578 BRITISH HUSBANDRY. [Ch. XLVII. 



which there can be little doubt. If aiiy doubts are entertained, however, it will 

 1)6 necessary to prepare more sets, and put them in fresh beds, to insure a sutU- 

 ciency at the time of transplanting. The chance of the seed springing in the 

 beds is ten to one compared with the ordinary way. Here, should the weather 

 be dry, abundance of moisture can be communicated at any time; and, in place 

 of a parched soil robbing the sets of moisture till they are quite shrivelled, as 

 was the case during the intense drought of last May, the sets will be duly fed 

 and nourished from the fat juices of the rich compost. Allow them to remain in 

 the bed till the shoots come above ground. If the compost has been mixed with 

 lime, as directed, it will act as a powerful stimulant upon the weakened and ex- 

 hausted vegetative powers of the potato, and very much accelerate and strengthen 

 the young shoots. If this has been neglected, it may still be partially accom- 

 plished, either by dusting powdered lime among the cuts, or mixing it in the 

 water. If no compost has been prepared, good clean loose earth will answer the 

 purpose, but it would not be equal in efficacy to rich well-prepared compost.'' 



After this description, Mr. Ailken gives minute directions for the manage- 

 ment of the preparatory field operations ; and the treatise of the Dumbar- 

 tonshire farmer also contains the following test for distinguishing the 

 decayable from the undecayable potato : — 



" From the now generally diseased state of the potato, it appears to us that 

 there is but one way to test the seed before planting, which, if properly attended 

 to, will prevent those melancholy results that may be anticipated in the crop. 

 It is this : Select from the potatoes proposed for seed a dozen or two ; cut them 

 with a sharp knife into sets ; then put them on the lloor of a potato-house, or 

 any other place free of damp, with the skin next the floor ; if, upon examining 

 Ihem three or four days after, it should be found that the incision has dried up, 

 and is covered with a kind of new skin, be assured that the seed is wholesome : 

 plant it ; but if, on the contrary, the wound is found to be wet, sluggish, and 

 spotted — touch not the unclean thing, but be certain that the constitution of the 

 potato is exhausted. This experiment should not be tried until vegetation has 

 completely taken place, say about the middle of April." 



Were the plan only to be looked upon as an experiment, it would, in 

 that view alone, be wortliy of attention ; and — as a parting word to all 

 farmers — we strongly recommend them to devote a portion of their gardens 

 to tlie trial of different plants, witli the properties of which, as field-crops, 

 they may not be yet sufliciently acquainted: more particularly, to the 

 selection of seeds from the common species of corn, roots, and grasses, 

 grown upon their land, a few of which may occasionally be distinguished 

 among the crops by their extraordinary growth ; for, if the seed be carefully 

 sown apart, improved sorts may be thus obtained, which will largely repay 

 the trouble. Even if not attended with success, it will be far from useless 

 to the grower, as every observation which he is attentively called upon to 

 make on vegetation will increase his store of knowledge of the plants, and 

 add to that experience jn his^ profession which can alone render him a 

 scientific agriculturist. 



