20 



IRISH GARDI.NING. 



ri.iikrARv 



littiiii; any ol llic crop [o mark oul the lu^l 

 toppod roots, aiul lift those aiul keep tin.- wliolo 

 protlucc o( siuli roots lor soctl purposes. II 

 \ory early potatoes of any \ariet\ are \\aiilei.l 

 more roots will require to be litleil for seed, ant! 

 the lars^e v>nes laid asiile tor |->lantiii!^. As the 

 result of plantins^ whole potatoes ot" dillerent 

 sizes, I ha\e t'ouiid lliat the iarjL^ei- tlie potato 

 the eailier it ii|->eiis. \o i^artlenei' should pit 

 his seed potatoes. eiel tlieui lilted as dry as 

 possible, and keep them in boxes, baskets, 

 oi- an\- other reeeplaele w tiere th^y ean be 

 examined. In the ehoosini;- o\' liie <;round tor 

 |-ilantini^-, preference ot course is i^iven to those 

 portions which have not had potatoes previously, 

 but this is sometimes not possible. In this case 

 the i^round should be trenched, and the richer 

 the top soil tlie more sub-soil should l^e mixed 

 with it. 



In maniu'ini^ it is belter to use open dun*;' — 

 that is, rank litter, such as straw, cut i^rass and 

 leaves mixed. Ciarden i^roimd is usually too 

 rich in muck for most jiotatoes, and they 

 require for their full de\eIopmeiit a small 

 ijuantity of lime. This can be secured in the 

 t'orm of ground quicklime or in shells, which 

 can be covered with earth, and when pulverised 

 naturally, mixed up in a compost and applied. 

 The quantity for potatoes is five to ten cwts. of 

 quicklime per acre. Do not overdo it, and if 

 lime is present already in excess, by ha\iiii4 

 been applied in previous years, then a good 

 trenching will suffice in preparing the land. 



The width to plant potatoes is often a matter 

 of convenience. Some growers plant small 

 potatoes close and large potatoes wide. Now , 

 in certain varieties which spring from every eve, 

 this may be necessary and advisable, but in 

 many varieties, especially those earl} kinds 

 which usually send only one shoot or sprout, 

 it is waste of ground to plant the large potatoes 

 wider than the small ones. In fixing the width 

 of planting, the size of tops and the under- 

 growth should be noted. In gardens where 

 space is limited, preference should, I think, be 

 given to varieties which have a small or medium 

 haulm, upright preferred, and a close habit oi 

 growth underground. In the South of I^ngland 

 districts where early potatoes are grown, small - 

 topped, close tubering varieties are planted 

 1 2 inches by 4 inches, and lifted with four or 

 five nice potatoes at each root, gi\e quite a 

 good return for the amount of groinid planted. 



Again, tlie deplli at which potatiH's shoukl be 

 |il.inted does not receixe sutlicient attention. 

 This shoulil \ary with ditleienl \arieties, as 

 some grow their new jiotatiK's abo\ e the 

 the old set. others round it. and others below 

 it. 1 am inclined to think that jiotatoes are 

 generally planted too deep. Potatoes are sun 

 plants, .ind the w.armer and nearei' the sun and 

 air they can lie planted the belter. I'o get the 

 iu'sl results, and csjieclallv for \ery early 

 potatoes. llie\ should be planted lutt more than 

 three inches deep, and only earthing up enough 

 to keep the _\oung potatoes iVoni greening. 

 This .system gi\es rijier, larger, and a better 

 average weight of tubers than where sets have 

 been put f) or 7 inches below the surface. 



The importance ol having all seed potatoes 

 well sprouted before being planted is now well 

 known, and this, not only with the early \ arieties 

 but with the mid-season and maincrop sorts. In 

 fact, results from the sprouting of the latest and 

 longest growing varieties are more astonishing 

 than those from the earlier varieties. Where 

 trials have been made of diverse sizes of potato 

 sets it has been invariably found that those of 

 about 3 ozs., if well stored and planted at the 

 customary width apart, have given the best 

 re.sults. Necessarily there is no need for exact 

 weights. .\ further question is — How best 

 should potato sets be cul ^ Only the larger 

 tuber should be cut, and that from the crown 

 and dow'nw^ards, thus preserving on each cut 

 set at least one, if not more, of the strongest 

 eves or buds. Culling, when needful, is best 

 done twenlv -four hours before the time of plant- 

 ing, the cut surfaces being dusted with slaked 

 time to dry ofl" and harden these surfaces. 



.\s to the best varieties to grow , it is still a 

 moot point if the best of recent introductions 

 are of sutificient quality to make one discard old 

 favourities. Like varieties of strawberries, all 

 varieties do not succeed in every part of the 

 country, and it is therefore best to grow the 

 bulk of the crop of a proved sort that has 

 satisfied past requirements. At the same time, 

 trials of new sorts should continue to be made 

 on a small scale, and the cooking as well as the 

 cropping qualities tested. To maintain a 

 robust constitution in the potato 1 attach the 

 utmost importance to a change of seed. Some 

 fifteen years ago, when the old Champion was 

 then grown in Ireland more than anv other 

 varietv', 1 planted a tiMi of importetl Scotch 



