School: Castlepollard Boys (roll number 5513)
- Location:
- Castlepollard, Co. Westmeath
- Teacher: William Coghlan
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0721, Page 106
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- XML “The Potato Crop”
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- (continued from previous page)on the scapls to heal them before planting.
When stalks appear over the ground they are second-moulded. The crop is sprayed twice with a mixture which is made of blue-stone and washing soda and water.
When the stalks wither and die in October the potatoes are dug. A man usually stands between two drills and digs the two at a time. The potatoes from the two drills are put in one row. Where a large quantity is grown they are dug with a potato digger. The potatoes are usually pincked by boys or girls. They are filled into bags and left on the head-land. They are carted home and pitted in the garden in the evening. The eating ones are put in a special pit and the small ones for pig-feeding in another. They are left uncovered for some days to let the air at them. They are covered with straw, and then bog scraws are put over them to keep out the rain and frost. The stalks are gathered together in a few heaps and burned.
Sometimes potato roast potatoes in the fire and eat them at dinner time with butter-milk.
- Collector
- Michael Fay
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Freaghmore, Co. Westmeath
- Informant
- M. Fay
- Relation
- Parent
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Freaghmore, Co. Westmeath
