[i909 J 
Articte VII. 
On the Field Culture of Potatoes. 
SIR, 
fFHE encouragement you give me to continue 
to communicate to you any agricultural mat- 
ters which may occur, leads me to fend you the 
inclofed little model, which (rough as it is) will 
convey a clearer idea of the machine it is meant to 
reprefent, than I can do by drawing. 
In my endeavours (which have been more zea- 
lous than fuccefsful) to introduce the culture of 
potatoes into the field hufbandry of this neighbour- 
hood, my firft object was to reduce the expence in 
procuring the crop as low as poffible. In this 
point I have fo far fucceeded, as to have proved 
that no other inftruments than the common ploughs 
and harrows of the country are required for prepa- 
ring, cleaning, earthing up, and taking up the crop, 
except once hocing between the ftalks in the rows, 
which included (even as I have done it by paying 
women for time inftead of meafure) has coft lefs 
than my neighbours or even myfelf expected; but 
the drynefs and fhallow ftaple of the foil here is fo 
ill-fuited to the growth of them, (efpecially in dry 
feafons) that I have reluctantly abandoned the pur- 
fuit, in the courfe of which, I withed to invent 
fomething to raife the potatoes as generally as poffi- 
H 2 ble 
