School: Bilboa (C.) (roll number 15693)
- Location:
- Bilboa, Co. Limerick
- Teacher: Síle, Bean Uí Raghallaigh
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0519, Page 109
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- XML “The Potato Crop”
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- We set half an acre of potatoes every year. Sometimes the amount varies. First the groud is ploughed up and manure is spread on it. Then it is shaped into drills with a plough. The "skillains" are then spread on them and the drills closed.
Sometimes potatoes are grown in "bawer". Bawer is a green field which is ploughed into ridges. The skillains are set with a spade. An iron spade with a wooden handle is used. A hole is made with the spade and a skillain is dropped into the hole. Then a piece of sod is pounded over the hole with a "pounder". A pounder is made of timber. It is round like a pastry roller and has a handle like a brush. During the summer the stalks are sprayed to prevent blight.
In Autumn the potatoes are dug with spades. They are picked and put into pits and clay is put on them to prevent the frost harming them.
There are different kinds of potatoes. Some of them are :- Champions, Aran-banners and Irish Queens. Irish Queens are the commenest in this district.
