148 



Commercial Gardening 



appear to have taken advantage of the knowledge which has since been 

 at their disposal. The facts and figures given above show that not only 

 is a fair amount of air and light essential to good growth, but it will 

 pay the cultivator to bear this knowledge well in mind when planting 

 any crop. With such an important crop as Potatoes, hundreds of thousands 

 of pounds are lost every year simply because a man thinks he would be 

 "wasting ground" by planting his sets 3 ft. apart. The reverse is really 

 the case, and growers will find it to their advantage in many ways to 

 give their potato crops more room than is at present customary. 



Cost Of Cultivation, Profits, &C. As stated at the commencement 

 of this article, an average yield of 3 tons of potatoes per acre would not 

 pay any grower. By judicious amounts spent in labour and cultivation 

 it is possible, however, to secure fairly good profits on the system here 

 recommended. To show the difference between this and the old or usual 

 system the following tables of expenses and receipts will probably carry 

 conviction: 



ORDINARY SYSTEM 



Expenses 



Ploughing and harrowing. 

 Stable manure, 12 tons, 



@ 5s. 



Artificials ... 

 Seed, 30 cwt., @ 3s. 



Kent 



Planting 17,000 tubers .. 

 Hoeing one man, 5s.; two 



horses, 4s 

 Earthing up 

 Lifting (machine) . . . 

 Miscellaneous 



Net profit per acre 



THE WRITER'S SYSTEM 



Expenses 

 Digging 1 ac. 

 Planting 4840 tubers 

 Manures as above . . . 

 Seed, 8 cwt., @ 3s. 

 Hoeing as above . . . 

 Earthing up 



Rent 



Lifting by fork 

 Miscellaneous 



Net profit per acre 



. 3 

 . 15 

 .400 

 .140 

 .090 

 .076 

 .200 

 .200 

 .100 



14 15 6 

 30 4 6 



45 (T~0 



Receipts 



15 tons (5 to 10 tons below 

 what may be obtained) 

 @3 45 







45 



