School: Headfort
- Location:
- Virginia, Co. Cavan
- Teacher: Miss J.E. Browne
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0999, Page 061
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- XML School: Headfort
- XML Page 061
- XML “The Potato Crop”
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- Potatoes are grown on our farm. About two acres are grown annually. Some years there are more than two acers planted. The servant boy and the farmer get the ground ready. The ground is manured before it is ploughed. The potatoes are planted in drills and ridges.
The ground is ploughed first then it is harrowed with a spring-tooth-harrow, after that a fine harrow is got and it harrows the ground finely. Then it is cross ploughed and harrowed again, the double-mould-board is got to make the drills.
The people drop the seeds about ten inches apart. One man goes with a bucket of artificial manure which he shakes on the potatoes. Another man starts to close the drills with a pair of horses and the double-mould-board plough.
After two weeks the tops are knocked off the drills then they are moulded. When the potato stalks are up about bight inches they are sprayed. Wooden ploughs were used in this district forty years ago. People would "swap" at the digging of the potatoes. This is a very common thing nowadays(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Bobbie Jameson
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Lisgrea, Co. Cavan
