The potato-crop is grown to a great extent in this country. It is used as human food in almost every household in Ireland. The average farmer generally sows from one to two acres of potatoes annually. We have an acre and a half of ground under potatoes each year. My father sets the crop.
The first thing he does to prepare for the setting of the crop is to plough the ground in early Spring. When this is done the ground must be well harrowed and ploughed the second time. If the weather permits the ground it is thoroughly harrowed again and then the drills are opened. The manure is then drawn and knocked in small heaps in the furrows. About thirty tons of farmyard manure is the average amount required per Irish acre. When the manure is spread in the furrows my father applies