278 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AXD  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
September  17,  1903. 
The  Potato  Harvest, 
Although  we  are  not  independent  of  foreign  supplies  as 
regards  early  Potatoes,  we  grow  the  major  portion  of  our 
winter  supplies  ;  and  in  favourable  seasons  we  grow  practi¬ 
cally  the  whole  quantity  w'e  need.  The  quality  of  British 
Potatoes  is  also  superior  to  any  others.  The  German  and 
Belgian  tubers  only  compete  with  our  second  qualities, 
whilst  almost  every  year  consignments  of  fine  English  and 
Scotch  are  shipped  to  America  to  be  sold  as  luxuries. 
The  acreage  under  Potatoes  has  largely  increased  during 
the  last  twenty  years,  farmers  having  perforce  been  allowed 
greater  freedom  of  cultivation,  and  the  crop  is  now  without 
doubt  the  most  valuable  and  important  one  wm  have.  It 
is  also  of  the  greatest  interest  to  the  working  man.  The 
millions  in  large  cities  who  are  always  living  from  day  to 
day  without  resources,  know  only  too  well  and  quickly  wdien 
the  home  Potato  crop  has  met  with  disaster,  and  feel 
acutely  the  consequent  increase  of  price.  The  farm  labourer 
benefits  greatly  through  the  great  demands  which  it  makes 
on  the  labour  market,  and  we  say  without  fear  of  contra¬ 
diction  that  the  Potato  growing  districts  are  the  most 
prosperous  in  the  country.  We  refer  only  to  rural  districts, 
of  course. 
The  Potato  harvest  commences  generally  late  in  Sep¬ 
tember,  but  October  generally  includes  the  bulk  of  the 
work.  As  soon  as  the  skin  of  the  Potato  is  quite  fast,  the 
sooner  lifting  takes  place  the  better.  If  we  wait  for  the 
whole  of  the  haulm  to  die  off,  we  may  miss  excellent  spells 
of  fine  weather,  and  it  is  important  that  the  tubers  should 
be  stored  dry,  especially  if  they  are  intended  for  late  keep¬ 
ing.  A  good  supply  of  dry  Wheat  straw  must  be  in  readi¬ 
ness  before  work  begins,  so  that  there  may  be  no  delay  in 
getting  the  pies  covered  and  made  safe. 
Small  plots  of  Potatoes  are  lifted  with  a  fork,  and  there 
is  no  more  thorough  w^ay,  but  it  is  slow  and  expensive,  and 
quite  useless  in  the  case  of  large  areas.  The  Potato  plough 
is  still  the  general  implement.  The  spinning  machine  or 
digger  is  also  common  in  some  parts,  but  has  not  made 
much  progress  of  late.  At  one  time  we  quite  thought  that 
these  machines  would  supersede  the  plough  ;  but  when 
Potatoes  are  large  these  rotatory  forks  are  liable  to  break 
and  bruise  them,  and  the  introduction  of  Up-to-Date  and 
similar  large  varieties  has  tended  to  the  retention  of  the 
older  fashioned  implement.  Our  own  experience  of  both  is 
in  favour  of  the  digger,  especially  if  men  cannot  be  obtained 
to  do  the  picking  up  for  after  the  plough  the  sides  of  the 
furrow  must  be  scratched  down,  work  which  children  cannot 
do  and  women  object  to.  If  there  is  life  left  in  the  haulm 
the  Potatoes  are  disinclined  to  part  from  it,  and  must  be 
shaken  off.  In  such  a  case  very  few  are  left  in  the 
ground.  Diggers  move  the  whole  ridge,  and  leave  all  the 
tubers  on,  or  near,  the  surface.  If  they  never  damaged  the 
sample  they  would  be  very  valuable. 
