Potatoes for Seed. 117 



queries to the principal farmers in the kingdom, calculated to 

 elicit the facts necessary to determine this point. The circu- 

 lar and the answers were published in a large quarto volume, 

 together with the report of the committee charged with the 

 arrangement and publication of the facts. The statements 

 are so variant, that the committee were unable to recommend 

 any particular practice, as that which was most successful in 

 one case, proved defective in other cases. The only impor- 

 tant fact settled by the inquiry was, that potatoes differ very 

 materially, in some cases fifty per cent., in their nutritive 

 properties, a consideration as material for the stall as for the 

 table. Since the date of that publication, however, very nice 

 experiments have been made in Great Britain, particularly in 

 Scotland, and by Mr. Knight, and also in the United States. 

 From these we draw the following conclusions : 



1. That in this latitude the potatoe is better, both as to pro- 

 duce and flavor, when grown on a moist and cool, than when 

 grown on a warm and dry soil better on a moderately loose 

 and friable, than on a hard and compact soil. 



2. That they do better on a grass lay than on stubble 

 and better with a long or unfermented manure, than with 

 short muck. 



3. That medium sized whole tubers give a better crop than 

 sets of very large tubers. 



4. That drills or rows should be adapted to the growth of 

 the tops, and the condition of the soil the small growing 

 tops nearer, and those having larger tops farther apart so 

 that the sun may not be excluded from the intervals ; and 

 where the soil is stiff, or the sod tough, hills are considered 

 ^preferable to drills. 



5. That if the ground be well prepared, and the seed well 

 covered, they are not benefited by heavy earthing ; and that 

 plowing among them, or earthing them, after they come in 

 bloom, is prejudicial. 



