POTATO. 
93 
A mode of taking part of a crop is mentioned :—' Having ascertained that 
some of the tubers have attained an eatable size, go along the rows, and 
loosen the earth about each plant with a blunt stick, taking two or three of the 
largest tubers from each, and returning the earth carefully. 77 
The most expeditious way of gathering a potato crop is, first to run fur¬ 
rows on each side of the rows, and then a deep one in the middle, which 
turns up most of the .'Dots to the surface, for the purpose of picking up by 
hand. In this way, however, we should apprehend some waste, and should 
not advise it, except where potatoes are plenty, and labor scarce. A hoe 
with prongs, such as is sold at the agricultural warehouses generally, is, pro¬ 
bably, the best implement for gathering potatoes. 
Securing the crop .—Mr. Buel, of Albany, says, u There are many erroneous 
notions, in regard to the culture and treatment of the potato, which every 
class in society have an interest in exploding, as the root has become a ne¬ 
cessary food for every family. 57 These errors consist in supposing “ 1st That 
potatoes should be grown on a dry, warm soil. 2d. That they should be 
dried in the sun, or washed, to render them pleasant to the eye. 3d. That 
they should be kept warm and dry during winter, to fit them for culinary 
uses. 4th. That they should be of large size. 77 In contradiction to these 
popular opinions, he asserts, “ First , that the best potatoes are grown upon 
cold, moist, but porous and rich soils. Second , that it were better the sun 
never should shine upon them—that they should be housed with all the dirt 
that adheres to them—that it is beneficial to add more dirt in the bin or cask, 
to exclude external air as much as possible. And, third , that their surface 
should be kept moist, and the atmosphere, which surrounds, as little above 
the point of freezing as possible. 77 
Potatoes may be kept during winter in a cellar, free from frost, or in pits 
or caves in the field. In the latter case, they must be so situated on a dry 
knoll, or the side of a hill, as to be secured from the possibility of the pits 
being pervaded by water; and they must be so covered, first with straw and 
then with loam, as to prevent the intrusion of frost. They may, likewise, 
be placed in barrels, casks, or boxes, and if packed in moist sand, or the loam 
of the field in which they grew, they will be preserved better than in almost 
any other situation. If they are exposed to the sun and air till the upper side 
acquires a green color, they become poisonous. 
Use .—The use of the potato, as an article of diet both for rrjan and beast, 
is probably more extensive, and more common, than that of any other vege¬ 
table production. From having no peculiarity of taste, and consisting chiefly 
of starch, it approaches near to the qualities of the flour of grain ; “ and for 
this reason, 77 says Loudon, “it is the most universally liked, and can be used 
longer in constant succession by the same individual without becoming un¬ 
palatable, than any other vegetable, the seeds of grasses excepted. 77 Neill 
