Report on the Cultivation of Potatoes, 481 



differences in modes of cultivation and management to have any 

 appreciable effect in checking the disease, except that the more 

 highly the land is manured the more the crop is diseased. 

 There are, however, a few growers who report favourably of the 

 results of their own special methods. For instance, Mr. VY. 

 Longton, of Rainhill, Prescot, writes : " Since I have adopted 

 the plan of putting town sweepings from shops, houses, and 

 streets, gathered in dry weather, under my better manure, and 

 all turned over together in spring about one month before I 

 want it, my potatoes have kept sound on this particular land." 

 Mr. Longton describes his land as a " rather gravelly red soil on 

 shelly rock." His testimony is corroborated by Mr. R. Whalley, 

 of Mill Green, who adopts a similar practice, but farms strong 

 land on a clay subsoil ; and by another strong-land farmer, Mr. 

 Atherton, who has used sawdust for the same purpose. Mr. 

 John Scott, of Clifton, Preston, says that " the potatoes are less 

 liable to disease when planted with stable manure ; we now 

 use little else ; when planted with manure from the cattle sheds 

 alone, they invariably are diseased." 



Applications of lime, sulphur, &c., to the haulm after the 

 appearance of the disease have either not been tried or have been 

 found of no avail. The same may be said of the plan of pulling 

 up or cutting off the tops on the appearance of the disease, for 

 seven growers who have tried it report unfavourably of their 

 own experience. 



With regard to early or late harvesting, opinion appears to be 

 very much divided ; but this may be to some extent owing to 

 the fact that many of the Lancashire potato-farms being in the 

 neighbourhood of large towns, it is found most profitable to get 

 the crop and sell it as soon as possible. Several growers add, 

 that although this is their practice, yet if they wish to store any 

 portion of their crop, they prefer to keep them in the ground 

 some time after arriving at maturity, and to harvest them only in 

 dry weather. 



One heavy-land farmer, Mr. Atherton, states that on the land 

 belonging to his neighbours, which is light with a sandy sub- 

 soil, on the banks of the Mersey, the potato-craps rarely suffer 

 from the disease, and that in 1872 the crops were wonderful. 



IL — Cheshire and North Wales. 



A dozen reports, equally divided between Cheshire and the 

 northern half of the Principality, may be conveniently grouped 

 together ; and as the cultivation and management of the potato- 

 crop in these districts appear very similar to the methods just 

 described as practised in Lancashire, it will be necessary only to 



YOL. X.— S. S. 2 I 



