., engine and pump cost 
$200.. GEO. A. MITCHELL. 
New Jersey. 
Tells What All Thmg(s Cost 
W e publish a book that gives wholesale prices on 70,000 things. It contains 1,200 pages filled with accurate 
descriptions, and 17,000 pictures. It tells about what your dealer pays for everything. It enables you to buy as 
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