An Encyclopedia of Horticulture. 



205 



Potato — continued. 

 country, where the soil is also of a different description. 

 The jiroduct of any given variety, for instance, may be 

 of an indifferent quality in a heavy soil ; transfer sets 

 from this to another locality, where the conditions are 

 altogether changed, and the results will, doubtless, be 

 of a favourably marked description. In the changing 

 of sets for planting, attention should therefore be directed 

 to procuring them from a soil and neighbourhood where 

 the surroundings are such as to effect a change as widely 

 varied as may be practicable. 



Planting and General Cultivation. Potato plant- 

 ing is most extensively practised in spring, from February 

 until towards the end of April, when the work .■should 

 be completed for the year. Much depends on the locality 

 and the state of the soil in different seasons ; this latter 

 would be found very variable at any given date, and the 

 sets never start and grow evenly iinless the soil is in a 

 proper working condition at planting-time. From the 

 beginning until the end of March, according as circum- 

 stances may permit, is the best period for inserting the 

 main crops ; those which are forwarded by being allowed 

 to sprout first in a cool shed or room, must be reserved 

 until towards the last, unless the situation in which they are 

 placed is safely protected from frost. Autumn planting has 

 been recommended, the tubers to be inserted deep in the 

 soil ; but this is now generally believed to be disadvan- 

 tageous, and is seldom resorted to. Respecting the distance 

 apart, both in rows and between the sets, much depends on 

 the variety, the rich or poor nature of the soil, and the 

 amount of exposure to light which the plants are afterwards 

 likely to receive. For dwarf sorts, a distance of about 

 15in. between rows, and Oin. between sets, will be found 

 ample ; tall, strong-growing sorts, in good ground, will 

 often cover all the space, if planted in rows from 2;- ft. 

 to 3ft. apart ; but it is best not to allow more than about 

 Sin. or 9in. between the sets, and these should be placed 

 at a uniform depth of from tin. to 6in. The sets are 

 planted in various ways, but mostly in trenches cut with 

 a spade, or in holes made with a dibber ; in field culture, 

 they are often placed in furrows made with a plough. 

 Trenches are the best for garden crops ; but the work 

 by this system does not proceed so rapidly as it does 

 when dibbers are used. A tolenbly uniform depth 

 may be secured by cutting a trench for each line as 

 planting proceeds ; the soil is left loose and open around 

 the tubers, which is mnch preferable ; and, when the 

 whole is completed, all trampling on the newly-dug ground 

 has been avoided. The use of a dibber affords a more 

 expeditious mode of planting, and is extensively prac- 

 tised. When trenches are to be cnt, a sufficient width 

 of ground is prepared for each row ; a line is then laid, 

 and the ground cut out to the proper depth ; this is 

 filled in, after the sets are arranged in the bottom, and 

 another space similarly prepared. By the other method 

 of planting, holes are made next the line, with a dibber, at 

 the proper distance apart. Another plan adopted with 

 the dibber, is to use a strong one, about the length of 

 a spade, and provided with a cross tread at about Gin. 

 from the pointed end ; this is chiefly practised in fields, 

 or in large, open spaces, which have been prepared by 

 ploughing or digging beforehand ; a second person follows, 

 and drops in the sets, and the holes may be filled in 

 afterwards with a hoe. Amongst the chief objections to 

 the use of dibbers, are those of treading the ground in 

 making holes and planting, and the rendering of soil 

 around the sets too compact by the necessary pressure ; 

 the sets are also invariably situated at unequal depths. 

 Dibber-planting is less objectionable in light than in 

 heavy or moist lands : but it may be noted that the last- 

 named situations are not so preferable for the crop 

 generally. 



The subsequent culture consists chiefly in keeping 

 the ground loose and free from weeds by lightly forking 



Potato — continued. 

 or hoeing amongst the plants, and in earthing-up the 

 soil in due course. The chief use of earthing-up is that 

 of covering the tubers, which are, in reality, a sort of 

 underground stems, and are formed on roots quite away 

 from the set which was inserted. Where close planting is 

 adopted, there is insufficient soil between rows to allow of a 

 good ridge being drawn to each. Tubers also require 

 covering to keep them from being exposed to light, which 

 renders them unfit for food, although well adapted for 

 planting. For this reason, therefore, the ridges should 

 be made as wide on the top as possible, in order that 

 the tubers may not protrude ; by this arrangement, too, 

 the top surface will be well situated for collecting 

 rain water, and transmitting it to the roots, instead of 

 allowing it to pass oft'. Earthing-uji must be attended to 

 so soon as the plants are sufficiently advanced ; if delayed, 

 the young tubers will have formed, and these will scarcely 

 escape without injury. 



Soil, Manure, t^-c. A good, friable loam, rather dry than 

 otherwise, is that best suited for Potatoes. Wherever 

 the land is naturally wet and heavy, or improperly 

 drained, the quality of tubers is sure to be unfavourably 

 affected. From rich garden ground, frequently and heavily 

 manured, the quality is seldom so good as from a situation 

 more exposed, such as an open field. In connection with 

 many gardens, provision is made for growing the main 

 crops on farm land, and limiting the garden to early 

 supplies ; where this is impracticable, late varieties 

 should be relegated to the most open position at com- 

 mand, such as may often be selected inside a garden 

 inclosure, yet outside the portion surrounded by walls. 

 Dry and wet seasons have a material influence in connec- 

 tion with soils and the Potato crop ; in heavy lands, the 

 latter may be abundant and of good quality after a hot, 

 dry summer ; while in a wet one the plants will 

 succumb very readily to the disease, and the tubers will 

 be of a close, non-floury nature. On the other hand, 

 a crop procured from soil comparatively light, will 

 invariably be of good ipiality in any season, but will 

 be less in quantity when the seasons are dry. Early 

 varieties have, of necessity, to bo grown in kitchen 

 gardens, because of the requisite shelter being afforded, 

 and borders where the soU is rather light and partially 

 elevated afford the best position for meeting their require- 

 ments. A newlyturned-up soil is admirably adapted for 

 a crop of Potatoes ; much better, in fact, than when it 

 has long been worked and highly manured. The tubers 

 require a considerable quantity of moisture, but it must 

 on no account be of a stagnant nature. In elevated 

 land for example, which has been devoted to grass, and 

 then has been put under cultivation, the possibilities of 

 stagnant water accumulating are remote, and the soil 

 becomes naturally friable and open from aeration. 



There are many manures which are in constant use 

 for the Potato crop, and, unless the ground is fairly good 

 in itself, one at least has to be used ; but the produce 

 is considered of better flavour, and less likely to suffer 

 severely from the attacks of disease, where the applica- 

 tion of manures is not necessarily of too frequent occur- 

 rence. The manure most commonly used is that obtained 

 from a farmyard ; it may be dug in equally all over the 

 surface, or where the ground is very poor ; the spreading 

 of some in trenches, either beneath or above the sets, is 

 the method more generally practised. One of the several 

 manures which are mixed together in the farmyard is 

 often the only one procurable by cultivators, especially 

 cottagers, for their Potato crops. Of these, perhaps, pig- 

 dung is most commonly met with ; this should be well 

 intermixed with the soil, or previously incorporated with 

 a heap of refuse, &c., to be added as a compost for 

 digging in when planting. Partially-decayed leaf soil is 

 an excellent ingredient for improving heavy land which 

 has of necessity to be devoted to Potato culture, and so 



