42 



distance of 9 inches would be suitable for chats or 

 small seed which pass through a mesh of 1 inch. The 

 manner in which the tubers form about the stem 

 whether they form in clusters immediately at its base, 

 or singly at a distance from it affects the question to 

 some extent, as where they spread about there is con- 

 siderable risk of injury when being dug ; consequently, 

 if the sets are very close, there is a certainty that a 

 considerable portion will be pricked. A potato pricked 

 by a fork is injured so much that it has to be discarded 

 from choice samples, and only realises the price paid for 

 offal. Cut seed should be planted slightly closer than 

 whole seed of the same size, as, especially among the 

 white flowering varieties in dry planting seasons, there 

 is a risk of the plants not becoming established, or only 

 weakly so. Potatoes of the Magnum type, which have 

 a tendency to develop a large number of small tubers 

 in proportion to ware, should be allowed more room 

 than Reading Giants, the Wonder, and similar. varieties^ 

 which produce comparatively few tubers of seed size- 

 The richness of the soil must be brought into con- 

 sideration, as a poor soil does not grow such robust 

 plants nor produce so large tubers as one which is 

 well manured. Bearing in mind these points, so that 

 variation may .be made in accordance with them, it- 

 will -be found that with fair-sized seed a good average 

 for early varieties in ordinary cultivation is. 2 feet 

 from row to row, and. 15 inches from set to set; and 

 for later varieties rows 27 inches with sets 15 to 16- 

 apart, or rows 30 inches apart, and sets 14 to 15 inches- 

 from each other, will be found most suitable. 



