18 Cultivation of the Potatoe. 



before harvest time ; and nothing remains to be done for them 

 till they are ready for taking up. ' 



When the soil is tenacious and exposed to humidity, I 

 iprefer the following method of cultivation : 



The soil having been well prepared, lines crossing trans- 

 versely are traced with the marking plough, and a potatoe 

 set at each intersection. The planting goes on much more 

 quickly in this way ; one man can easily plant three acres 

 -per day. The small horse-hoe is then passed close to each 

 row, and covers it with earth. When weeds spring up, they 

 are destroyed by passing the large horse-hoe in the same 

 direction, an operation which is performed whether the pota- 

 toes have come up or not. When the potatoes have grown 

 up to a certain height, the banks or edges formed by the 

 hoe in the last cultivation are cut transversely with the large 

 hoe ; another and final cultivation is perhaps given in the 

 direction of the first. 



The advantages presented by this method when applied to 

 an argillaceous soil are very striking. The potatoe is sur- 

 rounded on all sides by light earth, and dung heaped around 

 it. It is preserved from any excess of moisture that might 

 injure the crop, because it is placed above the bottom of the 

 furrow by which the water drains off. The soil in which it 

 rests is also thoroughly warmed by the sun. But this meth- 

 od is recommended for those^ soils only in which potatoes 

 might suffer from excess of moisture, as a sharpish frost 

 .attacking the potatoes before they were gathered might pen- 

 etrate too deeply into the ridges. 



When the earth has been laid up for the last time, and the 

 potatoes begin to blossom, they must be left quiet ; for it is 

 then that the young tubers are formed. 



Some persons have recommended that the flowers be cut 

 off, in order to increase the growth of the tubers ; but the 

 recommendation is absurd. Cullen, of Edinburgh, observed 



