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Report of the committee of the board of agriculture, appointed to extract information from the county reports, and other authorities, concerning the culture and use of potatoes
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GorRr II. What is the beſt manure for potatoes, the quantity ne- * ceſfary per acre, and its price or value?*

Wee have already faid that, in many caſes, good crops of potatoes may be raiſed without the affſtance of manure, eſpecially upon new lands. We by no means wilh it to be underſtood, however, tkat this can be done upon lands of every deſcription, or that it can be done for any length of time even upon the beſt lands, without injury to the ſoil.

A ſucceſſion of corn-crops without manure, will exhauſt the richeſt foil: a fucceſſion of potatoe-crops will do the ſame. There is, however, a diſ- tinction to be made in this buſineſs that is highly deſerving of notice; which is, that lands that are exhauſted by carrying corn-crops, will, with- out any manure, carry very bulky and valuable crops of potatoes. Lands, again, that have carried feveral crops of the latter, will, without any manure, carry good crops of grain. From this circumſtance it appears. that the ſame kind of food is not neceſſary for both; and that though the ſoil may be very much exhauſted of the principles neceſſary to nourifh and bring to maturity a crop of grain, it may nevertheleſs contain abundance of theſe that are neceſſary for rearing and perfecting a crop of potatoes, and Vice verſa.

It is of importance that this circumſtance fhould be generally known, as many thouſand acres of land are fallowed yearly, from a thorough convic- tion on the part of the farmer that they are exhauſted as well as dirty; which might be completely cleaned, and at the ſame time produce an abun- dant crop of potatoes.

The falſe and ill founded idea of land requiring reſt, will no doubt ope- rate upon the mind of many farmers in ſuch a manner, as to make them give a decided preference to fallowing:though land may be cleaned by fallowing, it is no way renovated. This laſt object of reſting and reno- vation is more completely obtained by laying it into paſture; and as a potatoe-crop is well calculated for cleaning land, it may afterwards be laid down to graſs with much advantage.

The manures that have been found beſt for potatoes are the following:

1. Stable Dung. 2. Moſs 3. Turf. 4. New Eaxrth. 5. Lime.