School: Cluain le Fán (roll number 12817)
- Location:
- Cloonliffen, Co. Mayo
- Teacher: Seán Ó Callaráin
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0101, Page 278
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- XML School: Cluain le Fán
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- XML “Potatoes”
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- A person has to be very careful when preparing soil to sew potatoes as they are a most valuable food for man and beast. The lay-hand potatoes are sewn earlier than the ones sewn in the drills. Long ago the farmers used to rule the land with spades but now-adays they have an easier remedy as they can mile it with ploughs.
When saving potatoes the land has to be well cultivated in order to produce a good crop. First the land is ploughed and then it is harrowed and re-ploughed and made into drills. When the drills are made the woman of the house slits the potatoes and leaves them spread on a bag for a few days in order to dry, as if they were spread while to fresh the worms would attack them. Then the manure is spread on the drills and after a few days the slits are sewn. They have to be left a distance of a foot apart, to leave room for the potatoes to grow. Then the drills are closed and left there for a few-weeks until the potatoes stalks are well over ground. Then they are fit for digging the farmer and his neighbours dig them and then pick them and then they store them in pits that are well-secured for the winter.
- Informant
- Mrs Philbin
- Gender
- Female
- Age
- 40
- Address
- Rahard, Co. Mayo
