School: Valleymount

Location:
Valleymount, Co. Wicklow
Teacher:
Dll. Ó Cochláin
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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0917, Page 126

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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0917, Page 126

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  1. XML School: Valleymount
  2. XML Page 126
  3. XML “Sowing of Potatoes”

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  1. To sow potatoes you must plough the ground and then harrow it well to make the clay fine. Then drills are opened with a double breasted plough or a single breasted plough. Then men drew manure with horses and cars to the where the crop is to be sowed and the men spread the manure in the alleys of the drills where it is tippled to be ready to sow the crop. Four men then put sack, "prasheens'" on them and they put seed potatoes in the "praskeens". They start to sow the potatoes about nine ins or a foot apart. All farmers are in a race to have the potatoes sowed before Saint Patrick's day Sometimes they do not win by it because the May frost kills all the stems. The farmers are able to save all the crop now. The scuffle and hoe the drills. Then they mould them with a plough c i e to cover the stems with clay so that the frost wont get at them. Then the next rae is the spraying in case the crop would get blighted. All the farmers in the locality are (are) looking for the hand sprayer the same day to spray their crops the way they would not get blighted. There are two hand sprayers in this locality now. After the spraying comes the (pold) potato digging. It is done in this locality with
    (continues on next page)
    Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.
    Topics
    1. activities
      1. economic activities
        1. agriculture (~2,659)
          1. potatoes (~2,701)
    Language
    English
    Collector
    John Egan
    Gender
    Male
    Address
    Boystown or Baltyboys Upper, Co. Wicklow
    Informant
    Mr B. Egan
    Gender
    Male
    Age
    61
    Occupation
    Farmer
    Address
    Boystown or Baltyboys Upper, Co. Wicklow