071 Indian Corn^ Potatoes^ £5V. 325 



crop, heap up on the ridges an enormous weight of 

 mould, and frequently poor cold clay, destroying num. 

 bers of the plants, which in a potatoe crop are frequent- 

 ly far behind in vegetation, and greatly injure others 

 of the same description ; cutting the wire or fruit roots, 

 and oppressing the bulbs which escape, with a weight 

 that prevents due expansion. And this is not all the 

 evil produced, for trenches are formed below the level 

 of the roots, which greatly increases the artificial 

 droughts. — The largest crop of potatoes I ever saw 

 grown but one, was obtained from a stubble field with- 

 out manure, planted in every furrow, and cultivated 

 with the tined harrow alone, although this mangled 

 some of the plants greatly, and injured others in a less 

 degree. For several years my early potatoes for fami- 

 ly use, have been planted in the Irish way, on beds, 

 and have ever been productive and good. This year 

 some of them weighed one pound, which were larger 

 than any early potatoes grown by me before.* 



Your's, with respect, 



John Lorain. 

 Dr. James Mease. 



* Observing a publication promising layers of potatoes succeed- 

 ing each other, if the plants were hilled beyon.d the common prac- 

 tice, two varieties were cultivated by me in that way ; the plants 

 were regularly ridged, or rather banked up, with good mould, until 

 killed by frost, and then the ridges were regularly removed. Nu- 

 merous roots appeared in due succession on the vines, but the fruit 

 was found where nature designed it should grow, to wit, at the bot- 

 tom, and was greatly inferior in size to that grown in the lisual way. 

 Still i; might have been otherwise, if the hilling had ceased sooner. 



