t <* i 



Which, owing to this circumftance, although a Very 

 luxuriant crop above ground, yielded when taken 

 up only a very few well-formed bulbs j the umbi- 

 lical fibres being at that time in a fucculent growing 

 ilate, and covered with fmall crude potatoes that 

 would have required a very long time to bring them 

 to maturity. Late and deep hoeing, even with the 

 hand-hoe, is, on this account, with fome kinds of 

 potatoes highly pernicious. 



On the other hand, there are fome kinds of po- 

 tatoes that never fend thefe umbilical fibres above 

 a few inches from the flems, which would not be 

 liable to the fame objection, as there would be no 

 danger of having them cut by the plough; and 

 other forts fend thefe fibres direclly downward to a 

 great depth, fo as to be in no danger of being in 

 any cafe wounded by the hand-hoe. 



Other kinds of potatoes have a tendency to fend 

 out bulbs at every joint of the flem, even above 

 ground; but unlefs thefe be covered With earth 

 they never acquire the colour or tafte of real pota- 

 toes, although they have the exact fhape and appear- 

 ance. I have feen fome flems of potatoes, efpecially 

 in a rainy feafon, that were covered with thefe 

 green potatoes to the very top, and have num- 

 bered fifteen or fixteen on one ftem, fome of them 



of 



