98 Farm Roads on Strong Soils. 



tendency to weai* into a hole at the gate, and when once the 

 water lodges the evil soon increases. The mischief frequently 

 takes its rise from the gate-posts being set too low, so that to 

 enable the gate to shut readily the road is lowered precisely at 

 the place where it should be, if anything, rather higher than 

 elsewhere. 



There is another class of road, which is intermediate between 

 the mere cart-track and the regular public road, such as the 

 road from the homestead to the nearest highway, which must 

 be traversed by heavy loads at all seasons. In dealing with 

 this class the nearer the roadmaker can approach to the direc- 

 tions given in this essay the greater will be the satisfaction 

 of the farmer himself, his men, and his horses ; but as the outlay 

 is confessedly heavy, he may do a good deal in the course of 

 years by minor improvements, if rightly done. Under-drainage 

 is in all cases imperative. All outlay is wasted so long as the 

 road rests on a wet bed ; but having done this, and thrown it 

 into a rounded form in dry weather, almost any porous material 

 will considerably improve it. Sand, if close at hand, will do 

 much, also cinders, brick rubbish, oi' burnt clay, as suggested 

 in the essay ; and when these have been applied a very thin 

 coating of gravel or broken stone will have a great effect. It 

 should, however, be never forgotten that one load of metal pro- 

 perly applied — i.e. well broken and kept to its proper form — will 

 do more towards making a good road than double the quantity 

 put in rough and allowed to get into ruts. 



H. S. Thompson. 



VI. — Culiivation of Early Potatoes. By the Rev. E. F. Manby. 



So much has been said upon the cultivation of the potato, so 

 many causes assigned to the disease with which of late years it 

 has been more or less affected, and so many remedies prescribed, 

 that we feel some apology is due to our readers in bringing the 

 subject again before them. 



We should not, however, venture to intrude upon their atten- 

 tion had we not reason to suppose that we could lay before them 

 some information which might prove to be not entirely void of 

 interest. 



Thus far we can promise — to describe a system of cultivation 

 which the experience of many years has proved to be attended 

 with great success and profit, and which we believe to be at 

 present practised only by a few growers, and confined to a limited 

 district. 



" Poulton" or " Morecombe" potatoes have now become so 



