POTATO CULTIVATION. 21 



ing tedious; and I venture to express the opinion that a 

 large, full crop of roots or vegetables cannot be grown un- 

 less those conditions, under the heads I have named, are 

 substantially complied with. 



And now I will state what, in my short experience, has 

 proved with me to be the best methods of procedure in rais- 

 ing certain crops. Potatoes — to produce a large crop of fine 

 potatoes, select a piece of grass-land, with a soil ^adapted to 

 this root; upon this grass-land, in the spring of the year, 

 spread a good liberal dressing of coarse stable or barnyard 

 manure ; then plough the land, not exceeding four inches or 

 four inches and a half deep, turning the sod flat ; upon the 

 inverted sod sow broadcast such a quantity of dissolved 

 bone and potash as in your judgment would supply the wants 

 of the potato, which it would not be able to get from the 

 manure applied ; then thoroughly work and pulverize the in- 

 verted sod with a Randall or Shares harrow; furrow lightly, 

 so as not to tear up the sod, three feet and a half apart one 

 way only ; drop your potatoes a foot apart in the row, and 

 cover two or three inches deep. Now, the condition of the 

 land planted is precisely this, beginning at the bottom : first, 

 we find a layer of soil over the subsoil four to six inches 

 deep, then on this a layer of coarse stable-manure, then an 

 inverted sod, composed largely of stubble and roots, contain- 

 ing a large amount of vegetable matter four inches thick, 

 the upper three inches of which have been well pulverized. 

 The soil under the manure will absorb any fertilizing matter 

 inclined to go down. The manure aild sod are so near the 

 surface as to be readily under the influence of the heat from 

 the sun, and moisture from rains and dews, which cause a 

 rapid decomposition of the sod and manure, and convert 

 them into plant-food, furnishing an abundance of material to 

 feed the crop ; and the potato itself finds a bed for its tubers 

 in the loose sod hardly to be had in any other condition of 

 the soil. 



The vigor with which potatoes start under this treatment 

 suggests bottom-heat. 



I would further say that this is the cheapest and most 

 perfect method of composting manure that I know of. 



Asparagus was grown in the town of Concord, where I 

 live, to a large extent for Boston market. 



