Cultivation of Early Potatoes. 105 



Some never cut them at all, but rub off the second sprout, which 

 is, we are inclined to think, the best plan. The baskets are then 

 carried to the field ; these baskets contain about 20 lbs., and 

 therefore can be moved about with ease, and are committed to 

 the care of the setter, generally a boy of about fourteen years of 

 age. 



The labourer with the spade — or " sAooZer," as he is called — 

 commences his work by throwing out a furrow about 2 inches 

 deep. It is not necessary for him to use his foot,^ — ^the mere 

 action of the arm, with a peculiar shove, is quite sufficient to 

 enable him to extract the soil ; the width of the furrow is, of 

 course, the same as that of the spade. Tlien the setter follows 

 the shooler, and places the sets, i. e. sprouted tubers, about 

 12 inches apart on the bottom of the furrow. As soon as the 

 setter has got 5 or 6 yards down the furrow. No. 2 shooler com- 

 miences with his spade to cover the sets which the boy has 

 planted, and, by so doing, he prepares a bed or furrow for the 

 next setter. One active boy will keep at Avork two shoolers, but 

 it is as well to provide a boy for each man ; for if he has — as 

 he ought to have — time to spare, he may be employed in fork- 

 ing the head-lands, or in fetcliing more potatoes. And in case 

 the land should not have been previously manured, then the setter 

 has to put in the guano and other artificial manure, as well as 

 to set. Care, however, must be taken that the seed be not 

 placed in the guano, but above it. 



The distance between the rows will be about 14 inches. The 

 labourers in this neighbourhood are so accustomed to this kind 

 of work that they can, without looking behind them, go as 

 straight as a line : indeed they never use a line. They take 

 great pains in forming the first fun-ow, and, by keeping their 

 eye upon the edge of the furrow nearest to them, which forms of 

 itself a natural line, they draw the next parallel, 



A man will " shool " about one-eighth of an acre per diem ; 

 we have known men accomplish a quarter of an acre, but this is 

 excessive, and we are inclined to think that the quantity first 

 mentioned is nearest the average quantity of work. 



About a fortnight after the land is set, a small light harrow is 

 drawn over the ground, when the land is dry, to kill or check 

 the springing weed. We do not ourselves approve of this plan, 

 for, though it no doubt checks the young weed, we are of opinion 

 that the teeth of the harrow break off many young sprouts. This 

 implement is called a potato harrow, and is made for the express 

 purpose. The teeth are of iron, set in wood, and about 3 inches 

 in length ; it is very light and drawn by a man, as a horse or 

 pony would break the sprouts. 



After this operation the land is let alone until the plants may 



