t 
Vol. LXV. No. 2927. 
NEW YORK, MARCH 3, 1906. 
WKEKLY, *1.00 PER YEAR. 
POTATO FARMING BY CRIPPLES. 
How Machinery Supplies Legs and Hands. 
Thh R. N.-Y. has stated that modern machinery has 
been so developed and simplified that two men, each with 
only one leg, can grow 30 acres of potatoes—doing all the 
labor except picking up while riding. \Ve are asked to 
state how ibis can he done. The following statement is 
made in reply. We do not know of two men doing just 
this work, but the operations are all possible. 
[t will first be necessary to have smooth, level land, 
free from stones and well tilled, so as to be reasonably 
free from weeds. The fields ought to he large, in order 
to avoid too much turning. By preference a rich, mel- 
A 100-GALLON SPRAY TANK. Fig. Go. 
low soil, well drained and full of humus or vegetable 
matter. A Fall-plowed clover sod or a field following 
cow peas would be excellent. In such farming fertil¬ 
izers will he better than manure. We will assume that 
the two one-legged men can walk about enough to ad¬ 
just the harness and machinery. They will require quiet 
and steady horses. 
FITTING THE LAND.—A man with one leg can 
drive a sulky plow. By means of a hand lever he can 
make the horses raise or lower the plow point clear of 
the ground, or to any desired depth for plowing. We 
prefer a “reversible” plow in a long field, as the furrows 
can all be thrown one way, and thus avoid dead fur¬ 
rows. We would, as far as possible, pull out all the 
fences in the tillable land, as it is not possible to work 
GASOLINE ENGINE FOR POWER SPRAYING. Fig. GG 
close to a fence with a riding plow. With a steady team 
and a good eye it will hardly be necessary to walk a 
step in plowing the field. We should harrow and fit 
each day’s plowing as soon as possible after turning it 
over. First with a disk or Cutaway harrow the furrows 
are stirred and tumbled over—then with an Acme they 
are crushed and smoothed, and leveled ready for the 
planter. The object in fitting potato ground is to mel¬ 
low it thoroughly to a depth of six inches or more, and 
then to smooth the surface without packing the soil too 
hard. In case of a rain after this fitting a weeder 
mounted on wheels can be run over the field, scratching 
over the surface and breaking the crust. All this work 
may be done while riding—the horses doing for us what 
was formerly done laboriously by hand, or with crude 
horse tools. 
PREPARING THE SEED.—The extra leg is surely 
not needed to soak the potatoes to prevent scab, or to 
cut the seed. The chances are that a lame man will cut 
the seed accurately, since the lame are usually expert 
with the hands. Two barrels or a barrel and a tank 
HOMEMADE GAS SPRAYER. Fig. 67. 
can be used for soaking. They can be put under a 
beam on which is a rope and tackle for lifting the pota¬ 
toes. We like to rinse them first. This can be done by 
lifting the potatoes in sacks by means of the tackle and 
“sousing” them up and down in clean water. 
When they have drained clean, lower the sack 
into the scab solution and keep them there 
about 00 minutes. This solution is made by 
adding one-half pint of formalin to 15 gallons of water. 
By having a tank or box large enough or a number 
of barrels a number of sacks can be soaked at one time. 
In taking out lift the sack to the top of the barrel, let it 
drain thoroughly, and then empty on the grass, or on 
a table, and cut. Of course a man will be careful about 
cutting, whether he has one leg or two. Avoid “blind” 
HAND SPRAYER FOR VINEYARDS. Fig. 68. 
eyes. We cannot safely cut all types of seed potatoes 
alike. The long, narrow kinds usually have good eyes 
all over, while many of the round or chunky sorts 
have the good eyes clustered at the seed end; we must 
remember this when cutting, and also remember that 
the potato planter is best suited to handling square, 
medium-sized pieces—especially the one-man planter. 
As the seed is cut we would sprinkle it vvdth sulphur. 
A good way to do this is to cut into a box or basket, 
sift a little sulphur over each layer, and shake the pack¬ 
age from time to time. We use the sulphur as a double 
precaution against scab and because it preserves the seed 
piece. It is not so likely to rot—even in a wet soil— 
when the sulphur is used. 
FERTILIZING.—The use of manure, even with 
spreaders, would be too much for our one-legged men. 
Fertilizer, if put in 100-pound sacks, will be much 
easier for them. A little figuring or experimenting will 
TANKS FOR COMPRESSED AIR AND GAS. Fig. GO. 
show how far apart the sacks should be put in the field 
to serve the planter. A good potato fertilizer should 
analyze at least four per cent of nitrogen, eight of phos¬ 
phoric acid and seven of potash, and the nitrogen should 
have at least three different forms, such as nitrate of 
soda, dried blood and fine bone. There has been much 
argument as to where the fertilizer should be put. Some 
advise broadcasting half and putting the other half into 
the drill at planting—arguing that when well scattered 
through the soil the roots will grow out after it, and 
thus do better. Others put all in the drill with the 
planter, and this plan would be best with the one-legged 
men, since it saves an extra working. The amount of 
fertilizer to be used on an acre depends upon several 
A STEAM SPRAYING OUTFIT. Fig. 70. 
things—the quality of the soil and the crop that is to 
follow. On fairly good soil probably 1,000 pounds 
would be about the limit for a single potato crop, but 
most farmers follow with grain or grass without adding 
more fertilizer, and if this is the case an extra supply 
is used with the potatoes. The argument in this case 
is that the extra fertilizer ensures the potato crop, 
while the grass and grain which follow prevent any 
loss. 
PLANTING.—Under the old hand system the opera¬ 
tions of opening and closing the furrow and dropping 
seed and fertilizer were the hardest and most exacting 
of all. LTnless the planter did it himself he never knew 
where the seed pieces were put until the crop came up, 
