106 Cultivation of Early Potatoes. 



be distinguished in the row, then Jiat-hoe'mg commences ; in 

 fine dry weather once will suffice ; but should the weather be 

 showery or rain fall immediately, twice or thrice will be 

 necessary. 



When the land is clean "moulding" may be commenced. It 

 was the custom to do this with the hoe, hence the terms oijiat- 

 hoeing and " hoeing-r<p ;" but of late a small iron plough, with 

 moulding-boards, has been introduced by a resident gentleman, 

 and this has now become generally adopted. The plough is 

 drawn by a man and boy, another man holding the stilts. The 

 quantity of ground they will go over in a day far exceeds what 

 they could accomplish with the hoe. 



And here may be seen the necessity of having the rows at 

 equal distance ; for though the mould-board might certainly be 

 adjusted to an inch or two wider or narrower, yet this would 

 involve an unavoidable delay at the end of each row. And we 

 all know that when three men stop it requires some little time 

 to set them a-going again ; there is some remark to be made 

 which, somehow, cannot be made on the move ; some sentiment 

 to be expressed which would probably lose its point " en 

 passant ;" at any rate, there is a difficulty in effecting a fresh 

 start, and much time is lost. Now the best time for performing 

 this operation is either early in the morning or late in the 

 evening, say before 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m., for then the plants 

 have drawn up their leaves and they escape injury : whereas, if 

 they were moulded-up during the heat of the day, the rootlets 

 would be scorched, and the plant droop. 



Four weeks or so after the moulding, the crop (we ai-e now 

 speaking of " lemon kidneys ") will be ready for lifting ; and 

 though they would doubtless increase rapidly in weight if per- 

 mitted to remain a fortnight longer, yet, if the prices be high, 

 say about 2s. ^d, per score, they will never pay better. The 

 first symptom of the crop being ready is the curling of the lower 

 leaves ; after these turn yelluio the tuber will not increase much 

 in weight. In lifting, or " getting up," as it is here called, the 

 fork with three prongs is used. One man with a fork is attended 

 by three boys : the first to shake the mould and potatoes off, the 

 second to pick up the large ones, and the third the small ones. 

 The latter are sold at half-price, the former packed up in 

 hampers and barrels and forwarded to different markets. 



As soon as the land is cleared, it is ploughed and prepared for 

 sowing turnips, or transplanting swedes and mangold-wurtzel. A 

 second manuring is the exception, and not the rule. 



We now come to another important point. We have spoken 

 of the preparation of the land, we have now to speak of the pre- 

 paration of the seed. In order to ensure success and command 



