Potato Crop

transcribed at

The Potato Crop  [duchas:5029839]

The potato crop is the most important crop the Irish farmer sows because he uses it in the house for all his people and his animals. The farmers around here usually sow about two or three acres. The potatoes are usually sown in drills but long ago they were sown in ridges and small farmers and people who live in cottages still sow them in ridges. The land must be well tilled for potatoes. It is made finer than for any other crop except turnips and there is more farmyard manure used for it too. The potatoes are held in a praskeen by the planters and they are laid about a foot apart in the drills and then covered with manure. The farmers help one another sowing. The best potatoes are used for seed and if they are too big they are cut but in such a way that an "eye" or bud is left in each piece.
Daniel Fluskey, Ballinacoola, Ballywilliam, New Ross, Co Wexford

              Care of farm animals
My father rears cows, calves, horses, two goats, an ass, pigs, sows, and sheep. We have Kerry cows, Pollies, and White heads  We tie the cows to stakes with chains around the necks. Some people put horse shoes over the cows' heads for luck. Others put up other things.
Ellie Murphy, Drana, St Mullins, Co. Carlow.