PRODUCTIVE FAMILY GARDENING. 



513 



The planting may be entirely regulated by 

 the disposition to grow. It may be suffi- 

 cient to say here that when a potato is in 

 the ground it is gaining strength as it 

 grows, but while it is out of the ground it 

 is losing. It may also be observed that po- 

 tato planting is good so long as potato sets 

 that have not begun to grow can be pro- 

 cured. The various modes o[ planting de- 

 pends on the quantity of ground, the rate 

 of labor, and the quality of the soil. The 

 following practices are common in different 

 locaJ.ities : 



1. Trenches one spit deep are dug, and 

 the soil thrown on one side ; the trenches 

 are half filled with stable dung, the sets 

 placed on the dung, and the soil placed on 

 the top, forming a complete ridge, under 

 which the potatoes soon vegetate and often 

 yield heavy crops ; but in general the best 

 potatoes for eating are those grown on un- 

 dunged land, which does not yield so much. 



2. Dung is placed on the land and dug 

 in, and the sets are dibbled in from four to 

 six inches below the surface ; in this case 

 the soil should always be pressed on the 

 tuber, that it may lie solid on the ground, 

 for if this be carelessly attempted, one half 

 the sets, being dropped into a hole that a 

 lump of soil may stop up half way, would 

 be left without any soil surrounding them : 

 this cannot but be injurious, therefore we 

 cannot be too particular in seeing that the 

 soil above is bruised and lightly pressed, 

 so as to surround the set. 



3- Where there is much land, furrows 

 are ploughed, the potatoes dropped into 

 them, and ploughing the next furrow covers 

 them up. In this case, the second furrow 

 is not used, as it would be too near for the 

 rows, but the third furrow fills the second, 

 and is used for the sets, the fourth covers 

 them in, and so on, the v/hole ground being 

 thus well stirred. If such land is to be 

 dunged, the dressing is spread over the 

 surface and ploughed in. 



4. After digging and, if necessary, dress- 

 ing the ground, the sets are laid in rows of 

 the proper distance, and earth is taken from 

 between the rows and thrown on the sets. 



A crop of very early potatoes may be 

 had, by digging the ground along the foot 

 of a south wall, placing the sets a foot 

 apart, and about six inches from it, and 



Vol. III. 33 



then take earth from the front and throw 

 on them so as to form a sloping bank, and 

 when the plants come up, earth them up 

 on the outside. This may be a small 

 crop, because it is generally dry, but it 

 comes early in proportion, and always of 

 fine flavor. The lale potatoes ought not to 

 be planted late, that is, the sets must not 

 have grown out before planting, and the 

 distance for the late ones ought to be two 

 feet, and the very large ones two feet six 

 from, row to row. Potatoes are ripe when 

 the haulm, decays. Regent's, Forty-fold, 

 York red, Ne plus ultra kidney, Cham- 

 pion, Red kidue}^ are good sorts for main 

 crops. 



CARROTS, PARSNIPS, AND BEET-ROOT. 



Next to potatoes, which are food for 

 months, these three vegetables are the 

 most useful. They are not only good with 

 almost every kind of meat, but they are 

 always saleable in any quantity ; all grounds 

 are not suitable, for they require fifteen 

 inches of good rich light soil, free from 

 gra^^el and stones. The soil should be 

 trenched and well broken ; beds of four 

 feet wide, with one foot alleys between 

 them, are the most handy for all three, and 

 the seed should be very thinly sown over 

 them ; when the plants are up, they should 

 be hoed to leave them eight or nine inches 

 apart, nor should a single weed be allowed 

 to grow. The first hoeing may not do this 

 effectually, but the second, with the help 

 of the hand occasionally, will accomplish it. 

 These crops are valuable in all families, 

 and, besides using them as soon as they 

 are large enough, they may be stored as 

 soon as they are ripe, and, with care, keep 

 through the winter. The early carrots to 

 be drawn and eaten as soon as they are of 

 sufficient size, should be sown in February 

 and March, the main crop the latter end of 

 April ; the best for the former is the Early 

 horn and its varieties ; the best for the late 

 is the Altringham. For storing they ought 

 not to be taken up until the foliage turns 

 yellow. 



ONIONS. 



This is one of the most useful of vegeta- 

 bles, and deserves especial attention ; like 

 the previously mentioned crops, they keep 

 a long while if well ripened, and the prin- 

 cipal art in their culture is to well dress 



