^32 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



[No. 12 



of a warmer climnte cnnnot bear the leaKt frost. 

 It is therefore not pni'e to plant it in the fiel(Js he- 

 fore March or April. The pete which are planted 

 to produce an increape, are not eoec]f but bude, and 

 as such perppiuale the qualiiicp, {rood or bad, of 

 the parent Piock. Each vnriety proceed^ from 

 pome orioriria! plant rai-od from peed, and is sub- 

 ject to ajre and decay wiih il.= parent. Hence va- 

 rieties continually deirenerale or wear out, and 

 fresh or new varieties must be produced by povvinjif 

 ilip seeds; recent experiments and observations ful- 

 ly bear out the truth of this assertion. It is there- 

 ti)re not suffiri'nt merely to find a superior variel}', 

 the affe of the parent plant should also be noted. 

 Some will laft lonixer than others, but all old vari- 

 etiep sooner or later show marks of decay ; and 

 the sooner they are exchanjri^d for younprer and 

 more vigorous the better. In Flanders the principal 

 crop of potatoes is planied in April. Potatoes re- 

 quire much manure to give a great return, al- 

 though those wliich grow in poor soils are much 

 pleasanler to the taste. For cattle, however, 

 quantity is of more consequence than flavor. The 

 poil in which potatoes are to be planted should be 

 well prepared by deep and repeated ploughino", or 

 what is still better, by trenching with the spnde. 

 In Flanders the sets are planted in rows two feel 

 wide or more, and the same distance between the 

 eels, po that each plant may have the earth drawn 

 up to the stem, and a small hillock made round ir. 

 Sometimes the land is ploushed and manured as 

 ibr other crops, excepting that the quantity of ma- 

 nure is at least double the quantity usually put on 

 for corn. The sets are then dropped into holes 

 regularly made with a blunt dibble, and filled up 

 with earth. These sets are either small potatoes 

 picked out lor that purpose, or larger cut into 

 pieces, taking care that there shall be at least two 

 eyes or buds left in each piece. When potatoes 

 are planted to any considerable extent, the me- 

 thod is similar to that which we described (or 

 beans, the tut rows being nroportionably deeper ; 

 the sets are dropped upon the duiifr in every se- 

 cond or lh:rd (iirrow about eighteen inches 

 apart, and covered by the return of the plough. 

 In this manner nine or ten bushels of potatoes 

 will plant an acre. The crop averages about three 

 liundred busliels. If the land is well prepared, and 

 the potato plants have i)pen well hoed and mould- 

 ed up. This is not a verv great return, consider- 

 ing the quantity of manure. The qualiiv of tlip 

 potatoes depends on the na'ure of the soil ns well 

 as on the variety planted; in liffht sands the po- 

 tatoes are small, and mealy wheti l)oiled ; in ffood 

 loams they <jrrow larfre and more juicy, Inii are 

 not so well flavored; the latter producinrr a creater 

 bulk, are preferred for cattle. 



'I'here is a potato called Schclde JVir.drke pota- 

 to, from the name of n viilane near A'ost : thev 

 grow in a strong soil and are remarkablv mealy 

 and good ; but they ra|)iJlv de<renerate wlien 

 planted in a different soil. The potatoes which 

 are pr^eferred for cattle are called Llsen Motfen 

 and Ikattenbnllen, both very large. A variety 

 was introduced from Encland into the neii/hbor- 

 liood of Ghent some years airo, V)y a gentleman 

 of the name of Lankman, which are in creat re- 

 pute, and go by his name. It would be difficult 

 to point out the variety from which th^^se sprun£r, 

 as the soil in which they are transplanted has, no 

 doubt, had a great influence on their present qua- 



lify. A few small Flemish potatoes, wliich we 

 once sent to a friend at Kenihvorth, produced 

 in that rich soil some of the largest potatoes we 

 ever met with. None of (he original potatoes 

 were so larire as a hen's e(!ff. 



When we were on the subject of manures, we 

 mentioned the pond weeds as highly useful in 

 plantinix potatoes. Lonir litter and even old thatch 

 is excellent to plant the sets in, if the soil is not 

 very liL'hl. Potatoes are usually taken up in the 

 end of September; this is: done by means of a three- 

 pronged li^rk, which is less apt to cut the roots than 

 the spade. The ground is at the same time clear- 

 ed of the roots of couch grass, and other peren- 

 nial Aveedp ; and wlien the harrows have gone 

 over the field, and all the potatoes are picked up 

 which h,id escaped the fork, no other prepara- 

 tion is required to sow wheat, or winter barley. 

 When the seed is sown, the stitches are marked 

 out by the plough, the intervals dug out, and the 

 earth is spread over the seed, after the urine cart 

 has deposited half the usual quantity of liquid ma- 

 nure in these intervals. This is sufficient on land 

 which has had a double manuring for the pota- 

 toes. 



Turnips- arc not often cidtivated as a main crop, 

 or a substitute lor the old fallows, as it is in Eng- 

 land and Scotland ; but mostly as a second crop 

 after barley or rye, which Ave call eddish iurvips 

 in England. Bu' as the barley and r) e harvest aro 

 early in Flanders, and not an hour is lost in get- 

 ting the turnip-seed sown, they are often of a very 

 good size before winter.* The crop, however, 

 can bear no comparison in point of weio-ht, with 

 a turnip crop in Norfolk, still less in Berwickshire 

 and Northumberland ; but il is obtained at a small 

 expense, and does not inlerlere with any other 

 crop. In a farm of twenty acres, il" five acres 

 were set apart every year for turnips, the remain- 

 der would scarcely give sufficient occupation to 

 the (itrmer and his family, and produce sufficient 

 corn to feed them and to pay the rent. It is by 

 quick succession of crops that a small farm is made 

 to produce much more in proportion than a large 

 one, and that every meaiber of a familj' is con- 

 stantly and busily employed. As soon as the corn 

 is cut, the portion of the field which is cleared is 

 ploughed and harrowed, liquid manure is poured 

 over it, and the seed is sown ; so that in twenty- 

 four hours an acre, which was but just cleared, is 

 nrrain producing a fresh crop. The ploughing 

 and sowinc goes on every day, and follows on the 

 heels of the reapers; of such consequence may 

 be the delay of two or three days, that the seed 

 sown first will be out and in the rough leaf, when 

 'hat which was two or three days later is only 

 just coming up, and is subject to all the depreda- 

 tions of insects. When the turnips are fairly up, 



* Mr. V;in Aelhrock .eovved some turnips in May, 

 1S.37, and tliey were of siiffioient size in August to be 

 triven to the cows. I.nrgre turnips nre not thought so 

 sweet as the smaller, which do not give that disagree- 

 al)Ie taste to th" milk, which prevents many farmers in 

 England from giving them to milch cows. The intro- 

 duction of cari)r turnips in Flanders might be of great 

 advantage. If winter tares were sown to be cut in 

 May, and turnips to follow immediate!)', these two 

 crops, with the intermediate ploughing, would prepare 

 the land admirably for wheat or colza, and not only 

 give two useful crops; but have all the meliorating and 

 cleansing effect of a fallow. 



