THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



289 



crops. The size of the set is not of such importance 

 as many are led to believe ; it ought, however, to possess 

 full vitality, and perhaps the larger the set the better. 

 The planting of eye-sets, of course, adds much to the 

 cost ; a good-sized potato should make at least two sets, 

 and in many tubers three. No set ought to be smaller 

 than a walnut, nor need it be much larger. I do not 

 think it good practice to plant small potatoes whole, 

 except they are carefully looked over in reference to the 

 number of eyes. If they are found to be right, then 

 their being whole is unimportant. As to the operation 

 of depositing or placing the set, it is desirable that the 

 most vigorous eye should be uppermost, so that no 

 hindrance to its quick growth takes place ; a little care 

 on the part of the setter will suffice for this. 



I do not propose in this paper to embrace or discuss 

 the whole subject of potato culture, but merely the 

 puttiiig-in of the crop. It may, however, be right to 

 offer one or two suggestions of a general character. It 

 has been urged that, to dry the sets will greatly tend to 

 prevent the attack of the potato disease ; many of mine 

 were nearly dried up last year, but I had quite enough 

 of the disease. True, they were dried under a hovel 

 by long exposure to drying winds, uncovered — not by 

 stove heat. Wherein lies the difference.''' Dusting 

 the sets with lime or gypsum is said to be efficacious. 

 I have not found it so with lime ; gypsum I have not 

 tried. Manuring with lime and salt is another of the 

 many safeguards adopted ; it also proves unavailing. 

 Peruvian guano, again, is extensively used, and with 

 this good effect at least, that it so promotes and stimu- 

 lates the growth of the crop, that it forms good and 



large tubers at a very early period. Manuring with 

 farmyard manure immediately before planting is de- 

 cidedly conducive to an attack of the disease ; it ougl t 

 to be applied in the winter, if requisite to its fertility. 

 A dry soil and a dry season conduce much to the 

 safety of the crop ; ungenial weather and a wet soil 

 are fatal. The approved varieties for planting are but 

 few. If a new variety is introduced into a district un- 

 tainted with the disease, it seldom lasts two seasons. 

 The " fluke " potato in the past season stood here better 

 than any other. On soils that could not be kept dry 

 they constituted our best crop. In one instance coming 

 under my own knowledge the crop was free, owing to 

 the dry rich loam where they were grown. The " snow- 

 balls" came next, but suffered severely. Regents were 

 almost a failure. Ashleaved not their own again. The 

 highest quotations this week run thus : Flukes 160s., 

 Regents 120s., E unbar ditto 180s., North Berwick 

 ditto 125s., Perth ditto 105s., Perth rocks 100s., Scotch 

 cups 110s., Scotch rocks 105s., French whites 90s., 

 Belgian ditto 80s., Dutch ditto 80s., and other kinds 

 80s. These of course form the prevailing varieties, for 

 which, on application to a London salesman, any grower 

 may obtain seed, and which he will get at about two- 

 thirds the average price of " the heads." An intelligent 

 London salesman is, upon the whole, the best person to 

 consult as to the sort to be grown ; and in making ap- 

 plication a description of the soil should be given, and 

 the district where situate should be named. I would 

 only make one further remark ; it is this : It is impera- 

 tively necessary to the prosperity of the crop that the 

 land be kept dry ; certain failure is the alternative. P. F. 



THE OIL-SEEDS OF COMMERCE. 



Great as has been the extension of commerce and 

 the progress of agricultural supplies within the last 

 few years, they ai'e yet far from commensurate to the 

 wants of Europe. It is therefore a wise provision 

 that new discoveries arise either out of the progress of 

 science or the extension of foreign agriculture to meet 

 the increased demands. When the oils yielded by the 

 whale fisheries declined, and by their enhanced price 

 became expensive, and inadequate to the wants of 

 the consumer, increased attention was given to the 

 production and manufacture of vegetable oils, and 

 enormous quantities of oil-seeds for crushing, from 

 Europe and the East, and solid oils from Africa, were 

 obtained. Even these, however, large as have been 

 the imports of late, were insufficient to meet the pro- 

 gressive demand ; and now additional supplies of 

 rosin oil and mineral oils are coming forward, obtained 

 either from coal, or from asphalte and petroleum. 

 The mineral oil springs in some of the States of 

 America have turned out complete fortunes to the 

 owners of tlie land, so cheap and abundant is the 



* 1 am awate tiiat artificial heat of a sufficient temperature 

 to destroy the virus is tiie grand secret; but what a difficult 

 icatter for growers to undertake ! 



spontaneous supply from the wells sunk, and so easily 

 is it purified. The vegetable oils, however, provide, 

 and will long continue to do so, the bulk of tlio 

 consumption. 



The importation of the oil-seeds and oil-cake is a 

 matter in which our readers necessarily take an in- 

 terest, and therefore we may with propriety draw at • 

 tention to the growing trade. Four years ago, when 

 writing on this subject, we gave the statistics of tho 

 imports of seed and cake for a series of years ; but 

 these by comparison now look exceedingly trivial. In 

 1855 our imports of linseed wore but 757,000 qrs., 

 and of rapeseed 162,352 qrs. Last year the imports 

 were 1,255,000 qrs. of linseed, and about 300,000 qrs. 

 of rapeseed. So with oil-cake : the foreign imports, 

 which in 1855 were but 80,659 tons, rose in 1860 to 

 upwards of 100,000 tons. 



Besides the two principal oil-seeds already named, 

 we imported in 1859 about 183,000 qrs. of poppy, 

 sesame, sursee and unenumerated oil-seeds. The 

 specific returns of imports of these for last year are 

 not yet published by tiio Board of Trade. 



While the consumption of oil and oil-seeds was 

 so much larger tlian usual last year, the stocks held 



