THE POTATO. 627 



sets planted in pots forwarded on heat, and afterwards turned out into 



a warm border, will effect the same object. For ordinary early crops 



in the open garden the Ash-leaved Kidney may be planted in rows 



eighteen inches apart, and six to eight inches asunder in the row, from 



the middle of February to the middle of April. 



The Lancashire practice, in planting for an early crop, is as follows : 



In the beginning of winter lay the ground up in narrow ridges, two 



feet and a half centre from centre, fig. 375, F>o> _ 



a ; in March the surface of the ridges will 



be loose from the effects of frost, dry from 



its position, and warmed by its exposure to 



the sun to the depth of two inches or three 



inches; collect this dry mould in the 



bottom of the furrows, between the ridges, 



as at 6; then lay on a little dung, and 



plant as at c; cover to the depth of two 



inches with dry warm mould from the top 



of the ridge, and when the plants begin to The Lancashire mode of 



appear add two inches more, and again planting potatoes. 



two inches when they appear a second 



time. This is also one of the best modes of planting a main late crop. 

 On wet heavy soils it may be improved upon by simply placing the 

 potatoes on the surface, placing a little burnt earth over them, and 

 then drawing the earth from each side to cover the sets, as practised 

 by Mr. Ingram, at Belvoir, and described in the ' Gardener's Chronicle ' 

 for 18G9, page 1232. 



The first gathering of early potatoes may be made by taking one or 

 two of the largest tubers from every plant by hand, previously 

 removing a portion of the soil with a small three-pronged fork, fig. 

 33, c, in page 88, and afterwards replacing the soil. This, especially 

 if a good watering is given, will throw more strength into the tubers 

 which remain ; when the lower leaves begin to fade, the crop may be 

 taken up as wanted, by digging up the plants and collecting the 

 tubers. 



J/mrs. Chapman's New Spring Potatoes. " The production of what 

 may be termed late young potatoes, has been achieved extensively by 

 the Messrs. Chapman, of Brentford. They employ principally for this 

 purpose a white Kidney, not a late one, but yet none of the earliest 

 varieties. The tubers are taken up in spring, and spread thinly on a 

 hard dry surface, in order to prevent their springing too far before the 

 time they require to be planted. The greening thus induced is to be 

 regarded as an unavoidable consequence of exposure to air and light 

 rather than an essential condition ; for forwardness could be otherwise 

 easily promoted by a few days' earlier planting, at the warm season 

 at which it takes place, that is, the middle of July. They are then 

 planted in the open ground in the usual way. The crop is taken up 

 before frost and stored between layers of soil, whence the tubers, being 

 delicately skinned, are taken only as required for use, forming, both 

 as regards appearance and quality, a very fair substitute for forced 



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