The RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
The Story of the Crop 
Fine Reputation. —“Bigs is pigs.” but 
when it comes to potatoes there is the 
Long Island sort and those which are just 
“spuds.” So great is the reputation of 
“The Blessed Isle” for delicious, ineal.v 
potatoes, that from the high-class retail 
grocer to pushcart vender, all claim to 
sell “Long Island potatoes” as an excuse 
for fancy prices. Long Island is generally 
known to people up the State as the play¬ 
ground of the city; a location for golf 
links and bathing beaches; a commuters’ 
paradise; and the country home of the 
idle rich. It is in addition to all of these, 
and despite the efforts of the millionaire 
amateur farmer, one of the most up-to- 
date farming regions of the whole coun¬ 
try. 
Intensive Methods. —Potatoes are 
the mainstay of the Long Island farmer. 
Because of the high-priced land, expen¬ 
sive labor, leachy soil and excellent mar¬ 
kets, the methods are most intensive. As 
every farmer likes to know how the other 
man farms, an account of the details of 
the Long Island methods may be of gen¬ 
eral interest. Not all soils are equally 
good, but the best of the crop is raised on 
the Hempstead loam, a black prairie soil 
two cr three feet deep, underlaid by grav¬ 
el. and upon the sassafras loam, a light- 
colored. mellow soil, varying from sandy 
to silty, which is light in color and 
about tbe same depth as the other. Both 
of these soils are mellow and well drained 
by the beds of sand and gravel on which 
they rest. Like most of Long Island, 
these soils are acid by much leaching and 
fertilizer residues, which insures freedom 
from scab but hinders the successful use 
of legumes for green manures. For the 
same reason it is expensive to raise hay 
to feed live stock. Manure is therefore 
purchased by the car from New York 
City, and applied at the rate of 15 or 20 
tons per acre every three or four years. 
This is not so much for the plant food as 
it is for the humus, which keeps the crop 
from burning up in a short drought. A 
few avoid this by the use of green ma¬ 
nures. but most of the crop is dug so late 
that even rye makes only a small growth 
before it must be plowed under for the 
next crop. 
Differing .Systems. —Most potatoes 
are grown without any systematic rota¬ 
tion. and without the use of legumes. 
Large amounts of high-grade fertilizer are 
used, and potatoes ofteu follow potatoes, 
occasionally alternating with corn, which 
permits the cover crops to grow larger. 
There are three principal centers of po¬ 
tato growing, and in these the details of 
cultivation differ. The llicksville district 
is in tbe west-central, about 25 miles from 
New York City; the Orient section ex¬ 
tends from Riverhead northwest to Orient 
Point, coinciding with the cauliflower sec¬ 
tion. The third section is between South¬ 
ampton and Montauk Point. 
Good Seed Wanted. —In each of these 
districts it is recognized that good seed is 
the first essential, and that this must 
come from the North. Much of this comes 
from certified farms in Northern Maine, 
but many others buy from Vermont. Still 
others get seed from Franklin, Clinton, 
Cortland. Onondaga and Cayuga County 
farmers, and a few buy all the way from 
Wisconsin. Certified seed is preferred. 
It has shown its superiority in larger 
crops, disease resistance and ability to 
withstand drought. The local crop ripens 
so early that it seems to lose its vigor 
before next planting time, and late-plant¬ 
ed potatoes yield so poorly that it is 
cheaper to buy good seed than to raise it. 
Not satisfied with official certification, it 
is getting to be more and more of a cus¬ 
tom for neighborhood committees of ex¬ 
pert farmers to visit seed growers and to 
buy outright the produce of certain fields. 
Varieties Chosen. —Long Island has 
less choice of varieties than most other 
places. Green Mountain is the great main 
crop variety, and Cobblers are the leading 
early sort. It is the strain and selection 
more than the variety that makes for suc¬ 
cess. 
Early Planting. —After good seed, 
early planting is the most essential fac¬ 
tor in success. . Long Island soils are too 
warm and dry for potatoes in September, 
and a successful crop must be well on its 
way to maturity by August 1. May 1 ! s 
the deadline in planting that none but 
millionaires may cross .and most of the 
crop is in the ground by April 20. Plant¬ 
ing is. of course, done with a machine. 
