hoe. No Colorado potato bugs in those days and blight was rare, later potatoes were cut in sets, an eye in each and planted after the plow about a foot apart, planting every second furrow after the Western Boy or every third furrow after the old iron plow. Between the rows was kept clean of weeds with a stiff tooth scuffler, when the tops got large the two back teeth were removed and mold boards hilled up the plants, nothing more needed till time of digging.

Potatoes were dug with a five prong manure fork or potato drag, five flat prongs shaped like a hoe, some used a wide plow to turn the drill upside down, you then used the drag or simply caught the root of the plant by hand, gave it a pull and a shake and picked the potatoes up into a basket made by the Indians. The old MacIntyre blue potato could take a lot of punishment, the baskets were dumped into the box cart and when heaped up taken to the house and dumped into the eight foot cellar.

The Proctor digger was invented by Edwin Proctor of Kensington, it had large lugs on the rim of the two wheels, the cog gears between the two wheels were enclosed in a wooden box to keep the sand out; a three cornered slightly curved shear went under the potatoes and loosened up the ground, a shaft from the gear box went back to the shear and the beaters close to the shear scattered clay and potatoes far and wide.

People away did not appreciate our old Island Blue Potatoes the best tasting potato ever grown and they demanded a white potato, these would not stand rough usage so we had to import the Ronson digger from Great Britain, something like the Proctor only it had a cam shaft that gently kicked the potatoes out.

Next came the elevator digger with a steel apron that ran over rollers and agitators that shook all the soil off and left the potatoes in a narrow row behind or you could haul a picker behind, the tops and stones could be thrown out and the potatoes went into bags and were set off in rows. By 1960 the two row combine and bulk tanks came into use.

OLDEST FARMS AND EQUIPMENT

Century Farms:

James Bernard, Andrew Johnstone, John Gillespie & Fred Doughart. James Bernard has the oldest frame house in constant use since 1840. William Manderson, made the lst Windmill in 1847.

William Johnstone had the 1st Binder in 1888.

John Johnstone had the 1st Gang Plow in 1898.

James Gillespie had the 1st Manure Spreader 1906.

George Cousins had the 1st telephone 1908.

James Gillespie had the lst Gas Engine 1909.

Herbert Paynter had the lst Hip Roofed Barn 1912.

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