22 



IRISH GARDENING. 



Lectures for Plotholders. 



The Culture op Potatoes. 



A CONTINUATION of this Series of lectures was 

 given in the Dublin Municipal Technical Schools 

 on January 18th. The lecturer was ]Mr. J. P. 

 Drew. A. B.C. 8c. I.. Manager of the ^lodel Farm. 

 Albert Agricultural College, Glasnevin. 



Stating that the Potato is a native of Chili, the 

 lecturer briefly related two stories regarding the 

 introduction of the Potato. One theory is that 

 the tuber was introduced by Sir Walter Raleigh 

 and planted in his garden at Youghal, where at 

 first it was thought very little of. Another 

 theory is that it reached Ireland from America 

 in ships trading from that country to Ireland. 

 Here we may quote from the Dictionary of 

 Gardening, which says : " The date of its intro- 

 duction to Britain is a matter which has under- 

 gone niuch discussion, but the plant is generally 

 believed to have been brought from Virginia to 

 Ireland in 1585 or 1586 by Thomas Herriot, who 

 accompanied Sir Walter Raleigh in several 

 voyages. The Potatoes introduced by Herriot 

 were planted near Cork : but the value of the 

 tvibers as food does not appear to have been 

 recognised for a very long period afterwards." 



Proceeding, the lecturer dwelt on the question 

 of varieties, mentioning the enormous number 

 which has been cultivated from time to time. 

 For first earlies he recommended Ninetyfold, 

 Epicure and Duke of York ; second early, British 

 Queen and Sutton's Abundance ; late, Arran 

 Chief, Cliampion and Ui -to-I>ate. Black 

 Skerry and Champion were recommended for 

 their long-keeping qualities, but the former is a 

 light cropper, despite its excellent qtialities. 



Sprouting. — In recommending sprouting for 

 the early varieties, the lecturer gave the dimen- 

 sions of a standard sprouting box, viz.. 

 24" X 12" X 3", but for Plotholders it was pointed 

 out practically any shallow box would do, as the 

 quantity to be boxed is comparatively small. 

 By means of specimens, Mr. Drew showed 

 examples of good and bad sprouting. The sprouts 

 should not be too long, about an inch or so. at 

 planting time, stout, and with the characteristic 

 colour of the variety developed in the sprout. 

 If the sprouting is not proceeding satisfactorily 

 it was recommended to place the Potatoes in a 

 dark place, free from frost, but immediately 

 growth commences light should be gradually 

 admitted, otherwise the sprouts will be weak, 

 long and colourless and useless for planting : a 

 specimen with a long weak sprout was shown as 

 also a properly sprouted tuber. Good planting 

 tubers should be about the size of an egg. 



Advantages of Sprouting. — These include 

 an increased yield of from 1 to 2 tons per acre, 

 which has been proved by experiment : the purity 

 of the seed can be checked by means of the 

 colour of the sprouts : planting can be delayed 

 until the weather is favourable and the soil in 

 good working condition. That is to say, that 

 there is no need to risk planting too early while 

 the weather is imfavoural)le, as the Potatoes are 

 doing quite well and gaining time sprouting 

 quietly in the boxes. The lecturer explained that 

 sprouted tubers planted in the end of P ebi'uary 

 would be ready as soon as unsprouted samples 

 planted in .January, assuming the latter to escape 



injury by frost. To sum uj) the advantages of 

 sprouting, we have, then, a heavier yield, an 

 earli;r crop and a iiurer crop. 



Soil. — ^Like other plants, the Potato has its 

 ideal in soils, and that, said the lecturer, might 

 be called a deep rich loam. There are now so 

 many varieties, however, that successful crops 

 were constantly grown in sandy soils, boglands 

 and heavy clays. The quality of the soil is very 

 largely influenced by cultivation. 



When to begin Plantincj. — For first earlies, 

 the end of February was recoiiimended. By 

 planting much before this there is great risk of the 

 haulm being too far advanced in April and May, 

 thereby running grave risk of being irretrievably 

 damaged by frost. For mid-season varieties, the 

 middle of 3Iarch is a good time, and for main 

 crops the beginning of Ajiril. 



Spraying. — This important and essential 

 detail in cultivation the lecturer took pains to 

 impress on his audience as a preventive and not 

 a cure for the dreaded " Blight." That is to say, 

 it is useless to wait until the disease manifests 

 itself ere proceeding to spray. The disease, as 

 it appears on the leaves, was graphically described 

 as resembling mildew on old boots or stale bread. 

 Tlie spores by which the disease attacks the 

 leaves enter largely through the pores on the 

 underside of the leaves. The upper exposed 

 surface is less liable to attack, hence the impera- 

 tive necessity of well coating the under surface 

 with the spray fluid. Sunlight, it was pointed 

 out, is against the Blight, and bad attacks are 

 rare in dry sunny seasons. 



How the Tubers are Affected. — It was 

 formerly thought that the fungus causing the 

 Blight grew down through the stalks and so 

 reached the Potatoes ; but now it is known that 

 when the disease has reached the fruiting stage — 

 that is, when new spores are formed — they drop 

 to the soil below, and so get washed into contact 

 with the tubers, which they immediately infect. 

 To minimise the risk of such infection, moulding 

 up, earthing or landing should be done thoroughly, 

 as a thick layer of soil over the tubers makes it. 

 difficult for the spores to reach the Potatoes. 



Spray Mixtures. — Those in common use are 

 Bordeaux mixture and Bvirgundy mixture. The 

 two are about equal in eft'ect, but the latter is 

 generally the more easily prepared. Burgundy 

 mixture is made from copper sulphate and wash- 

 ing soda dissolved in water : 8 lbs. of copper 

 sulphate of 98 per cent, purity, 10 lbs. of washing 

 soda 98 per cent, purity, to 40 gallons of water. 

 To make a smaller quantity, say 10 gallons, use 

 2 lbs. copper sulphate, 2^ lbs. of washing soda. 

 Dissolve separately, then ijour the washing soda 

 solution into the copper sulphate solution and 

 stir thoroughly. The mixture should then be 

 ready for use and should be used at once. Test 

 the inixtiu^e by dipping into it a piece of blue 

 litmus ijaper. which will remain blue if the 

 mixture is right, but if it turns red add more 

 washing soda vmtil the blue colour is retained. 



A warning was given against the malignant 

 Black Scab disease for which no satisfactory cure 

 has been found. It is not yet very prevalent in 

 Ireland, but has given serious trouble in parts of 

 County Down. Some varieties have ])i(>vtMl 

 immune to this disease, notably the following, 

 which are selected from the .Jonrual of the Hoard 

 of A(iriculinn\ November, 1917 : — Pearlies — A. 1 



