57 



effect elevation from the ocean has on the weather, the 

 thermometrical readings at Cambridge are lower in 

 January than are any other readings between that 

 place and Nairn in the northern part of Scotland. 

 More serious than spring frosts are summer frosts, 

 which fortunately are rare, but the frosts on the 14th of 

 June, 1892, and on the 20th of May, 1894, are remem- 

 bered by most growers. The June frost was most 

 serious in its effect in the early districts the tubers 

 were just forming, the plants had lost their most robust 

 growth, and there was so little opportunity for new 

 growth to be set up, that the stricken crops were 

 rendered almost useless. The May frost extended 

 over a much greater area, affecting the crops in all 

 the low-lying districts throughout Great Britain 

 and Ireland. 



Effect of Soil on the Season for Planting. 



The soil affects the planting season in two ways. 

 It is necessary that the land shall be got into a friable 

 condition, and this is, of course, more easily done 

 where the land is naturally light and well drained than 

 where it is heavy and wet. Some land retains warmth 

 and supports growth more readily than does land of a 

 different nature. The presence of a good local market, 

 such as is found in proximity to large and wealthy 

 towns, where high prices for new potatoes early in the 

 season are readily given, is an inducement to growers to 

 plant early. The variety planted, of course, also has to 

 be taken into consideration. As bearing on the question 



