ESCULENT ROOTS POTATOES. 177 



ped about 6 inches apart in the drill. The soil must 

 be deep and mellow, for the Potato suffers from 

 drouth much sooner than Indian Corn or almost any 

 other crop usually grown among us. I believe in 

 covering the seed from 2 to 2 inches; and I hold to 

 flat or level culture for this as for everything else. 

 Planting on a ridge made by turning two furrows 

 together may be advisable where the land is wet ; 

 but then wet land never can be made fit for cultiva- 

 tion, except by underd raining. And I insist upon 

 setting the rows or drills well apart, because I hold 

 that the soil should often be loosened and stirred to 

 a good depth with the subsoil plow ; and that this 

 process should be persevered in till the plant is in 

 blossom. Hardly any plant will pay better for per- 

 sistent cultivation than the Potato. 



As to varieties, I will only say that planting the 

 tubers for seed is an unnatural process, which tends 

 and must tend to degeneracy. The new varieties 

 now most prized will certainly run out in the course of 

 twenty or thirty years at furthest, and must be re- 

 placed from time to time by still newer, grown from 

 the seed. This creation of new species is, and must 

 be, a slow, expensive process; since not one in a 

 hundred of these varieties possess any value. I do n't 

 quite believe in selling I mean in buying Potatoes 

 at $1 per pound ; but he who originates a really 

 valuable new Potato deserves a recompense for his in- 

 dustry, patience, and good fortune; and I shall be 

 glad to learn that he receives it. 

 8* 



