86 THE POTATO. 



use in England. Ireland still stands by the Champion to 

 a great extent, but not so nearly exclusively as she did 

 some years ago. Among the new varieties which have 

 now become cheap enough for culture on a fairly large 

 scale, are Evergood, King Edward VII., and Northern 

 Star. Eldorado has dropped tremendously from the 

 absurdly " boomed " price of 1904, but is still dear for a 

 field crop. The old Regent, one of the best of potatoes, 

 and formerly grown extensively in Scotland, has almost 

 gone out of cultivation, its constitution having become 

 enfeebled by age. 



After-Cultivation. After the potatoes have been 

 planted, and shortly before they come up, light harrow- 

 ing, to kill annual weeds, and to break any cap in the soil, 

 is carried on. For ridges what are known as saddle- 

 back harrows are used. They do two ridges at a time, 

 and are easily drawn by one horse. There is one 

 handle to each pair of harrows, by which the driver 

 guides the implement. The next operation is that 

 of cultivation between the rows. For this purpose 

 "grubbers" are made with curved tines, which stir 

 up the soil deeply, and close, to the potatoes. This 

 work is done two or three times, as a rule. The 

 double-breasted plough, without its breasts, and with hoes 

 attached to it, is extensively used for cultivation between 

 the rows. The ordinary horse-hoe is commonly used 

 where potatoes are grown on the flat. Hand-hoeing is 

 desirable in the rows, especially where thistles come up; 

 but some growers do but little of this work, as they rely 

 on the tops to smother small weeds, while large ones other 

 than thistles are frequently pulled up by women. When 

 the tops are sufficiently advanced, they are earthed up 

 with the double-breasted plough, or by a three-row 

 moulder. It is desirable to defer this operation as long 

 as possible, short of waiting till the tops hang down to- 

 wards the spaces between the rows. 



Spraying. The practice of spraying potatoes with 



