The Potato. 75 



very irregular ; where they were too thick he had thorn cut out, 

 and, on mentioning; fo him my recollections of Knight's dis'ances 

 and plans, he had the plants earthed up many times most 

 abundantly. It is not going too far to say that this piece of 

 ground looked as if studded with bee-hives scattered at random 

 over it. He had such a crop as at that time I had never seen. 

 The following year I endeavoured to follow Knight's plan more 

 exactly. The ground, a wheat stubble, was manured early in 

 the autumn, and the manure was carefully ploughed down ; soon 

 after Christmas it was cross-ploughed, and about the 1st of March 

 it was ploughed very deeply with Locock's patent iron plough; 

 and the beam being loaded, to keep it down, it was found that 

 the shillet had been broken up and brought to the surface, 

 the depth averaging from 9 to 10 indies (this operation is called 

 technically double-ploughing). The trench being now turned 

 out with a spade, the sets were planted 8 inches deep, in rows 3 

 feet apart, and 20 inches set from set. VVliilst this experiment 

 was in progress, Mr. Henry Lowcock, of Kaddon Court, Barton, 

 was o?o?/i/e-ploughing a large steep field, the higher part of which 

 was more than 250 feet above the lower portion — the method 

 being for one plough to follow anotlier in the same furrow, thus 

 turning out a furrow downwards of a very uniform depth of 

 8 inches ; the ploughs being under the management and control 

 of John Talbot, afterwards ploughman to Messrs. Ransome, and 

 doubtless known to many members of the Royal Agricultural 

 Society. He then planted three rows of potatoes from the top 

 to the bottom of tlie field in a manner similar to that just de- 

 scribed. 



The results were wondrous, the crop being enormously in- 

 creased in weight and bulk. Nor is it a matter of duubt that if 

 land be trenched to the full depth of the spade or fork, or double- 

 ploughed ill the manner described, and the plants be early earthed vp, 

 300 baqs {of 7 scores to a bacj) of potatoes is a crop to be, not once, but 

 ordinarily obtained per acre. Another and mod unexpected result 

 was also obtained, — few or none of the potatoes so groum were diseased. 

 The potatoes so grown are not only far more numerous than 

 ordinary, they are also increased extraordinarily in bulk, but 

 have the following defects : they are close, frequently have a 

 core, or perhaps a hollow in their centre, surrounded by a 

 thick portion of hard corky substance; and even if sound all 

 through, dress badly. It is true that some sorts of potatoes are 

 greatly more disposed to be hollow or core than others ; but, 

 as is well known to every housekeeper, the waste on cooking 

 oversized potatoes is considerable, and they are justly regarded 

 with aversion by the public, so as to be unsaleable at market. 



Now it has been stated, p. 74, "that a man at Whilborough, 



