540 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[January i, 1883.. 



pies the second place, and lime the first. According to 

 Liebig, the potato plant therefore comes under the potash 

 order. 



Manure. 



AU that has been written under this head respecting 

 wheat (Vide " New method of wheat cultivation iu India") 

 might be made applicable to the potato; making only a 

 difference iu the selection of mauurial ingredients, which 

 will suit the potato plant, also the quantity of manure to 

 be apphed. 



Cultivation. 



The raising of mound, ploughing, and weeding are the 

 same as in the preparation of l.^ud for wheat. At the 

 time of planting seed tubers, steps should be taken to 

 draw out water channels first. There should be five water 

 channels in an acre of 6150' m 66' as for wheat, not taking 

 up land more than 12' iu all or 2' and about 4" for each 

 water channel. Instead of striking out beds, ridges should 

 be made 18" apart from centre to centre. There will 

 thus be 660' -^ lis' = 440 ridges in one partition, each ridge 

 being 9' long. As there are six partitions, the total num- 

 ber of ridges in an acre will be 440 « 6=2,640 ridges. 

 Potato Seed, atid selection thereof. 



In some parts of Europe the potato is raised both from 

 seed and tuber. In India, however, the tuber is the only 

 means of propagating this plant. There are some locali- 

 ties in the hills where, under careful cultivation, seed can 

 be obtained; but uo one has hitherto tried for it, the plains 

 being too hot and unsuitable tor the potato to produce 

 mature seeds. It is not uncommon to see the potato 

 flower in the plains. 



When the operation of drawing of ndges is gomg 

 on, selection of the best seed potato tubers required 

 for planting should forthwith be commenced. All tubers 

 halt-rotten and presenting a sicky appearance, .should be 

 picked and separated, as such tubers will never grow into 

 healthy plants, but will rot off in the ground and occa- 

 sion contamination to other plants which is injurious. 

 Good seed potato tubers are small, of a shrivelled ap- 

 pearance at the time of planting, full of eyes ; each eye 

 sending out a stem or stems and numerous succulent roots, 

 the ends of which become tuberous forms, being the edi- 

 ble potato tuber. 



Plttnting. 



After the ridges are prepared and seed potatoes selected, 

 planting should be commenced. The khoorpee is the im- 

 plement used for this purpose in the North-Western Pro- 

 vinces and Oudh, and a few more places. It is a handy 

 tool, very cheap in cost (never exceeding 8 to 12 annas). 

 Other implements might however be substituted, which 

 will do as well ; but in my opinion nothing is found so 

 handy and expeditious in working as the haglihani khoorpee. 

 The potato tuber should be planted 3" apart from centre 

 to centre of the tuber, iu the middle of the_ hollow of 

 the ridge, and covered with earth about an inch thick. 

 Quuntitii of tubers required for planting an acre. _ 



Generally 150 seed tubers weigh a seer. In one ridge 

 of 9' there are 27 tubers, and as 2,640 ridges are in an 

 acre, the quantity of seed required will be 2,640 « 27— 

 150.^40=11 mds. 35 1/5 seers. Of course the quantity 

 will be more or less according to the size of tubers used 

 in planting. If large, more ; if small, less.* 

 Irrigation. 



Irrigation is a subject of the utmost importance in 

 potato growing. No quantity of water, in a tropical country 

 like India, however great, will be found too much. In- 

 deed, this plant requires so vast a quantity of water, 

 that native cultivators, where there is not a large supply 

 of water available, do not take to potato cultivation. It 

 should not, if possible, be irrigated before the tubers have 

 germinated freely ; but if, on account of the natural ten- 

 dency of the soil, the ground be found too dry to admit 

 of germination, irrigation should be resorted to at the 

 latter stage of germination. Twelve to fifteen days are 

 generally required for germination, watering therefore 

 should be not before the eighth or tenth day. Two or 

 three days after watering, the surface soil should be care- 

 fully loosened to induce free germination. After the plants 

 have fairly come up, a heavy waterin g once a week will 



* This uuplies a complete tuber for each root. In England 

 a part of a tuber suffices, provided it has an eye.— Ed. /. A. 



be required, and in some very dry localities, even twice a 

 week. In all cases the potato should be irrigated through 

 the water channels. Watering should be stopped when the 

 leaves and haulm appear turning yellow, which is a sign 

 that these parts of the upper axis of the plant have fin- 

 ished their functions. 



