264 BRITISH HUSBANDRY. [Ch. XXII 



seasons and exposed situations, is sometimes protracted until the beginning 

 of May, in order to avoid the chilling winds and night frosts which check 

 tiie vegetation of the plants, and may even destroy them. This may, how- 

 ever, be in a great measure guarded against by using a sulFiciency of ma- 

 nure as well as by planting at a j)roper depth ; and an incontrovertible argu- 

 ment in favour of early sowing, is the security wiiicli it affords of bringing the 

 crop to maturity before the setting in of the wet season and the destructive 

 blasts of the autumnal equinox, whicli, by occasioning the premature decay 

 of the haulm, prevents the root from coming to perfection, and deprives it 

 of its mealy quality. So much, however, depends upon the temperature of 

 the season, that crops put down in the first week of June sometimes suc- 

 ceed better than those planted before ; and it is no uncommon practice among 

 market-gardeners to take off an early crop of young potatoes, gathered 

 for table consumption, previous to sowing the one intended for winter 

 use*. 



It has been recommended upon high authority, as will be seen by 

 the experiments of the Horticultural Society, to plant the sets at the 

 latest in the early part of March, at the depth of eight inches ; thus secur- 

 ing them from the frost, and allowing time enough for the roots to become 

 perfectly ripe. But, although it must be admitted that potatoes thus grown 

 are more farinaceous than those which are planted late, yet it must be re- 

 membered that a vast quantity of land, on which potatoes are reared 

 throughout the kingdom, does not allow of that mode of cultivation : the 

 sort of potato, the soil, the manure, and the climate, are therefore points 

 which should be carefully taken into consideration, and may in many cases 

 impede its execution. 



Tlie 7node of planting practised by a great number of extensive market- 

 gardeners and farmers in the county of Essex, from which the London 

 market is chiefly supplied, is to dibble in the sets ; and a plan which is 

 followed by men engaged in such large undertakings is certainly entitled 

 to every degree of attention. They generally mark off the land in 

 drills, at distances of eighteen to thirty inches wide — two feet being, 

 however, the most usual — and lay it either flat or in ridges, according 

 to the nature of the soil. Thus, in Yorkshire, and other parts of the 

 north, the ground is ploughed into one-bout ridges, and the " sets," or cut- 

 tings from the potatoes to be planted, are placed in heaps or baskets, and 

 laid by women and children in the furrows ; the manure is laid at the same 

 time, and the ridge is covered with earth by the plough dividing it, and 

 making a fresh one over the potatoes. As soon as the plants make their 

 appearance above ground the ridges are harrowed down, and are suffered 



* This is frequently done by planting the sets in a dry soil, with a southern exposure, 

 at or before Christmas, and covering them with fern or straw to guard them from the 

 frost. In planting early potatoes, some people deposit the seed-potatoes in horse-dung, 

 until they sjirout to a moderate length, afterwards taking them carefully out, and dib- 

 bhng them in at narrow distances, with a round stick, either entire or cut into sets, one 

 by one, rubbing off' all the shoots but one, and scarcely sufftjring the tup of the young 

 shoot to appear. Others cut the sets, and place them on the floor of a garret or out- 

 house, where a current of air can be occasionally admitted, with sufficient light to assist 

 in strengthening them ; taking care not to have more than three lajers upon each other, 

 and that the air be only admitted in mild weather : they should also be covered witli 

 chaff, which shoidd be carefidly removed at intervals to admit the air, the ot'tener the 

 better when free from frost. Another method is to spread some dry warm turf-moidd 

 under them, and cover them with a woollen rug for a few weeks, occasionally removing 

 it. In either case they may be planted out in February or March, to secure a succt-ssion, 

 when the shoots are about two inches long, and covered over with a couple of inches of 

 mould, mixed, if possible, with ashes. 



