School: Ballyroddy (roll number 12629)

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1. The Potato Crop (continued)

   

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   the last Sunday in July. When October comes the 'digging-in' of the potatoes starts. Two or three men start with loys or spades, each one has a ridge of his own, the children of the house pick the potatoes, when they come home from school, if there are no children the woman of the house goes out on the evening, picking. They pick the good ones first, and put them in a heap for themselves, they pick the bad ones then and put them in a separate heap. The good ones are for the people to eat, and the bad ones for pigs and fowl. When all the potatoes are dug, they are first covered with dry rushes, then five or six inches of clay is put on the heap, and some farmers thatch their heaps with straw to have them more secure from the frost and snow of Winter. In some places the eating potatoes are put on a loft, but it is not done in this locality, they are generally put in pits We have several kinds of potatoes, Champions, Kerr's Pink, Arran Banners, The Blacksmith, Up-to-dates Epicures, Ohio and Arran Victors. The type that grows best in this district, is the

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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

   Ita Gannon

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Caldragh, Co. Roscommon

   Informant

   Tom Gannon

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   68

   Address

   Caldragh, Co. Roscommon