33 



to it. Land which digs badly otherwise can often be 

 worked readily with this tool. 



Spring Work on the Land. 



Under most conditions the land has been previously 

 worked by the time spring arrives. The majority of 

 potatoes are planted from the middle of February to 

 the middle of April, according to variety, soil, and 

 climate. However, in some localities planting is 

 commenced in January, especially where budded or 

 sprouted potatoes are employed. Where the latter is 

 practised it is of course necessary to get the seed-bed 

 into condition very early, in fact it is impossible to delay 

 the earlier operations until planting time, and autumn 

 cultivation must have been adopted. As there are 

 comparatively few potatoes planted so early in the 

 season, it is advisable to deal with the treatment of 

 land in its preparation for the general crop, arid leave 

 the specially early planted land to be dealt with in the 

 section devoted to the planting of the crop. 



It must always be borne in mind that the earliness 

 with which the crop is planted is regulated to a great 

 extent by the climate, although many of the good 

 heavier soils cannot be brought into a properly pre- 

 pared condition until the dry winds of March have 

 done their work in evaporating excessive moisture. 

 The natural friableness of the soil of course regulates 

 the amount of work required to produce a fitting seed- 

 bed. Light sand soils come to a tilth much more 

 readily than the heavier loams. The operations are 



I) 



