POTATOES 47 



boon, coming in, as they do, just as our old tubers are 

 fast losing quality through growing out badly. The 

 potato is not a hardy plant, and, though it will stand a con- 

 siderable amount of heat, will not stand frost. The 

 latter greatly hinders early planting, and in our vari- 

 able climate the growths are not safe from spring frosts 

 till May is well advanced. For years, when I lived in the 

 Midlands in a country district, I adopted a simple method 

 to get an early supply, and it may not be out of place 

 to describe it. We had plenty of fresh leaves every 

 autumn, and these were gathered and placed in a huge 

 heap till early in the year, when they were turned 

 several times, and, if at all dry, well moistened to make 

 them heat all through. They were then placed in position 

 in front of some large conifers that gave effective shelter 

 from the north, but allowed full exposure to the south. 

 The bed when made was trodden as hard as possible, or 

 beaten with a rammer as each layer of leaves was placed 

 in position, and at the finish the bed was from four to 

 five feet in thickness, and as wide as possible, for thus 

 more warmth was retained. All round the sides of 

 the bed was placed a liberal quantity of long, fresh 

 litter. This kept in the warmth, and also kept the 

 leaves from blowing about. At the middle of Feb- 

 ruary, or a little later, the tubers were prepared 

 for the bed. These were placed in boxes to make 

 sprouts, and at the planting each tuber had the shoots or 

 eyes rubbed out to one or two the strongest. We 

 usually placed the tubers in frames or fruit houses to 

 give a start, but they are better not started at all than 

 allowed to get too forward. I omitted to say that, when 

 the bed was made up, nine to twelve inches of good soil 

 was placed on the surface, and we usually saved the soil 

 from an old cucumber bed, which was fairly rich, for 

 this purpose. This, being made firm, got nicely warmed 

 by the time the sets were planted early in March. The 



