12 THE POTATO. 



leaves being left just above the surface, and a covering of 

 litter afforded every night until the danger of frost is past." 



Rearing- New Varieties Seventy Years Ago. 



In the " Transactions of the Horticultural Society of 

 London," Vol. II., p. 64, very full information is given on 

 the subject of rearing new varieties from seed. The gar- 

 dener is advised to keep the tubers of each seedling sepa- 

 rate, as scarcely two will be alike in shape or quality, while 

 many will be worthless, and but few of any excellence, a 

 fact which still holds good at the present day. It is also 

 remarked that " Seldom or never does a seedling resemble 

 exactly the original stock." 



Potato Culture in the Seventies. In that ex- 

 cellent little volume, " British Industries, Horticulture," 

 by Mr. F. W. Burbidge, M.A., F.L.S., published in 1877, 

 we gather that potatoes were extensively grown as a mar- 

 ket garden crop at that period. There was an enormous 

 demand for tubers for eating, as well as for the manufac- 

 ture of starch and gum. It appears that large areas were 

 devoted to potato culture at Deptford and Chiswick, near 

 London, while in Lancashire, the district of Ormskirk was 

 at that time a famous one for early crops. Cottagers and 

 small farmers planted the tubers on beds of light, rich 

 earth, protected by walls of turf, and reed or 

 straw screens or frames, which were used in frosty 

 weather only. The crops were lifted in May, packed 

 in hampers, containing 201bs. each of tubers, and 

 sold in the Manchester, Blackburn, and Bolton 

 markets, the produce realizing as much as Is. por pound. 

 Mr. Burbidge informs his readers that " as much as 

 70 had been offered by local dealers for the produce of a 

 little cottage garden, not large enough for the support of 

 a cow." 



Potato Culture in the Channel Islands. Ac- 

 cording to the last-named source of information, the cul- 



