School: Crowenstown
- Location:
- Crowinstown Little, Co. Westmeath
- Teacher: M. Ní Bhriain
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0724, Page 243
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- XML “Potato Crop”
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- (continued from previous page)field. We return the opposite side of the earth raised by the plough, and make another furrow, and the clay so turned up rests against the first raised heap, and then the drill is made. We keep doing that until the whole piece of land is made into drills.
In about a month or five weeks we put a second mould on the crop, and before the blossoms come on them we spray them with a mixture of washing soda and blue stone. This mixture is put into a machine called a sprayer. A man carries it on his back, and pumps out the mixture. Sometimes this machine is drawn by a horse.
In October we dig the potatoes with a spade, and pick them into buckets. We store them in pits lined with hay or straw, and covered outside with clay.
The local names given to the potatoes are, "Shamrocks", "Kerr's Pinks", Arran Consols", Shamrocks" and "Kerr's Pinks" grow best in the district. Potatoes were never used instead of starch in our district.
- Collector
- James Bray
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Ballyhealy or Ballinure, Co. Westmeath
- Informant
- Mrs Bray
- Gender
- Female
- Address
- Ballyhealy or Ballinure, Co. Westmeath
