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therefore involves a loss of yield which the grower 

 expects to make good by the extra price he receives 

 per ton. Occasionally, in special seasons, the potatoes 

 continue to grow far on into the autumn, and it may 

 be necessary to dig them when unripe, to avoid 

 the risk of injury to the tubers by frost. In most 

 seasons the plants mature naturally, and in others 

 light frosts cut down the haulm and hasten the tubers 

 to maturity, so that they may be dug before more 

 serious frosts are probable. Any premature destruc- 

 tion of the haulm lessens the yield of tubers, but there 

 are times when it may be advisable to destroy the haulm 

 to hasten the ripening of the crop. For instance, 

 when a heavy crop of tubers has formed, such as in the 

 opinion of the grower will well repay him if harvested 

 at once, he may think it desirable to hasten their 

 ripening rather than leave them for a longer time at 

 the risk of injury from frost. This is occasionally 

 practised, but it should not be done without giving 

 the matter full consideration. To treat a crop which 

 has up to that time developed few tubers in this 

 manner is absurd, as it would necessarily prove 

 unprofitable, and it would be wiser to risk the frost, in 

 the hope of obtaining a more profitable yield. 



As the skin of green potatoes is always tender, and 

 the market value is deteriorated when the skin is 

 broken, the fork is, on almost all occasions, the most 

 suitable implement to use for raising them. If, how- 

 ever, the soil is very loose, horse implements may be 

 used. When the skin is very tender, the rubbing 



