School: Carrigaline (3) (roll number 12097)

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1. The Potato Crop

   

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   Potatoes are grown on our farm. There is over an acre of ground sown with potatoes each year. The ground is manured sometimes before the soil is turned up. It is not wise to do this if a dry year is not expected because the manured makes the earth very wet if rain comes before the drills are made. The ground is prepared by my father. The potatoes are sown in drills. The ground has to be ploughed three or four times if the ground is very wet. Then it has to be rolled a couple of times and harrowed with the spring harrow until it is fit to open drills in.
   The drills are then opened with a drill opener which two horses pull. Wooden ploughs were used at one time but they are only very few left now. The spades are bought in a shop and are used for digging the end of the drills. The earliest variety of seed sown are mostly small whole potatoes. The later-varieties are whole potatoes cut into pieces and these pieces are called sgiolans. About from two to thiree sgiolans are made from each whole potatoes.
   During the summer months the drills are

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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

   John Daunt

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Fahalea, Co. Cork