November, 1910 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



263 



Some uf the Track Farmi in the Bow River Valley, Alberta, brought into Cnltivation and then sold to British Settlers bjr the Canadian Pacific Railway 



A departure in colonization methods that has attracted wide attention is the ready made farms scheme placed before the British farmer last year 

 by Sir Thomas Shaughnessy, president of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The proposition was this: "On an irrigated farm of 80 to 160 acres we will 

 break and sow a crop of 50 acres, we will build a three roomed house and a barn, fence your farm and drill a well for you before you leave the Old 

 Country." When the flr.st thirty farms were put on the market in England 1,100 British farmers sent in their applications. On many of these 

 farms vegetables form the principal crop. The scheme is proving a success. 



for this. For aphids or plant lice, use 

 one pound of Whale Oil Soap in five 

 gallons of water. 



"Cabbage heads grow from within out- 

 ward ; thus they are constantly throw- 



ing out or spreading the leaves to which 

 the poison has been applied. If it headed 

 by throwing the outer leaves inward, 

 there would be greater danger of 

 poisoning." 



Grow^ing Early Potatoes 



p. p. Reeves, Humber Bay, Ont. 



IN growing a crop of early potatoes I 

 prefer a sandy loam facing south or 

 south east and sheltered as much as 

 possible from north winds. As the 

 majority of gardeners use green manure 

 it is best to plow in a good coat the pre- 

 vious fall, as the manure will then be 

 well rotted and incorporated in the soil 

 by spring. If the manure is plowed in 

 the spring it has two bad faults ; first, it 

 has a tendency to cause the potatoes to 

 .scab, and second, if we have a dry, hot 

 summer, it causes the land to be too 

 loose and consequently dry out far sooner 

 than it would were the land more solid. 



The variety that is the most popular 

 in the vicinity of Toronto is the Ohio. 

 The reasons for this are generally 

 known. It combines two features that 

 commend themselves to the grower. 

 One is its extreme earliness and another 

 that when you start to dig, the tubers 

 are practically all marketable. Some 

 growers are using the Eureka. It is a 

 few days later, but when it comes in it 

 is a heavier cropper. 



•A paper read at the recent convention in Lon- 

 don. Ont., of the Ontario Vegetable Growers' As- 

 sooiatlon 



Many growers start part of their early 

 potatoes in a spent fra,me or greenhouse. 

 We usually start ours the first or second 

 week in March. In forcing for earliness 

 it is well to remember that a whole po- 

 tato will crop earlier and heavier than a 

 cut one. I prefer them the size of a hen's 

 egg. The potatoes should be cut to the 

 size wanted before placing for sprouting. 



We usually lay boards on the bench 

 or frame where we want to sprout the 

 potatoes, sprinkle about an inch of soil 

 on the boards, plane the potatoes (cut 

 down) on the boards as close as they 

 will lie, and cover them nicely with soil. 

 The boards are used to prevent the roots 

 taking too deep a hold on the soil. If 

 allowed to do this they receive a check 

 when taken up. Care must be taken in 

 planting to see that the roots and sprouts 

 are not broken. 



SPR1N(} CULTIVATIO.V 



As soon as the ground is fit to get on 

 in the spring it should be well disced and 

 harrowed. .Shallow furrows, thirty 

 inches to three feet apart, should then 

 be run out if the furrows are left open 

 for a few days, This is a great advan- 



tage as it enables the sun to warm the 

 soil. 



The date of planting varies in differ- 

 ent sections of Ontario. It should be 

 done as early as one can get on the land 

 without packing it. If this is not done 

 the sets that happen to fall-sprout have 

 the advantage of fully a week over the 

 others and, to a large extent, this is the 

 cause of the crop coming up irregularly. 



CAREFUL CULTIVATION . 



When the sets are in, go along the rows 

 with a hoe or rake and pull sufficient soil 

 over them to cover them nicely. In 

 about two weeks the weeds will be show- 

 ing. It will be wise then to start the 

 scuffler going. The scuffling should be 

 done every week until the tops are large 

 enough for moulding. After moulding 

 it will only be necessary to pull out the 

 large weeds. Great care should be taken 

 in scuffling not to go deep close to the 

 rows. If the potato roots are disturbed 

 it means a great loss in the crop. 



In growing potatoes, as is the case 

 with all other garden crops, insect pests 

 and blights have to be taken into careful 

 consideration. One has to get after them 

 early and stay right with them. As far 

 as the ordinary potato bug is concerned 

 the liberal use of paris green will keep 

 them in check. Many growers use the 

 pure paris green put on dry with a paris 

 green gun. Others use a" solution of 

 one ounce paris green to three gallons 

 water put on with a watering pot or 

 spray machine. 



