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of at least eiglit inches. One of the reasons why 

 spade cultivation is found to succeed so well in potato 

 growing is the deep and thorough working of 

 the land. When the potato is grown on the strict 

 four-course rotation it takes its place after a corn crop, 

 and it is natural to infer that the soil is low in con- 

 dition. It is not improbable that, being at the point 

 farthest from the cleaning or fallow crop, the land 

 is not absolutely clean. If the couch or twitch is in 

 very email patches, which can be dug at slight ex- 

 pense, it may be sufficient to have these dug out 

 immediately after harvest, and as no further clean- 

 ing is required it will not be necessary to do more 

 than plough the land and leave it in the furrow through 

 winter. If, however, it is in a foul condition it should 

 be ploughed and subjected to a thorough autumn 

 fallowing. This will lighten the work in spring. 

 Having cleaned the land as much as circumstances 

 permit it is well to put on the dung if it is available. 

 After this it should be ploughed into ridges with a 

 double-breasted plough and left in ridges through 

 winter. If the land is left flat after being worked 

 into a fine state there is great likelihood of its be- 

 coming consolidated during the winter rains, when the 

 work of reducing it to a fine and friable seed-bed 

 will be greatly increased. When laid up in ridges, 

 especially if dung is ploughed in with it, the soil is 

 almost certain to work easily in the spring, and the 

 spring work will be of a light nature. The ridges 

 may be levelled by means of curved-tine drag harrows, 