Because of the earliness of the season and 
cold soil, the seed is not covered so deeply 
as might be expected. Three to four 
inches deep is considered right, although 
some plant deeper if the soil is unusually 
warm or the land sandy. 
Cutting Seed. —Seed cutters have been 
tried out and generally discarded, or kept 
for emergencies. With Early Rose and 
similar types they work well, but on 
extra large Green Mountain some of the 
pieces are sure to be left without eyes, re¬ 
ducing the stand and yield. Most of the 
growers cut to one eye. as with this 
variety it gives about the right-sized piece. 
If a variety with more eyes is used the 
potato is cut to two eyes. It is the size 
of the pieces rather than the number of 
eyes that is important. As it is. 15 to 17 
bushels of seed are used per acre, which 
ofteu runs the cost of seed up to $80 to 
$40 per acre. The potato rows are closer 
than elsewhere. 38 to 35 inches being a 
usual distance, and as close as 30 inches 
not unheard-of. The plants are 13 to 15 
inches apart in the row. This heavy 
planting is practical because of the heavy 
fertilization and abundant rainfall . of 
Long Island. 
High Fertility. —A ton of high-grade 
fertilizer to the acre is the rule, and for 
the past two years many have used 2,500 
and 3,000 pounds to an acre with profit. 
Think of that, you farmers who tread cau¬ 
tiously in this direction. Think of put¬ 
ting $00 worth of plant food in the soil of 
an acre all at once, as many Long Island 
farmers will do on 100 acres this year. 
Here are several ways of applying this 
fertilizer. Some broadcast half and sow 
the other half in the row. A greater 
number apply it with a distributor that 
mixes it with the soil under the row be¬ 
fore the potatoes are planted. A method 
of applying the fertilizer that is becom¬ 
ing more common among the big growers 
is to apply all of the fertilizer in the row. 
but after the seed is planted. The planter 
i.s so adjusted as not entire^, to fill tin- 
furrow. covering the seed piece onlv y.> or 
2 in. deep. This allows the soil about”the 
tuber to warm quickly and start growth. 
Not stopping to use fertilizer allows 
quicker planting, a matter of vital im¬ 
portance. When planting is completed the 
distributor is started and the fertilizer 
scattered in the row above the tubers and 
mixed with the earth, which is raised into 
a ridge above the tubers. This method 
gives the tubers a quick start, avoids 
burning the sprouts by direct contact with 
the soluble fertilizer, and work is better 
distributed throughout the season. Fer¬ 
tilizers are strictly high grade, the 5-10 
or 4-12 formulas being much used in 1918, 
while a few used a 0-8 mixture. This 
year most of the fertilizer will contain 
2 or 4 per cent of American potash, a 4-8 
mixture being much liked. Not only must 
the fertilizer be of high analysis, but it 
must be of high-class materials. A fa¬ 
vorite formula is one that gives half of the 
nitrogen from nitrate of soda and half 
from dried blood or fish. Acid phosphate 
supplies the phosphorus in an available 
fonm and sulphate of potash is better 
than muriate. 
Prompt Working. —Cultivation is be¬ 
gun >ig soon as the crop is planted. In¬ 
deed. many cultivate the first planting 
before the last are in the ground. A sec¬ 
tion harrow is often used first, especially 
if a hard rain has fallen. Then a weed v 
goes over the field as ofteu as a neat 
housewife brushes the floor of a living 
room. When the rows appear a ridger is 
used and. the tiny plants are again buried 
in the rich, mellow soil. This ridge is 
soon leveled by the use. of the weeder, 
which is kept constantly going until th-' 
crop is six inches tall. At this point rid¬ 
ing cultivators of the Planet. Jr., or Iron 
Age type take up the work, and at least 
six or eight cultivations are given before 
the tops make it impossible to do more. 
