Ch. XXII.l ON POTATOES. 2G9 



SEED. 



It has been ascertained by repeated trials that every variety of the 

 potato, when propaaated during a series either by cuttings i'rom the root 

 or by the whole tubers, is subject to degenerate : in some, the quah'ty 

 remaining good, after the produce in quantity has become defective, whilst 

 with others, it disappears with the vigour of the plant. In order to obviate 

 this inconvenience, and to preserve those species which are known to be 

 valuable, farmers occasionally raise them from the seed contained in the 

 apples which grow upon the stalk; for which purpose, a few large ripe 

 apples should be chosen from a healthy plant, and be carefully preserved 

 apart, in some dry sand, during tlie winter. 



The seed is then picked out, and usually sown in rich garden ground in 

 tlie month of April ; but it is more expedient to sow it in a hot-bed early in 

 March, to expose tiie shoots gradually to the open air, and to plant them 

 out in a bed of rich earlh in the middle of May. In the month of October, 

 these seedlings will produce tubers, the largest of which are to be gathered, 

 and planted out, in the following spring, at a few inches distance from 

 each other. When thev rise about two inches above ground, they should 

 be covered with two or three inches of mould, and managed in the same 

 manner as if grown from the old potato. 



When arriving at maturity, they should be continually and carefully 

 examined, to discover those which appear the earliest in coming to per- 

 fection ; which will be denoted by the decay of the haulm. These should 

 be taken up, and in like manner those of a later growtii ; but those which 

 show extraordinary vigour should be selected, and the produce of each sort 

 being again sown in the ensuing year, a correct judgment may be formed 

 of the respective properties of each. The process is thus so slow and trouble- 

 some, that it takes three years to bring any new variety to maturity, and 

 a fourth before the real properties of the root can be correctly ascertained. 

 The product will also sometimes disappoint the expectations of the grower ; 

 for althoutjh, generally speaking, the major portion of the crop will be 

 found of the same quality as the original stock, yet it occasionally fails, 

 and new varieties are constantly produced, differing in both colour, flavour, 

 size, and the periods of ripening. Thus, it appears from an experiment 

 lately made in the garden of the London Horticultural Society, upon 

 twenty-five seedling varieties reared by Mr. Knight, that the estimated 

 produce varied from one to upwards of eighteen tons per acre ; all of dif- 

 ferent qualities. The best produced from a single tuber twenty-seven large 

 and seven small roots, the aggregate weight of which upon an acre of 

 ground it was supposed would equal 17 tons 9^ cwt., and being both large, 

 solid, mealy, white, well-flavoured, and in substance and appearance much 

 resembling the white yam, has been named by the Society, after Mr. Knight's 

 country-seat, the " Downton yam potato." 



SETS AND TUBERS. 



We have already stated that in the common course of field-husbandry, 

 potatoes are invariably planted for a crop either by depositing the entire 

 root, or cuttings from it, called "sets." No objection appears indeed to 

 have been commonly entertained against the planting of the whole root, 

 or " tuber" — except on the score of economy, though probably no other 

 advantage will be thereby gained, for every tuber contains many beads, or 

 " eyes" — from each of which a shoot will spring, and by sowing these 



