1870.] THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 15 



THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 



NO. VIII. 

 POTATO CULTURE. 



Had any one foretold that a small tuber occupying an insignificant 

 sjDace — and scarcely, if at all, used for human food — in the newly-dis- 

 covered regions of South America, should become in the comparatively 

 short time of two centuries one of the most important items in the 

 daily food of millions of the human race for succeeding generations, it 

 would have sounded very incredible. Such, however, has been the 

 career of the Potato, which, as a tuber, is one of the most essential 

 importance ; so much so, that it ranks next to the cereals in its 

 influence as a vegetable product on the populations of temperate 

 climates. Yet, strange to say, its introduction to Europe was met 

 with the most obstinate prejudice and opposition, particularly from 

 the French, and it was not till a time of great scarcity and neces- 

 sity during the great Revolution that the culture of the Potato 

 was anything like general in France. It has been affirmed that the 

 Potato has added millions to the populations of Europe, and that, 

 owing to its extensive cultivation, famines have been rendered far less 

 frequent. It is, however, well known that too great a dependence on 

 it as a substitute for corn — as, for instance, in Ireland and the western 

 isles of Scotland — during the time the murrain so much prevailed, has 

 led to famine and hardships of the severest kind. Still it continues 

 to be a crop of the greatest importance as far as remunerative farming 

 is concerned, and in not a few districts the farmer's balance-sheet is 

 very much affected by the Potato crop and market. To meet the 

 wants of our large cities, the cultivation of the Potato has increased 

 thirty-fold in some localities within as many years. At one time, four 

 or five acres on one of the far-famed East Lothian farms was con- 

 sidered a sufficient proportion, while now eighty to a hundred acres 

 is quite common. 



The remarks which I shall make on the culture of the Potato are 

 more referable to it as a garden crop, while some general remarks will 

 apply to its cultivation on a more extensive scale ; for the most intelli- 

 gent agriculturists admit that it is to the cultivation of the garden, 

 more than to any other source, that they must look for improved 

 methods of cultivating their farms. 



Most gardeners are expected to furnish new or early Potatoes 

 throughout the early part of the year, onwards to the time when they 

 can be dug from the open borders without any protection. There are 

 two or three methods which may all be adopted with advantage in 



