56 General Notices. 



hail not an opportiniity of trying it anotlitr season, to have been thoronghly 

 ronvinced of its utility. However, some of your readers who arc troubled 

 witii the chib will probably ,i,'ive the experiment a trial, and communicate 

 the result to your valuable Mairazinc. 



In addition to the above, I should recommend that the ground intended 

 for plautinj; the difiL'rent sorts of 7ylas^ic•a u|)on be trenched two spits 

 deep in winter, and a suffuieut (juantity of manure added between tiie first 

 and second spits; and, previously to plisnting in spring or summer, to have 

 a good dressing of (juicklime and fresh loam, to be dug in, but not 

 deep. But 1 am afniid that I have taken a very roundabout way of 

 telling those who have gardens subject to the club, that, instead of raising 

 their own cabl)ages from seed, they must procure clean established plants 

 elsewhere. I au). Sir, yours, &c. — 'Rmssica. Nov. 1831. 



Til produce t/ouiig Votalocx for the Table during U inter, in the open Air. 

 — The varieties of the potato which I [)Iant arc the early kidney, early 

 Ross, and early Ciraham. At the time of housing potatoes, I select a peck 

 of the largest of each kind, and lay them on the ground as close as they 

 will lie (not heaped up) one beside another, which gives me the size of the 

 pit where I keep them till the time of planting. I dig this pit o ft. deep, 

 and lay the potatoes as close as above mentioned in the bottom of the [ut, 

 covering them with dry saud 1 in. thick, and then filling up the pit with 

 earth, and treading it very firm to exclude the air. Let them remain in the 

 pit till tlie middle of July, and then take them up, and pick out all the 

 eyes except a good one in the middle of the potato. When planting, keep 

 the eye ujjpermost. 



Tliey will answer best in a south border that has a little slope, to throw 

 ort" tile rain. The soil should be [)retty rich, but no diuig should be added ; 

 for I have found by experience that, if the soil is in good condition, it will 

 grow potatoes large enougli for the table, and they will have a better flavour 

 than they would with dung. 



I'lant them 1 ft. from each other in the row, 3 ft. between the rows, and 

 2 in. deep. Take great care in earthing up the stems afterwards, as they 

 are more tender than if they were plautetl earlier. High winds are very 

 injurious to them if not earthed up in due time. They require nothing 

 more but to be covered with long litter at the end of October, to preserve 

 them from the frost. They are dug up for the table as wanted. 1 am, .Sir, 

 vours, &c. — liobert Arthur. Jnrdinr Hall, Nov. 25. 1831. 



Carrots ma^ be grown in Peal [not Heath JMould]. — The garden of Sir John 

 Hay, Bart., at King's Meadows, Peeblesshire, is situated upon a subsoil of 

 cankering gravel mixed with a substance having a near affinity to ironstone. 

 This I detected by means of the water in the neighbourhood of the garden, 

 which I tested with the tincture of galls, and other chemical re;igeuts used 

 in analysing cluil}beate waters. Every test used showed the presence of 

 iron in a high degree, by the black colour given to the water upon the 

 addition of any of the tests. The soil is light and sandy, but produces 

 vegetables to e(|ual,if not excel, any in the county, carrots excepted. Mr. 

 Sherare (the gardener) has had the garden under his management for above 

 thirty-one years; and during that period he has never obtained a crop of 

 carrots worth any tiling, although he had tried every means which his 

 judgment could suggest, or otliers recommend. After so many ilisappoiiit- 

 meuts, he had for many years pa.st considered his soil as incurable, aiul 

 totally unfit fi)r the culti\ation of the carrot. 



Last autuuui, being engaged in preparing a suitable soil for evergreens 

 and Auu-ricau plants, the tliought struck him that he might try the eflects 

 of peat in growing carrots. The |)eat used was that taken from what in 

 Scotland is called a moss hag; that is, pure decayed vegetable matter, 

 without any mixture of sand, I've. The ground was trenched about 2 ft. 

 dee[), with the addition of a little dung. The first frost was taken ad- 

 vantage of for the purpose of wheeling on the peat, which wa.'^ laid regu- 



