CULTURE IN GARDENS. 93 



details on storing cooking arid " seed " tubers will be 

 found elsewhere. 



Catch Crops. In small gardens the most has to bo 

 made of the limited space at command, and hence it is 

 frequently the practice to plaiir, given crops between the 

 rows of potatoes. There is no serious objection to this 

 being done if plenty of width is allowed between the rows. 

 When such is not done, both crops suffer, and the potato 

 crop more especially. Those, therefore, who wish to grow 

 kale, sprouts, broccoli, savoys, or cabbages between pota- 

 toes should allow a width of not less than thirty inches, 

 or, better still, three feet. There is then no chance of the 

 potato haulm smothering the plants, or of the latter inter- 

 fering with the growth of the potatoes. These catch crops 

 should, of course, be planted after the final moulding is 

 completed. In the Midlands cottagers often drop broad 

 bean seeds in the rows of their potatoes at planting time. 

 The seeds are placed about a foot apart. Here, again, if 

 plenty of space is allowed between the " sets " no great 

 harm is done, and many a dish of broad beans to accom- 

 pany the inevitable piece of bacon is assured. When the 

 potato crop is lifted, the soil is usually levelled between 

 the green crops, and the latter then have the plot to them- 

 selves. This double cropping business, to beta success, 

 depends upon the thorough preparation of the land for the 

 potato crop. The more thoroughly the land is tilled and 

 enriched the preceding autumn and winter, the better will 

 the dual crops be. 



Varieties. There are so many varieties in cultiva- 

 tion, and so many of them possessing high merit, that it 

 becomes no easy task to make a selection. As we are giv- 

 ing a descriptive list of the chief varieties grown in this 

 country at the end of this book, we shall content ourselves 

 with naming twenty-four of what we consider the best 

 flavoured, good cooking, and free cropping sorts for garden 

 culture. 



