I. AGRICULTURE AND RURAL ECONOMY. 333 







should be pitted together; certainly not more than thirty 

 bushels in each pit. In the centre of this pit should be 

 placed a lump of lime about the size of a man's head, and be- 

 fore covering them in they should receive a good dusting of 

 quick-lime. The lime absorbs the moisture during the time 

 the potatoes sweat, and by so doing prevents the tubers from 

 overheating, while its application also greatly improves the 

 quality of the potatoes, no doubt absorbing much of the wa- 

 ter from the tubers, and consequently making them more 

 mealy than if pitted without lime. After the potatoes have 

 been lying in the pit for at least a month, they should be 

 carefully looked over, and may be placed together in one or 

 more large pits, in the centre of which should be placed a 

 large basket of hard lumps of lime, or, should the pits be in 

 the form of long trenches, it will be well to place other bas- 

 kets at about twelve feet apart. The whole heap should also 

 be well sprinkled with lime before covering it. The pits 

 should be made low and narrow, as they are thus less liable 

 to heat than if made wide and high. 18 A, Oct. 20, 1871,126. 



PREVENTING THE GERMINATION OF POTATOES IN CELLARS. 



Much trouble is experienced by formers and others who 

 have occasion to store potatoes for a considerable length of 

 time, in preventing their germination, aud consequent depre- 

 ciation in value as food ; and our readers may be interested 

 to know that experiments, prosecuted in Germany, have 

 shown how this may be measurably prevented. This is ac- 

 complished by exposing the potatoes to the vapor of sulphur- 

 ous acid, by any of the various well-known modes, and a large 

 mass of potatoes can be treated at one time. This process, 

 if not entirely effective in accomplishing the object, will re- 

 tard or modify the sprouting of the potato to such an extent 

 as to render the injury caused thereby very slight. The fla- 

 vor of the potato is not affected in the least by this treat- 

 ment, nor is its vitality diminished ; the action being simply 

 to retard or prevent the formation and growth of the eyes. 

 8 C, October 19, 1871, xlii., 335. 



WILTING SEED POTATOES. 



Experiments in Schleswig-IIolstein are reported as having 

 shown the advantage of wilting seed potatoes. It is said 



