225 



Ruby King. — An exceedingly large and handsome pepper of mild 

 flavour ; the fruits of a bright ruby red. Seed 10 cents per packet, 

 25 cents per ounce. 



Large Bell. — An early variety of mild flavour, a favourite for 

 pickling and for use in the natural state. Seed 5 cents per packet, 

 25 per ounce. 



GoM'« £>flw«.— Of similar shape and size as Large Bell, but of 

 more delicate flavour ; colour yellow. Seed, 5 cents per packet, 

 25 cents per ounce. 



POTATOES. 



Plant from October to January to have new Potatoes ready for 

 market from end of December or beginning of January to April. 



Soil. — Potatoes will grow in almost any kind of soil with good 

 cultivation, but a good friable loam, rather light than otherwise, 

 and free from stagnant water is the best. Good potatoes are pro- 

 duced in light sandy soil, but a liberal supply of manure is neces- 

 sary to ensure a heavy crop. 



Manure. — The quantity and kind of manure to be employed 

 must depend on the nature of the soil, to a light sandy soil, a 

 liberal supply of thoroughly decomposed manure should be given, 

 but if the soil is of a heavy, damp nature, half rotted long manure 

 is best. In hot, dry soils, cow dung when it can be obtained, is 

 preferable, as it retains more moisture than stable manure, but it 

 should be well mixed with litter. Pig's dung is too powerful in 

 an unmixed state, but when mixed with about twice its own bulk 

 of earth it forms an excellent manure. Generally speaking, how- 

 ever, for the hills of Jamaica, farm-yard manure, that is the excre- 

 ments, both solid and liquid, of the various animals kept about a 

 place, mixed with litter and refuse and allowed to decompose, is 

 probably the best. 



" Seed " or Sets. — There is some difference of opinion as to 

 whether the tubers should be planted whole or cut, but from experi- 

 ments made in the Gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society at 

 Chiswick, London, it was found on the mean of two plantations 

 that the produce from cut sets exceeded that from whole tubers by 

 nearly one ton per acre. Good sized tubers are considered best 

 for sets. The eyes in the Potato are true buds, and it stands to 

 reason that good sound tubers with strong eyes or buds, will pro- 

 duce much more healthy and vigorous plants than small tubers 

 with comparatively weak eyes. This, also, has been proved by 

 actual experiment. 



When good sized tubers are used for sets they may be cut in 

 halves passing the knife through from the bunch of eyes at the 

 top, and generally the halves may be divided again. One good 

 eye to each set is all that is really necessary, but it is safer to cut 

 the set so that it may have two eyes, as sometimes an eye is blind, 

 or so weak as to be unable to push. 



The sets should not be planted for a few days after being cut, 

 but kept in a dry place, and some wood ashes or such like mate- 

 rial mixed with them to absorb the juice exuding from the fresh 

 cuts, and thus prevent decay setting in. 