Any  fourth  standard  child  could  pick  after  a  digger,  but 
school  regulations  forbid  it.  In  some  parts  the  school 
holidays  are  fixed  so  as  to  include  October,  but  the  school 
staff  object  to  have  their  holiday  so  late,  and  they  have 
reason  on  their  side.  We  suggest  that  all  children  over 
twelve  years  of  age,  having  put  in  350  attendances  during 
the  previous  school  year,  should  be  qualified  for  a  labour 
certificate  for  the  month  of  October.  Many  farmers 
already  are  restricted  to  a  small  acreage  of  Potatoes  by  the 
scarcity  of  hands  for  picking,  and  until  someone  invents  a 
machine  with  hands  the  difficulty  will  increase.*  Women 
do  not  work  in  fields  as  they  once  did,  and  every  man  is 
wanted  for  other  work.  Irish  labourers  at  present  fill  up 
the  gap,  but  the  call  for  their  services  is  so  great  that 
they  command  their  own  price.  At  one  time  they  did  the 
work  for  17s.  per  acre  ;  now  they  can  obtain  24s. 
Having  got  our  digger,  or  plough,  and  the  necessary 
hands,  we  shall  want  baskets  to  pick  into.  Oval  wicker 
baskets  holding  about  211b  are  generally  used,  and  they  can 
*  In  a  part  of  Dumfries-shire,  last  year,  a  school  was  closed  specially  that  the 
chiUlrea  might  be  free  to  assist  at  the  Potato  harvest  — Kd. 
be  bought  for  about  Is.  each  ;  but  we  prefer  a  scuttle¬ 
shaped  basket,  costing  about  15s.  per  dozen.  They  are 
made  with  wire  plaited  into  them,  which  keeps  them  stiff, 
and  makes  them  more  durable.  Thej'^  hold  about  the  same 
quantity  as  the  baskets,  but  are  much  easier  to  empty, 
which  is  a  gi'eat  advantage.  A  man  who  has  emptied 
scuttles  into  carts  wmuld  find  emptying  baskets  much 
harder  work.  Each  picker  will  require  at  least  two  baskets, 
and  there  should  be  a  supply  in  reserve.  Some  growers 
who  send  away  second  early  Potatoes  in  five-peck  hampers, 
having  a  handy  supply  of  the  latter,  use  them  for  gathering 
the  main  crops.  Each  picker  has  a  hamper  set  down  con¬ 
veniently  near,  into  which  he  empties  his  basket  Avhen  full. 
Two  men  come  round  with  a  cart,  into  which  they  empty 
the  hampers.  This  system  is  only  suitable  where  the  plough 
goes  round  in  the  same  way  as  a  digger,  and  only  two  rows 
are  open  at  once.  Where  Irishmen  are  employed  a  number 
of  alternate  ridges  are  opened,  and  the  men  work  in  line, 
each  in  his  own  row,  with  a  cart  following  behind.  The 
drawback  to  this  system  lies  in  the  danger  that  a  sudden 
downpour  of  rain  may  find  a  large  quantity  of  Potatoes 
exposed.  , 
Potato  “  pies,”  or  “  clamps,”  vary  in  width  from  6ft  to 
9ft.  Seven  feet  Gin  to  8ft  w’e  think  wide  enough.  If  there 
is  much  disease,  do  not  exceed  7ft.  To  make  a  good  job, 
prepare  long  batts  of  Wheat  straw  about  Gin  or  7in  thick, 
and  tied  tightly  with  straw  bands  at  every  foot  or  14in. 
Lay  two  of  these  down  lengthwise,  7ft  apart,  and  shoot  the 
Potatoes  between  them.  These  batts  may  be  continued 
for  any  length,  and  the  pie  kept  the  right  wndth  without 
trouble.  The  batts  keep  the  Potatoes  from  slipping  out  at 
the  foot,  and  make  it  much  easier  to  get  the  ridge  well  up. 
This  is  desirable,  for  the  sharper  the  pitch,  the  less  likely 
will  it  be  for  wet  to  penetrate  the  straw. 
