POT 



POT 



347 



ing is not increased. My trials in 

 the drill way, have produced only 

 half as much again. But I did not 

 put dung in the furrows, but always 

 put dung in the hills. My method 

 has been, in dry ground, first to 

 plough in the dung; then harrow ; 

 raise the ridges, and dibble the sets 

 into the ridges. 



The lazy bed method, or trench- 

 ing, is most practised in Ireland. 1 

 have tried it several times, and am 

 convinced, that a greater quantity 

 on the same ground may be raised 

 in this way, than in almost any oth- 

 er. But the labour is so great, as 

 it must be performed with the 

 spade, that 1 dare not recommend 

 it. unless in particular cases, or to 

 those who have but little land. 



It is a good, and very eflfectual 

 method, to subdue bad weeds in the 

 border of a field, which cannot well 

 be ploughed. But the soil should 

 be deep, that the trenches may not 

 go into the under stratum of hard 

 earth, nor too near to it. 



And in this way good crops may 

 be got in springy and miry places, 

 which are too wet for other tillage. 

 But the work must be begun in au- 

 tumn. In October, mark out the 

 beds, five feet wide, leaving two 

 feet between each bed for the 

 trench : Spread the dung upon the 

 beds : Dig the trenches, and with 

 their contents cover the beds to the 

 depth of about five inches. In May 

 following, dibble the sets into the 

 beds, quite down to the dung, and 

 fill the holes with earth. Besides 

 getting a good crop, the soil will be 

 thus drained and subdued, and fit- 

 ted for ploughing, and tillage crops. 



An expeditious way of planting 



potatoes is as follows. After the 

 ground is prepared, by ploughing 

 and harrowing, cut furrows with the 

 horse plough, forty inches apart ; 

 drop the sets in the furrows; then - 

 pass the plough along the back of 

 each furrow, which will throw the 

 earth of both furrows upon the sets ; 

 and afterwards level the ground 

 with the back of a harrow, or with 

 a harrow that has short tines if you 

 will ; but it is of no great conse- 

 quence whether it be levelled at 

 all. Another method of planting 

 is, to plough the ground plain,keep- 

 ing the iurrows straight and regu- 

 lar, and drop sets in every third or 

 fourth furrow. But before this is 

 done, the ground should be plough- 

 ed and made level and fine with the 

 harrow. 



But the method last mentioned 

 is fit only for a dry soil, where tlie 

 seed needs to be laid deep. Where 

 the soil is moist, a better way would 

 be to furrow the ground, and lay 

 the sets on the surface, close to the 

 backs of the furrows, and cover 

 them by turning another furrow to- 

 wards each. If this should bury 

 the sets too deep, the ridges may 

 be easily lowered, with a hoe or a 

 rake ; but I do not apprehend it 

 would be necessary. The ridges 

 may remain as the plough leaves 

 them. 



As soon as rows of potatoe plants 

 are grown to the height of four or 

 five inches above the surface, or 

 earlier if the ground be weedy, the 

 cultivator, with two mouldboards, 

 should be passed between them, as 

 deep as one horse can draw it. For 

 want of a cultivator, a common 

 light plough should go and return 



