102 Cultivation of Early Potatoes. 



The difference of expense in cultivating early potatoes and 

 late or winter ones is not great. Some adopt the plough, and 

 plough the sets in every other furrow, whilst others employ spade 

 husbandry. It is astonishing how quickly a labourer, attended 

 by a boy to put in the sets, will complete an acre with the spade. 

 Of course the land is previously prepared. 



Earlier in the season — in the middle of June — prices are con- 

 siderably higher than that above mentioned. From 2s. 6fl?. to 35. 

 per score the price will extend ; but then the produce is less in 

 quantity, though we have known instances of six and seven score 

 obtained per rod at those prices. 



After the lemon kidney, which will supply the consumer from 

 June to August, comes an excellent second early, the red eye, 

 which continues good from August to the following May. Last 

 year a crop of these potatoes was lifted before the end of August, 

 kept perfectly sound and free from disease, and the last of tliem. 

 was eaten in the middle of May. 



The mode of obtaining potatoes matured for lifting so early as 

 August is verv simple. You merely have to set them well 

 sprouted. There is no occasion to put them in early — the last 

 week in April or first week in May Avill do, and they will be 

 ready by the end of August, when the land may either be sown 

 with rape or with grass seeds for meadow or pasture. If sown 

 with the former, it may be eaten off by sheep and ploughed 

 again for potatoes the following spring, and so on. 



There appears to be, in this neighbourhood at least, a stage at 

 which the potato is more liable to take the disease than at other 

 periods of its growth. The month of August is the critical 

 time for the winter potato. But by sprouting the tuber before 

 setting you obtain nearly a month's advantage, so that when the 

 disease does come the plant is in a stronger state than it would 

 otherwise be, and is tliereby enabled to repel the attack. 



This we know for a fact, that the same variety of seed, set at 

 the same time in the same field and not taken up till October, 

 Avere much diseased ; whilst those taken up in August kept per- 

 fectly sound. 



The third variety of potato which has proved most free from 

 unsoundness is the Fluke. This is a late winter potato, and the 

 least liable to disease of any of the winter varieties with which 

 we are acquainted. The fluke is very productive, and grows to 

 a large size. In many soils they retain a sweet, yam-like 

 flavour until Easter, when it will disappear, and become a first- 

 rate vegetable until new ones come in. 



But in order to give our readers more accurate information it 

 will be necessary to enter further into detail, and describe the 

 mode of cultivation here practised, from the preparation of the 



