The Culture of Vegetables 



meteorological conditions over which we have no control, yet the foe 

 which cannot be annihilated may be evaded. This is partly accom- 

 plished by sound cultivation, as already remarked on, but the good 

 work may be continued by raising and maintaining in the fullest vigour 

 those varieties which do not readily succumb to influences that have so 

 often devastated the Potato crop. Since the introduction of Sutton's 

 Magnum Bonum Potato there is a disposition to believe in ' Disease- 

 proof Potatoes.' There is no such thing absolutely, and perhaps there 

 never will be, any more than there is a disease-proof wheat, or dog, 

 or horse, or man. But some varieties of Potatoes are known to be 

 more susceptible to the ravages of disease than others, and it has been 

 one of our aims to secure seedlings which combine the highest crop- 

 ping and table qualities with the least tendency to succumb in seasons 

 when conditions favour the spread of the fungus. Scientific men 

 have not yet explained why the varieties differ in this respect, but 

 practical men have discovered that initial vigour of growth is the 

 main defence against the plague. It is sufficient here to say that as 

 the growing of a good Potato costs no more than the growing of a 

 poor variety, the cultivator should bestow his care on the very best 

 he can obtain. A little extra cost for seed in the first instance is as 

 nothing to the multiplied chances of success a good variety carries 

 with it. To sum up this subject, then, we say that disease may be 

 avoided in the early crops by cultivating sorts which may be lifted 

 before the plague generally appears; and on soils which will not 

 produce an early crop, only such varieties should be grown for the 

 main crops as have been proved to be most capable of standing 

 uninjured until late in the season. Let there be a dry, warm bed, 

 sufficient food, the fullest exposure to the life-giving powers of light, 

 and conditions favourable to early ripening. 



PUMPKIN^ GOURD, page 60 

 RADISH 



Raphanus sativus 



THE RADISH is often badly grown through being sown too thickly 

 on lumpy ground, in places not favourable to quick vegetation. 

 Radishes grown slowly become tough, pungent, and worthless. On 

 the other hand, those which are grown quickly on rich, mellow 



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