One or two hand-lioeings are desirable to 
cut out weeds in the rows, but if the sea¬ 
son has permitted regular work this may 
not be necessary. At the last cultivation 
the crop is moderately hilled to kill weeds 
and to facilitate digging. 
Spraying. —In spraying the widest dif¬ 
ference in practice occurs. Some never 
spray unless to kill bugs, while others 
spray as well as anywhere. Most farmers 
use a six-row traction sprayer drawn by 
two horses, but the one-horse engine- 
driven sprayer is a labor-saver and always 
keeps up the necessary 100-150 lbs. pres¬ 
sure. Eight to 12 applications of 5-5-50 
formula Bordeaux are used, and more 
wouid be but the season rushes the po¬ 
tatoes in so quickly that there is no chance 
to use more. The number of sprayings are 
mostly a matter of the weather and season, 
and many years spraying is of very little 
use. as little or no blight appears. 
Digging. —Although the crop is well 
matured by August 15, or even earlier, it 
is not often dug until late September or 
October. The early market is so well 
supplied by Maryland. Delaware and New 
Jersey that late prices are generally bet¬ 
ter than early, and the later the potato is 
dug the better it keeps. Diggers are used 
after the tall late weeds have been cut and 
raked off. Some hoe these weeds out as 
the vines die. but most growers leave them 
to help dry out the soil. The best dig¬ 
gers have a gasoline engine to run the 
elevator and shaker. This reduces draft 
and permits two horses to do the work 
of four, the other team being needed to 
draw away the crop. At least one-fourth 
of the diggers have engines, but last year 
they dug fully half the crop. The crop is 
picked up by Polish women, some of whom 
can pick over 100 bushels a day. The 
wages are from 4c to 7c a bushel. 
Selling. —The potatoes are sold at dig¬ 
ging time, the remainder being stored iu 
concrete pits and potato cellars. These are 
generally shipped in January. February 
and March, when prices are better. Those 
who live within 40 miles of the city ship 
by motor trucks, while those in the River- 
head-Orient district, or in the Hamptons, 
ship by freight cars. During severe Win¬ 
ters Long Island growers have a great 
advantage over those iu other sections, as 
they can nearly always ship safely, while 
distant growers must use specially heated 
cars. However, the mild season of 1918- 
19 allowed uninterrupted shipments, and 
the Long Island grower who sold at dig¬ 
ging time was iu luck. Yields are not 
Long Island Potatoes 
769 
d the 
Economical 
You take the guess work out of spraying, and you 
reduce its cost to a minimum when you use Hcxpo. 
For Hexpo is not only the easiest and cheapest 
insecticide and fungicide to use, but it is also the 
most effective. It goes three times as far, sprays 
evenly without constant stirring, and sticks on hard, 
withstanding heavy showers. 
Hexpo is a highly concentrated mixture of Arsenate of Lead 
and Bordeaux Mixture. This combination kills leaf eating insects, 
and prevents and controls blight and other fungus diseases. 
As Hexpo is a finely divided, fluffy dry powder, you pay no 
freight on water. There is no necessity for preliminary stirring 
of inconvenient pastes. 
To use Hexpo, you spray in powder form, or put in water, 
stir slightly and spray. 
Hexpo mixes immediately with water, sprays evenly without 
constant stirring, because its finely divided particles stay suspend¬ 
ed in solution and do not easily drop to the bottom. 
It will not harden or deteriorate. There is no waste. If any 
powder is left in your package, it is just as good next year. 
Get Hexpo at any Hardware, Drug or Seed Dealer’s in l-lb., 
5-lb. or 10-lb. sift proof cartons ; also in 25, 50,100 and 200-lb. drums. 
If your dealer hasn’t Hexpo, send for sample 1-lb. carton— 
60^ prepaid. 
H. J. Smith & Company 
Utica, N. Y. 
Manufacturer$ of : 
Smith’s Hexpo (Dry Powdered Insecticide 
and Fungicide) 
Smith’s Arsenate of Lead (Powder) 
Smith’s Arsenate of Calcium and Lead (Powder) 
Smith’s Paris Green * 
SM | Tk 
