126 ON THE CULTIVATION OF THE POTATO. 



earth, just sufficient to keep the straw down. On no account, if 

 you vahie your potatoes, cover completely with earth till they 

 have had time to cool. In about a month or six weeivs, if there 

 is danger from frost, place sufficient earth on the pit to secure 

 the potatoes for the winter. If plenty of straw is used it will 

 be sufficient to keep out any frost till the potatoes have had 

 time to throw off their moisture which they will readily do. All 

 the shaws should be gathered off the field in a heap. I have 

 often kept a pit all the winter, especially the Boviuia potato, 

 with but a light covering of earth loosely thrown on, and the 

 old potato shaws thrown thickly over the top. Frost and snow 

 never hurt them, and they came out in March, cool, hard, and 

 sound, and what is of great importance, had a splendid flavour 

 always essential to a good table potato. One reason why we often 

 get potatoes of doubtful quality is through careless storing, and 

 not the fault of the ground they are grown in or the seed planted. 



Further, to protect the plant, potatoes for seed purposes should 

 be grown especially for that end and not for an abundance of 

 crop, and in a different district altogether from where they are 

 required for planting for ware purposes. Put them as far north 

 as possible, to make them hardy, and if possible on newly taken 

 in land of a light loamy nature or a clean sandy soil by the 

 seaside. 



The seed should be planted in ]\Iarch, the sets 12 inches 

 apart and 2| feet between the drills. This wiH give a uniform 

 size, and nearly all of them will be fit to plant whole, and will 

 contain more soluble than starchy matter. In many cases such 

 seed when planted in good soil will yield several tons more per 

 acre than what is called " middlings," such being the after growth 

 of the plant and unfit for seed purposes. Depend upon it, it is 

 folly and mistaken economy to use such seed. They will not 

 produce uniform crops, and they are not sure to produce even an 

 average one, and the tubers not up to size. Wlieu disease 

 appears it is first seen in such crops — and no wonder ; for the 

 seed perhaps is grown for years in the immediate neighbourhood, 

 or the small potatoes, the refuse of those sold in our markets for 

 domestic purposes, dressed over a 1^ in. riddle for seed ; such 

 potatoes are too weak in constitution to bear a crop, let alone 

 resist disease. In fact if you wish for crops of good quality, 

 regular in the braird, strong in growth, and with abundance of 

 tubers, you must select your seed grown for that purpose. 



Potatoes grown in the manner I have described for seed, do 

 not approach in quality or shape those grown for table use, the 

 exposed situation they are grown in not admitting of either; 

 but when removed to a more genial climate, they are often so 

 much altered for the better that you would scarcely believe they 

 were the same kind. In all cases care should be taken to select 



