School: Duíbhlios

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1. The Potato Crop (continued)

   

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   Spraying with a solution of sulphate of copper and soda in - order to prevent blight, is done two or three times in the year. The first spraying is done between the 20th and 30th of June, and then at intervals of a fortnight until three sprayings are done.
   There is an old custom among the people of this locality. On 24th of June they light a bonfire on the fence of the potato garden. This method had been used hundreds of years ago in-order to prevent blight from attacking the crop.
   Digging of the main crop begins on the first of October. When drills have been used the potatoes are dug by a plough and pikes are used for the "searching" of the potatoes. Where ridges have been used the potatoes are dug with a spade. The children pick the potatoes which have been dug during the day and put the larger ones in a pit and then the pit is covered with straw and sods. The smaller ones are also put in pits. Sometimes "meiteals" are gathered for the purpose of digging the potatoes and from ten to twenty men are engaged. "Meiteals" are not so common nowadays as they used to be sixty years ago because most of the potatoes used be left on the ground on account of the competition that used be between the diggers.
   The varieties of potatoes grown in this district are as follows.

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. activities
      1. economic activities
         1. agriculture (~2,659)
            1. potatoes (~2,701)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Pádraig Ó Dálaigh

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   13

   Address

   Deelish, Co. Cork