Thanks for the memories, Ray. Although my Massachusetts, dairy-farm father grew potaotes in the 60's and 70's, and probably before I was born, he was more modern than that. But, you brought me back to when I had to grade potatoes from the conveyor as they were dug up with the machine. It was quick work, only to be slowed by sticking your hand onto a rotted potato, which was mush and stunk to high heaven! Eeeewww. ~Patsy~ ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ray Marshall" <raymarsh@mninter.net> To: "Kerry List" <IRL-Kerry@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, August 27, 2007 1:21 PM Subject: [IRL-KERRY] FW: The Spud and 'other famines' > > > Message: 1 > Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 08:41:59 -0600 > From: "jj.carroll" <jj.carroll@comcast.net> > Subject: [IRELAND] The SPUD! > To: <ireland@rootsweb.com> > Message-ID: <003001c7e7ef$42b13c20$0b00a8c0@workstation2> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > More from McSorley's book; this time "THE SPUD." > > > > "Potatoes were the main food supply for man and beast [and remained so > well > into the 1900s]. The hard work began when 'father' decided to have the > best > potatoes hand picked and put in bags. These were called 'seed potatoes'. > Bags containing the seed were taken into the comfort of the kitchen, where > helpers at the cutting stood like nurses in the theatre. Full 'butts' of > cuts had to be left outside in a shed. Butts of rejects were washed and > put > in a big boiler.[and] were boiled and fed to the pigs. Little sharp > knives > were bandaged with a piece of cotton rag, just below the handle, to > protect > the forefinger from pressure when cutting. > > > > "The attendants washed and cleaned the dust from off the floor after each > cutting session. Cutting could last up to two or three weeks. > [Attendants, > bandages - what the heck? Patricia McSorely was trained as a nurse!] > > > > "Drills were opened with a horse plough and farmyard manure was spread > evenly in each drill. Little mounds of manure had been dropped at > intervals > up to the drills by the men and the family scattered these using graips. > > > > "The back breaking job of dropping the potatoes followed. Each 'cut' had > to > be dropped eye side up and freshly cut side facing downwards and evenly > spaced. This was important as father followed the droppers with his > bucket > of bone manure. With his hand he spread a fine covering of this > artificial > manure on top of the cuts. Should he find a cut turned the wrong way up, > the > culprit was reprimanded because the bone manure could burn the upturned > spud. > > > > "Drills were closed and you anxiously awaited the growth of the new > potatoes, which brought a flourishing crop of unwanted weeds. The > children > had to weed these, up one drill and down the next, acre after acre. The > top > of each drill had to be lowered, thus aiding the young shoot. This was > done > using a hoe and was called 'Topping the Drills'. > > > > "Before spraying time, a crop of turnips, carrots, mangols and cabbage had > to be thinned and kept free of weeds. At spaying time a big wooden > 'Porter > Barrel" was filled with water and mixed with correct proportions of blue > stone and washing soda; 7 lbs. blue stone and 9 lbs. washing soda for the > 40 > gallon barrel. This mixture was carried to the farmer by the children. > He > carried a sprayer on his back and it held about four gallons. > > > > "Potato gathering 'holidays' came in October, as children were needed to > do > the hard work of gathering the crop. [The drills} were ploughed open and > the lovely new potatoes would roll out and were gathered. They were > stored > in big clay pits scattered throughout the field and well covered with > rushes > and soil to protect them from frost. > > > > "During the winter months, big boilers were filled with potatoes, hand > picked from the pit, washed and boiled. The fire under the boiler had to > be > replenished all the time and those who weren't helping at the pits were > off > in the fields finding brosnaigh, or cutting branches with a cross cut saw. > Brosnaigh was the dead sticks lying around the hedges." > > > > Regards, > Jim Carroll > >