330 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
AN EXPERIMENT WITH POTATO SEED. 
Last Spring I read many different 
methods of planting potatoes. The thing 
that interested me most was this, large 
or small seed? I decided to give the 
question a good test, which I did and 
here are the results. I purchased 20 
bushels of Green Mountain seed potatoes, 
grown in Maine. While I was cutting the 
seed potatoes, I selected three different 
sizes. No. 1 were very large;* one of 
these weighed 1 3-4 pounds, ^he remain¬ 
der were as large as I could find. No. 2 
were fine specimens of fair size, and all 
about the same. In each case each piece 
of seed was cut so as to contain two 
eyes. No. 3 were small potatoes, none 
larger tha-n a small hen’s egg. smooth and 
perfect shape. Each potato was cut in 
halves through the seed end, regardless 
of the number of eyes on each piece. In 
in each case there were IIV 2 pounds of 
seed planted. The results are as follows: 
11 V 2 pounds No. 1, large seed, produced 
72 pounds of potatoes, 51 pounds market¬ 
able, 21 small. There were very few as 
large as those planted; only one weighed 
over one pound. No. 2 seed produced 
148 pounds of potatoes, 115 pounds mar¬ 
ketable, 33 pounds small; many larger 
than seed planted, and all good hand¬ 
some specimens. No. 3 seed produced 
8S pounds potatoes, 6214 pounds market¬ 
able, 2514 small; very few were well 
shaped tubers and small ones very ir¬ 
regular shaped. This test was made in 
the centre of a one-acre potato patch, 
rows all the same length. No. 1 seed 
planted two-thirds of one row; No. 2 
seed planted One full row, and one-third 
of one other; No. 3 seed planted two 
rows less about 12 feet. 
The seed was placed 15 inches apart 
in the row, and rows 3*4 feet apart. In 
regard to fertilizer there were 1400 
pounds potato special applied to the acre, 
700 pounds in the row at time of planting 
and 700 pounds applied near the row and 
cultivated in at the first cultivation and 
drawn up to the plants with the hoe. 
Each row received very nearly the same 
number of pounds of plant food. It is 
readily seen that the No. 1 seed did 
not receive as much plant food as No. 2, 
and No. 3 received almost as much as 
No. 1 and No. 2 together. j. c. e. 
Rhode Island. 
HAND-GROWN POTATOES. 
Seeing a good deal written about 
potatoes recently in The R. N.-Y., may 
I add a word to cheer the grower of 
small lots of this vegetable, especially 
where labor is an unsolved problem? 
“Hand grown” sounds like the ancient 
of days in this business, but the results 
are very acceptable. Here with an alti¬ 
tude of 2150 feet above tidewater, 
we cannot get into our ground before 
the latter part of March. Last year 
I planted on March 30, with the mercury 
standing at 39°, but with us the early 
planting brings the heaviest crops both 
for early and late varieties. Therefore I. 
plant the earliest and latest as near the 
same date as possible. I grew 250 bushels 
(60 pounds per bushel) on slightly over 
one-half acre. I first plowed the ground 
eight inches, following with a subsoiler 
eight inches, then harrowed and dragged 
until I had a fine seed bed. After that there 
was no horse power used until digging 
time. With the hand plow I laid off my 
rows 2 1 / 4 feet apart and four inches deep, 
■scattering 600 pounds per acre of 3-8-10 
fertilizer in the row, setting the early 
pieces 10 inches apart and the late 15. 
Having three narrow shovels on my plow 
I took out the middle one and covered 
the rows nicely. I ran through the rows 
several times before the tubers made 
their appearance, each time following 
with a light hand drag to level up the 
ground. After the potatoes were well 
up I applied 600 pounds more of the 
same formula in an open furrow on 
either side of the row. I should add 
here that I had scattered in February 
20 loads of stable manure per acre on 
this clay loam. 
I did not plow over three to 3}4 
inches deep at any time, and ran through 
the rows eight or nine times, until the 
tops fell. Mr. Martin is right all the 
time on the question of spraying. We 
had bugs by the million, but arsenate 
of lead in Bordeaux soon fixed them. I 
only used 3-3-50 formula for blight, 
but the fight was a hard one. I sprayed 
White Victor six times and Olds Pro¬ 
lific seven. But who will say spraying 
does not pay? Last j^car I sprayed my 
Prolific four times, stopping July 15, 
made about 300 bushels per acre; this 
year I ran over them seven times and 
by actual measure they ran 555 bushels 
per acre. This is a late potato, but by 
early planting is ready to dig by August 
10 or 15. The White Victors I sprayed 
six times. These mature earlier, July 
15 to 20, and yielded 457 bushels per 
acre. 
A wet spot in the middle of the lot 
cut down their yield. Like Alfalfa, 
potatoes must not get wet feet. Thi5 
lot had been watched by the neighbors 
very closely. I was not plowing deep 
enough for some of them, and there was 
too much fertilizer used to please others. 
But when we got in with a digger and 
turned them out, large numbers of them 
weighing a pound and up to l l / 2 pound 
each, solid and smooth, it was a picture 
to make one glad. It was good to the 
eve as the labor to grow them was good 
for the muscle and by no means bad for 
the spirit. I do not mean in this article, 
to say that hand power can outstrip 
horse power in getting a large yield of 
potatoes. I simply did the best I could 
with what I had, which was best suited 
to my plot of ground. The tubers were 
all out of the ground early, lying on 
the barn floor where they were better 
off than in the ground, for they were 
clean and dry, ready to be shipped; the 
ground was better off also, in Crimson 
clover and Cow-horn turnips. I learned 
this from The R. N.-Y. Will some one 
question the profit to be made? Well, it 
figures about $225 per acre after paying 
for getting the ground ready for planting 
and paying for manure and fertilizer 
and digging, with potatoes going at 60 
March 12, 
cents. However, I see more in growing 
for the planter than the pot. Then surely 
it nets a figure not to be despised. 
Blacksburg, Va. j. M. k. 
Fertility for Sterile Spot. 
F. O., Brooklyn, N. Y .—At my Summer 
place iu Connecticut last Fall, I had a small 
space of ground say about 75 feet square, 
svhich formed a hollow ; filled up with 
broken stones and topped off with a foot 
of sand to even up the ground. Can you 
advise some way to bring this space into 
fertility? 
Ans.—Y ou have a hard proposition. 
The sand and the stone under it will 
prove so “leachy” and open that water 
will rapidly escape. In a wet season 
crops may grow fairly well, but in a 
drought such a place will soon dry out. 
you must increase the power of that sand 
to hold water. If you can get coal ashes 
scatter them over the sand and work 
them in. This will help compact the soil. 
You must also fill that sand with organic 
matter. This can be done by using 
stable manure heavily and plowing or 
spading it in. Work in all weeds, grass 
or surplus crops, and never let the 
ground remain bare. Always keep some¬ 
thing growing on it, and work every¬ 
thing not needed for food into the sand. 
In New York some vacant building lots 
have been turned into good soil. Orig¬ 
inally they were built up of old tin cans 
and other rubbish covered with coal 
ashes and street sweepings. By using 
manure heavily gardeners have been able 
to make this waste produce great crops. 
When you write advertisers mention the 
R. N.-Y. and you'll get a quick reply and 
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