22 



was noticeable, the field was the constant haunt of 

 plovers, which found a plentiful supply of insects at all 

 times. The potatoes grown previously to the drain- 

 ing were always infested by insects, in fact in some 

 seasons when turned out of a sack they made the well- 

 known rustling, suggestive of dry leaves in motion, 

 which has earned for these hollowed-out tubers the 

 name of ' Whistlers.' The Julus worms which were 

 the chief cause of injury, as well as other insects, 

 rapidly disappeared, and for many years there has not 

 been any serious damage done by them, and those in- 

 telligent indicators of the want of drainage, the plovers, 

 have forsaken the field. The presence of an abnormal 

 quantity of insects frequently the cause of most ex- 

 tensive injury to the potato crop is almost always due 

 to the unhealthy condition of the soil, and as un- 

 healthiness of the soil is most commonly brought about 

 by excessive moisture, not always plainly indicated, it 

 is highly important that the land should be examined 

 and closely watched, in order that stagnant water may 

 be detected and got rid of. 



Favourable Conditions of Soil. 



The potato flourishes best on deep, warm, friable 

 soils with open and well-drained subsoils ; so, whatever 

 the nature of the soil on which a crop is to be planted, 

 it is necessary to produce these features so far as 

 mechanical means permit. Successful cultivation is 

 associated with the best tillage. It is admitted on 

 all hands that autumn cultivation conduces to the 



