School: Sraith (roll number 16623)

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1. The Potato Crop

   

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   The Potatoe Crop

   My father's farm is thirty acres, two acres are under potatoes. The workman prepares the ground, he also manures it before it is turned up, he puts "top dressing" (farm yard manure) out on the land. My father ploughs the ground twice before he makes the drills.
   In wet land, ridges are made, but in this village the potatoes are sown in drills. A mould board is attached to the plough, which makes the drills. The headland is dug with the spade. Wooden ploughs were used about twenty years ago, and even to the present day, remains of them are thrown about. They were drawn by two asses, as they were not as hard to be drawn as the iron plough.
   The spades are bought in the shops, and the carpenter puts a handle in it. The farmer's wife cuts the seeds, she leaves at least one eye in every seed, because it is from the eye the stalks grow. Next door neighbours "coor" (helpful with my father in sowing the potatoes. School-boys and girls, go around helping to spread the seeds, and wen they are sown my fathers covers them with the plough.
   After three weeks, the workman "tosses" I knocked them with a fork, and then he moulds them with plough again. He also sprays them with blue-stone and washing soda, to prevent the light.
   In the month of October the potatoes are taken out of the ground. My father digs with a spade, he digs a "bout" together, which is two drills.

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. activities
      1. economic activities
         1. agriculture (~2,659)
            1. potatoes (~2,701)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Marie Porter

   Gender

   Female