The  batts  are  a  great  safeguard  against  frost,  for  the 
portion  of  the  pie  near  the  ground  is  specially  liable  to  be 
penetrated.  It  is  along  the  foot  that  an  extra  thickness 
of  straw  is  required,  and  the  batts  ensure  this.  The  Wheat 
straw  must  be  put  on  as  straight  and  as  much  like  thatch 
as  possible,  on  each  side,  covering  the  batts  well ;  then 
a  light  covering  of  soil,  say  3in  to  within  12in  of  the  ridge. 
Then  a  capping  of  straw  over  the  ridge,  the  ends  being 
fastened  with  soil.  After  any  resulting  sweat  is  over, 
another  4in  of  soil  over  all  will  complete  the  work. 
Work  on  the  Home  Farm. 
The  weather  being  still  very  unsettled,  harvest  progresses 
slowly.  Very  little  corn  is  uncut  and  a  fair  quantity  of  Wheat 
is  in  .stack,  but  all  the  Oats  and  the  greater  part  of  the  Barley 
are  still  out.  We  have  heard  the  threshing  machine  to-day  for 
the  first  time  this  season,  but  have  not  a  report  of  the  yield. 
We  note  that  new  Wheat  is  not  meeting  a  ready  sale,  at  least 
according  to  market  reports.  This  is  probably  owing  to  poor 
condition,  for  very  little  can  have  been  got  really  dry  eaiough 
for  immediate  threshing.  If  farmers  can  hold  off  until  their 
Wheat  is  fit  to  thresh  there  should  be  a  good  market  for  it.  With 
a  drop  in  the  acreage  of  144,000  acres,  English  Wheat  must  be 
scarce. 
A  neighbouring  farmer  has  got  all  in  except  twelve  acres,  and 
is  thin-furrowing  stubbles.  He  is  to  be  envied  and  copied,  for  he 
is  a  very  early  sower,  and  it  is  a  case  of  early  sow,  early  mow. 
These  are  the  men  who  make  farming  successful.  He  prefers 
ploughs  to  cultivators  for  breaking  up  stubbles,  but  his  land  is 
on  the  heavy  side,  and  wonderfully  clean.  He  offered  his 
labourers  £1  for  each  barrowload  of  twitch  they  could  fin'd  on  his 
land  the  other  day,  but  none  have  started  collecting  it. 
Potatoes  are  dying  off  quickly.  The  spot  on  the  leaf  is  spread¬ 
ing  rapidly,  and  in  some  fields  the  leaf  is  nearly  all  gone.  All 
kinds  are  affected,  and  without  a  spell  of  fine  weather  disease 
must  make  a  serious  attack  upon  them.  The  Potatoes  will  cer¬ 
tainly  be  ready  for  lifting  before  the  end  of  the  month. 
Tliere  is  plenty  of  work  before  us  at  present.  Many  annual 
weeds  have  shown  themselves  amongst  the  Swedes  and  late 
Turnips,  and  they  will  all  have  to  be  looked  over,  so-  there  will 
not  be  much  time  for  hedge  trimming,  which  is  often  done  in 
September,  or  for  autumn  fallowing,  even  if  the  weather  should 
be  suitable  for  it.  Rye  for  green  spring  food  and  tares  for  early 
summer  use  will  soon  require  sowing,  but  the  land  must  first  be 
ploughed,  and  for  tares  will  want  manuring  first.  It  is  good 
land  which  will  grow  tares  without  manure.  On  clean  stubble  a 
good  stirring  with  the  cultivator  might  make  a  fair  seed-bed  for 
Rye,  but  it  is  .slipshod  farming,  and  the  real  saving  a  doubtful 
one. 
Sheep  will  shortly  be  very  dear.  Lambs  are  doing  better 
generally,  and  here  are  above  the  average.  Daify  cows  are 
scarce  and  dear,  but  other  cattle,  both  fat  and  store,  are  cheaper. 
