478 Report on the Cultivation of Potatoes. 



(on A\liicli the potatoes are to be groAvn) is ploughed with double-furro-w 

 ploughs a depth of 3 inches ; it is then left to rot until Februaiy, when it is 

 ploughed across from 10 to 12 inches deep; the land then (if ploughed in 

 good order) is dragged and harrowed twice, and rolled, and is then ready for 

 drilling. 



"No. 2 Flan. — In December, January, and February (according to the 

 weather), the grass-land on which the potatoes are to be grown is trench- 

 ploughed, a one-horse plough turning the top sod about 3 inches deep into the 

 furrow made by a two-horse plough following it, and ploughing 8 or 9 inches 

 deep, thus making the whole operation 11 or 12 inches deep. This system 

 is gaining many friends, as it is thought (and not without reason) that the 

 grass-sod lying under acts as a natural drain, and also that the sod by this 

 process is not so much destroyed as hy the other, but that it is gradually 

 rotting and feeding the plant in its several stages of growth." 



It thus appears that when potatoes are taken after ley, the 

 land is prepared either by thoroughly breaking up the turf, 

 with a view to its rapid decomposition previous to. planting, 

 or by completely burying the sod, with a view to its gradual 

 decomposition during the growth of the potato-plant. 



The more general system appears to be to take oats after ley, 

 then potatoes, after which the course is more or less extended. 

 In some cases it is but a four-field shift ; in others the seeds are 

 left down for two, three, or even four years, and not unfrequently 

 potatoes are succeeded by two successive corn crops, the seeds 

 being sown on the second. The preparation of the heavy land 

 under this system seems to be nearly uniform, the oat-stubble 

 being skim-ploughed in September or October, and deeply 

 ploughed in the early spring. The majority of the light-land 

 farmers plough the stubble deeply in autumn and cross-plough 

 or cultivate in spring. 



To assist in keeping heavy soils free and open, it is usual to 

 spread the farmyard manure in the drills immediately before 

 planting the setts, which are placed directly upon the manure. 

 Mr. Turton states that, having watched the results obtained by 

 others, who have spread the manure on the land and ploughed 

 it in early in the spring, he has seen nothing to induce him to 

 change his system. On the other hand, taking the average 

 of some years, the potato disease on this class of land appear* 

 to him to have been more rampant under the system of early 

 application and ploughing in of the manure. 



The interval between the potato-crops on the same land 

 appears to vary from 4 to 8 years, the crops following each 

 other more rapidly on the lighter soils. The manure applied 

 averages about 20 tons of farmyard manure, with the addition 

 of more or less guano or artificial manure in some cases. On 

 heavy land as much as 30 tons of farmyard manure per acre is 

 applied, and on light land as little as 10 tons per acre, the 

 deficiency being supplied either by guano, guano and bone- 



