Potato 



workmanlike. The Peas will soon be visible and require attention. 

 Draw a little fine earth to them, and stake them carefully with small 

 brushwood. If snails and slugs appear, give dustings of lime or soot, 

 and as soon as possible supply stakes of sufficient height and strength 

 to carry the crop. By the time the Potatoes begin to show their 

 shaws the^ Peas will constitute an effectual shelter for them against 

 east winds, and it will be found that the morning frosts that are often so 

 injurious to Potatoes in the month of May will scarcely touch a crop 

 that has the advantage of this kind of protection. But to that alone 

 it is not wise to trust. One serious freezing that blackens the shaws 

 will delay and diminish the Potato crop. Therefore, as the green 

 tops appear, cover them lightly with fine earth from between the 

 rows, and if necessary repeat this, always allowing the leaves to see 

 daylight. When a sharp frost occurs, it will be advisable to cover the 

 tops with a few inches of light dry litter in just the same way that a 

 bed of Radishes is protected. There are many other methods of 

 saving the rising shaws. A plank on edge on the east side of a row 

 will suffice to tide through an ordinary white frost. Mats or reed 

 hurdles laid on a few stout pegs will also answer admirably, but care 

 must be taken that the plant is not pressed down, and the covering 

 must be removed as soon as the danger is over. 



Crops grown under walls will be ready first, and those in the beds 

 will follow. Spaces between the trees of a fruit wall may be planted 

 with Potatoes, without injury to the trees. Those grown on the south 

 face of a good wall will be ready for table three weeks in advance of 

 the earliest crops in the open quarters. But east and west walls may 

 be made to contribute, and even north walls are useful, if planted a 

 week later and a little deeper. In all cases the sets should be put 

 close to the wall to enjoy the warmth, and dryness, and shelter it 

 affords. When the crop is lifted, the soil specially laid up for it may 

 be taken away, or scattered over the border. But the bulk will be 

 so slight that it will not matter much what becomes of it. However, 

 in a new place with a clay soil it may be prudent to remove it, and 

 keep it ready as an aid in seed sowing, for there are times and places 

 where a little fine stuff is worth a great deal to give a crop of some 

 kind a proper start. 



The employment of frames in the cultivation of early Potatoes 

 must be regarded as a profitable proceeding, because it insures 

 protection for the plant in its early stages ; and by removing the 

 lights when the season is sufficiently advanced, we commence the 

 summer with a strong plant ready to form tubers, instead of one which 



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