28 



IRISH GARDENING. 



Potatoes Grown Irom Single Eyes, 



The fullowint: note on ])()tatoes grown fi'oni sinKl*' 

 eyes appeared in the Bulletin of Miscellaneous 

 Information (Xos. 4 iV 5. 1917) recently issued 

 l)y the Hoyal IJotanic (Jardens, Kew : — 



The shortage of seed potatoes in the spring of 

 1917 created a good deal of discussion in the 

 Press as to the advisability of ciitting tubers for 

 planting into small sections instead of planting 

 them whole. In order to test certain assertions 

 as to the heavy yield from small scraps of tubers 

 containing single eyes, the i'oUovving experiment 

 was conducted under conditions available to every 

 allotment liolder. 



In January, 1 lb. of tubers of Kerr's Pink and 

 '.i^ lb. of tviijers of Lochar were obtained from 

 Scotland. The Kerr's Pink were very small and 

 were 1 5 in number. The Lochar were much 

 larger : the exact number was not kept. All 

 were at once placed in boxes and put i)i a light 

 room from which frost was just excluded. Little 

 |)rogress in sprouting was made before the 

 beginning of March, so the boxes were placed in a 

 warmer room for a fortnight. The sprouts were 

 by that time •} in. long. The tubers were then 

 cut into sections witli one eye each, except in the 

 case of the five largest tubers of Ijochar, which 

 were left whole. In this way 51 single-eye 

 sections were procured from Kerr's Pink and 

 80 single-eye sections of Lochar. 



The eyes were then placed in boxes of leaf- 

 mould and sand and lightly covered. They were 

 stood in a light i-oom in which there was a fire 

 for sevei-al hours each day , but the boxes had 

 eventually to be placed in a cold shed to check 

 (oo rapid growth, the weather being too inclement 

 for planting. 



The ground used was part of an old market 

 garden that liad been more or less derelict for 

 several years. It was very heavy and dirty and 

 it had to be dug when very wet. In that con- 

 dition it was too sticky to bi'eak up well, and 

 when dry it became very hard and lumpy. 

 I'lanting could not be undertaken until 20tlt 

 April, and on accovint of the poor planting con- 

 dition of tlie soil a little fine soil from an old 

 rubbisli heaiJ was placed in the trenches with the 

 sets. The rows wei"e planted 28 inches apart 

 and the plants were placed 14 inches apart in 

 Ihe rows, and covered by about o inches of soil. 

 The first shoots appeared above ground on 1st 

 -May, and from that time the plants grew 

 vigoi'ously. Before earthing \\p a little guano 

 was sown between the rows, ])ut no other manure 

 was given. 



About the middle of July, and again during 

 the second week in August, they were sprayed 

 with Burgundy mixture, but the tops did not 

 show signs of disease. In both cases the haulms 

 were very vigorous. 



Lochar was lifted on 15th September, and 

 yielded 197 lb. of tubers. The largest tuber 

 weighed 13| oz., and there were many between 

 8 and 10 oz. There were 27 lb. below seed size 

 and 12 small tubers were diseased. Many tubers 

 were affected with scab. Of the five large uncut 

 tubers one was cut into two equal pieces at 

 planting time, the others being planted whole. 

 There was no difference at lifting time between 

 the whole and the half tiibers, but they bore 

 heavier crops than the single eyes. The six sets 

 vielded 24 lb. 10 oz. of tubers", but tliere was a 



large percentage of very small potatoes, each 

 root luimbering over 100 tubers. 



Kerr's Pink was lifted on 22nd Septeniljer, 

 and each root was weighed separately. The total 

 yield was 157 lb., the heaviest root yielding 

 7 lb. 13 oz. Two other roots yielded 5 lb., and 

 5 lb. 10 oz., respectively, whilst otiier 10 roots 

 produced 4 lb. or more each. Sixteen roots bore 

 ijetween o and 4 lb. each and but two roots 

 yielded below 1 lb. each. Those two roots were 

 always rather weak and the tops were eventually 

 killed by their stronger neighbours. They pro- 

 duced but and 7 oz. respectively. The heaviest 

 tuber weigiied 15 J oz., and there were many 

 tubers betv^'een 9 and 13 oz. Seven pounds were 

 below seed size. Seventeen tubers were affected 

 with ordinary potato disease, and niany were 

 marked with common scab in the same way as 

 all the varieties of potatoes grown on the same 

 ground. 



More room ought to have been allowed both 

 between the rows and the sets, for the tops became 

 very crowded by the end of July. — loirnidl of 

 l/ic Board of A<irifiillnre, Nov. 1917. 



Gardening Lectures. 



At the Ilathmines Technical Institute a series of 

 15 lectures has been arranged to suit Allotment 

 Holders who desire information as to how to 

 make the most of their plots. The lectvxres have 

 been designed to give a general idea of the 

 principles imdcrlying the practice of gardening, 

 and to show reasons for the methods adopted by 

 professional gardeners in winning the iitnmst 

 from a small area. 



One shilling is charged for the course, and 

 already the class numbers fifty. 



The lectures are 



follow s 



1. Soil operations, viz. : — digging, trenching, 

 false trenching, ridging. Arc ; how each 

 should be carried out and tlie special 

 value of each for glowing crops. 

 II. The general reqviirements of plants and 

 how to supply them. 



III. Manures to use in order to obtain good 



crops with a small outlay. JNlanures 

 required for different crops. 



IV. Vegetables to grow during war time. How 



to arrange them on the plot to obtain 

 profitable results. 

 V. Cultivation of Potatoes and Artichokes. 

 VI. Cultivation of Peas and Beans with com- 

 panion crops. 

 Vil. How to grow Cabbages, Cauliflowers, and 

 other members of the Cabbage family. 

 VIII. Methods of growing root crops' 

 IX. Cultivation of I>eeks and Celery. 



X. Onions all the year round. 

 XI. Salad Plants. 

 XII. Vegetable Marrows, ridge CucumlxM's and 

 Bhubarb. 



XIII. Friends and Foes of Allotment Crops. 



XIV. (Jeneral methods of dealing with plant 



pests and diseases. 

 XV. Bevision. 



The Lecturer is 31r. W. IL Johns, F.B.H.S., 

 Principal of The Scliool of Ciardening, " Meeanee," 

 Teren\u'e. 



