50 



EXPERIMENTS ON POTATOES. 



[Appendix, 



Remarks.— The soil upon which the above were grown was a subsoil, the upper soil 

 having been taken off at different times. It was trenched two feet deep in the Spring of 

 1841, and which had to be done with t)ie mattoclc, it being too liard for the spade alone, it 

 was cropped that season with potatoes, manured with 40 cubic yards of compost of weeds, 

 cut grass, and half-rotten leaves. It was eigain trenched to the same depth after the crop of 

 potatoes was lifted ; and was again planted in the Spring of 1842 with potatoes, manured 

 with 35 cubic yards of farm-yard dung, mixed in the proportions stated with the above salts. 

 The potatoes were planted with the spade, at the distance of two feet between the drills, the 

 manure being put in the bottom of the drills, the salts sown by the hand above it, and then 

 all mixed together with a dung fork. The cut sets were laid upon the mixture, and covered 

 up. As was remarked in 1841, the potatoes with No. 3 tvere eight to ten days brairded before 

 the others ; also Nus. 5 and 7 were earlier than the others, those three being all/airly up in 

 drills before the others made their ajipearance through the grmmd. Nos. 2, 4, and 6 were la- 

 test, and very irregular in coming up, and upon examining the drills a few of the sets ap- 

 peared to have been burned. There was a marked dissimilarity in the stems and leaves of 

 these potatoes through the summer. Nos. 3, 5, and 7, were all of a darker green colour and 

 stronger than the others. "No. 7 was remarkable' for intenseness of colour and length of 

 stems, so much so that it appeared to be a different variety of potato. Ho. 4 was fully beU 

 ter in appearance thun Nos. 2 and 6, which were of a yellowish green colour and had a 

 stunted appearance all the season. — When this ground was first broken up, a pound of it 

 was boiled in pure rain water and filtered, which was then evaporated, the residue weighed 

 4^ grains, mostly soluble salts, but hardly a trace of common salt. 



3°. The following experiments were made with the view of determining how 

 far eMnomical mixtures might be made to supasede fann-yard manure in the 

 growth of potatoes : — 

 1°. Account of an Experiment in growing Potatoes (Irish Pink Eyes) with the following 



mixture of substances, instead of farmyard dung, planted 20th April, 1842, 



Remarks. — The above mixture was sown in the drills at the rate of about 5 cwts. per im- 

 perial acre, at a cost of little more than jEl. sterling, and produced a fair crop of potatoes of 

 a remarkably fine quality, 43 bolls per acre of imperial Renfrewshire measure, weighing 5 

 cwt. each, upon a poor and light, although new soil, but not worth more than 25s. per acre. 

 Great caution is required in using this mixture, as it is very apt to bum the cut sets if laid 

 directly upon them. A little earth should be put between the cut potato and the manure. 



2°. The following mixture was made, and lay together for five weeks, when it was sown in 

 the bottoms of potato drills upon a poor tilly soil, and White Don Potatoes planted with it 

 30lh April, l&i2. 