Earthing up. 



After the plants are three or four inches high, they 

 require to be earthed up. Generally, they require to be 

 earthed up three or four times — the last time heavily. 

 Siyging. 



As a main crop, which will yield mature tubers both for 

 use and for seed, the potatoes should be dug out within 

 a week or a fortnight, after the leaves and haulm are 

 perfectly dry. This will be at the latter part of March. 

 Different localities have different implements for digging. 

 In the North-Western Provinces and Oudh kodal, also 

 called mathue in the Eohilkhund division, is used for dig- 

 ging up the tubers; and the khoorpee is employed for 

 raking up any undug tuber found imbedded in the soil 

 which the kodali has not been able to dig up. 

 Yield. 



The object of all cultivation is a good paying produce. 

 Under the cultivation herein suggested the maximum yield 

 can very hopefully be expected; but for computation, 

 whfth might be taken as reliable, an average produce 

 may be put down. The minimum produce in tubers of 

 a single plant is h seer or 40 tolahs, the average 1 (one) 

 seer or SO tolahs, "and the maximum is I J seers. Taking 

 the average as a standard of calculation, a ridge of 9' 

 will produce 9 m 4=36 seers. An acre will therefore pro- 

 duce 36 m 2640 (the number of ridges in an acre)=9,504 

 seers or 2,376 maunds or 3,258 bushels and 30 6/7 lb., a 

 bushel being 60 pounds avoirdupois. 

 Selection for seed, storing, and preservation of the potato. 



After the potato tubers are dug, the selection of seed 

 tubers should be made. All large tubers are not fit for 

 seed, and might be used for other purposes. The small, 

 of the size of marbles, will not suit either, but those of 

 a size not smaller than a pigeon's egg should be set apart 

 tor planting the next season. After a selection has been 

 made, a room, well ventilated, yet having the means of 

 making it air and damp tight when required, should be 

 selected for storing. A quantity of silicious sand, from 

 the river side, or from elsewhere, should be spread a 

 couple of inches thick on the floor, and over this seed 

 tubers laid evenly and not too thickly. The same kind of 

 storing should be resorted to as respects potato for store 

 or other uses. 



In the rainy weather, and in some years when the wea- 

 ther is too hot, stored potatoes, whether for seed or for 

 other uses, require frequently to be looked into, and any 

 found rotten, partially or wholly, should be picked and 

 removed from the store room. Especially is this the case 

 in the rainy weather, moderate air should be admitted 

 when the temperature is not too hot, much damp air is 

 equally injurious, and facilitates rotting in a remarkable 

 degree. Steps should therefore be taken to keep the doors 

 and windows or the ventilators of the store room shut 

 or open as emergency requires. 



CuPEEA Bark. — Profes.sor G. Planchon, in the Journal, de 

 Pharmacie, this month, throws some fresh light on the 

 source of cuprea bark. A microscopical examination of the 

 specimens supplied to him by M. Triaiia showed that the 

 bark deriveil from Bucaramanga, in the north, and from 

 Llanos, the southern district, both present the same charac- 

 ters and are evidently both furnished by Remijia pedunculata. 

 The cinchonamiue bark of M. Arnaud presents different 

 microscopical characters, and is referred by BI. Planchon 

 to R. Piirdieann. He remarks that a microscopical examin- 

 ation has never yet deceived him in the solution of like pro- 

 blems. A singular confirmation of the value of this methocl 

 of research occurs in the form of a postscript to M. Planchon's 

 .article, iu which he states that since it was written M. 

 Triana has received information to the effect that the ciu- 

 chonamine bark does not come threct from Bucaramanga, 

 but only passes through it, being collected near Antioquia 

 on the other side of the Magdalena river. Further, that 

 a large exporter of the cuprea bark has recognized the 

 southern bark as the produce of R. ^Jedunculata.— 

 PliMrmaceutical Journal. 



