260 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



FEBRUARY 3(5, lS*4. 



From the British Farmer's Magazine: 

 POTATOES. 

 On the Cultivation of the Potato, with a view to ob- 

 taining greatly increased Crops ; by the Author of 

 " the Domestic Gardeners Manual." 



Above two hundred and forty years have elapsed 

 since the introduction of the potato into the British 

 isles. During that period it has been gradually 

 making its way in the favor of the inhabitants ; 

 but its progress for a long time was very limited. 

 So slight, indeed, was the estimation in which ii 



was held, even after tl ra of the revolution, that 



we find the celebrated Evelyn, in the year lb.99, 

 giving directions to plant potatoes in tin- worst 

 grounds. "Take them up," he says, " in Novem- 

 ber, for winter spending — there will enough re- 

 main for a stock, though they be ever so exactly 

 gathered." 



The potato began, however, to be extensively 

 cultivated about the middle of the last century ; 

 and now it is grown in every farm and cottage gar- 

 den, almost without exception. 



ii' experience seemed to have proved, beyond a 

 doubt, that this root may be deemed one of the 

 most important vegetable productions ; if, in the 

 face of every assertion to the contrary, it be found 

 a very valuable, and, generally speaking, a most 

 salubrious article* of diet; and admirably adapted 

 to supply nutritious food for animals and poultry ; 

 it becomes a serious interest to determine with 

 certainty, that mode of culture which shall at all 

 time's, and in all situations, tend to produce the 

 heaviest crops, and of the finest quality. 



The common mode of planting and cultivating 

 the potato is known to every cottager and farming 

 man ; but that philosophic method which has re- 

 cently been productive of enormous returns, may, 

 perhaps, be referred chiefly, if not entirely, to 

 the scientific President of the Horticultural Socie- 

 ty. This method it is my object to describe, 

 through the medium of your pages; but bel 

 enter upon the detail of Mr. Knight's directions, I 

 think it a duty to request the reader's attention to 

 a few important results, the particulars of which 

 have been stated to me in letters lately received 

 from'that gentleman. As facts, and very recent 

 ones, they are peculiarly interesting, not only as 

 they decisively show what may he, and has been 

 effected during tin; late season, but also, because 

 they prove, to a demonstration, that science and 

 hypothesis may go hand in hand with practice; 

 and that, when the latter is founded upon the for- 

 mer, it loses altogether its empirical character, and 

 becomes established upon the most unassailable 

 basi: . 



Mr. Knight has observed, that he planted his 

 potatoes upon a soil naturally poor, and \< ry shal- 

 low, upon a rock full of fissures, giving no I 

 manure than is usually given to a crop of turn • 

 the manure was mixed up with the soil, and not 

 thrown into the drills at the time of planting. The 

 plants suffered from drought during a pill of the 

 year; nevertheless, he had very good crops from 

 many varieties. These varieties he had hituseli 



* ti has be ii] > jucd that the. potato, at )- .i^t under i e 



conditions, posses . ' , ous 'quality. The idea 



may have originated in tin- botanic character "i the pla 

 taci. a is one 4it' the family of the night shade — the so 

 tuberosum ol Linnaeus, and of the old natural order e 

 which included plants whose appearance was descrihi a as be- 

 ing " dusky, dismal, and gloomy." The genus or family sol- 

 onu/A, is the type ol that numerous tribe or order in the natu- 

 ral system, solenetE, many of whose memhers exhibit great 

 beauty of appearance, and possess very useiul properties. 



originated from seed, and they possess the im- 

 portant quality of scarcely producing any blossoms ; 

 and, therefore, the vital powers of the pla.it art 

 entirely employed in the production and support 

 of those tuberous processes — the potatoes — which 

 are the sole object of the cultivator. The produce 

 of two of the sorts is particularly stated to me, 

 and is as follows : of the one, twenty-three tons, 

 two hundred weight, seven ty-six pounds ; and the 

 other, twenty tons, tun hundred weight, one hun- 

 dred and one pounds, per acre. Of four oilier 

 varieties he observes, "the produce exceeded 

 twenty tons each per aure, all of good quality." 

 If the reader will reduce these weights to pound*, 

 In' will find them, (reckoning the yield at twciitv 

 ions only per acre) to amount to live hundred and 

 sixty bushels, each of eighiy pounds weight. 



In the whin r ol H831, I received a packet from 

 .Mr. Knight, inclosing se\ ral specimen potatoes 

 raised by him. For the convenience of carriage, 

 these were under the hum limn size, weighing about 



four ICeS each ; they were, however, perfect in 



form and growth. Eight of than were selected, 

 and planted in a row, each widely apart one from 

 the other. From these eight tubers-, whose total 

 weight was barely two pounds, ] obtained a pro- 

 duce of one hundred and fifty-six potatoes. 

 weighing, in all, sixty-nine pounds. Some roots 

 yielded more than others; one was peculiarly pro- 

 lific— it furnished eight, en pounds of potatoes, 

 six of the largest of which weighed ten pounds; 



Having thus adduced a few general facts it re- 

 mains to point out the mode of operation by which 

 such large results may be obtained. 



One of the chief, if not the primary, agent in 

 fleeting vegetable developeinent and maturity, is 

 light. Deprive a plant ol' that, and you either 

 paralyze the operation of its vital principle, or in- 

 duce imperfect and diseased action. The leaves 

 of vegetables are the media upon which light 

 nets ; and, therefore, it should be the object of 

 the gardener so to arrange his crops, that the ut- 

 most breadth of their foliage may be exposed to 

 the full influence of the solar rays. Hence, tie 

 rows of potatoes oni!, i to point north, and south : 

 I'ol-, in the first place, plants so exposed, command 

 the greatest breadth and duration of light ; — and 

 in the .second, the sun at the time of his highest 

 meridian altitude — that is, at the hour of noon, — 

 shines directly aloiig the extent of the reus; his 

 light is also most equally . distributed upon the 

 whole foliage as he approaches to, and recedes 

 from the meridian. The perpendicularity ol 

 growth, which is of considerable importance to 

 the complete success id' the crop, is •. ss likely to 

 he disturbed b) this mode of arrangement, than 

 by any other that has heretofore •ecu employed. 

 It is generally the practice to plant small potatoes, 

 or sets of large tubers, em with one or two eyes 

 to each. These sets. -ire planted ill rows from six- 

 teen to twenty inches asunder, and the sets about 

 half that distance, or nine inches apart, without 

 any consideration being had to the aspect or di- 

 rect! f tin' rows. As the sti ins advance in 



growth they are very liable to fall over, and be- 

 come entangled one with another, thus intercept- 

 ing the solar light, which then acts unequally upon 

 the disorderly masses of foliage. Hence the crops 

 become very unequal ill point of bulk and weight. 



Mr. Knight's philosophical directions lead to a 

 very different result. He recommends the plant- 

 ing of whole potatoes, and those only Which are 

 of fine medium size — none to be of less weight 



than four ounces; and lie often prefers those 

 which weigh six or eight ounces. The earlier 

 sorts, ami, indeed, all which seldom attain a great- 

 er height than two feet, are to be planted about 

 four or five inches apart in the rows, centre from 

 centre, the crown ends upward ; the rows to be 



from two feet six inches to three feet asunder. 



The late potatoes, which produce a haulm above 

 three feet ill height, are to be placed five at six 

 inches apart, centre from centre, in rows four or 

 live feet asunder. 



When potatoes are thus planted in rows point- 

 ing north and south, the utmost energy of the 

 light will he exerted, not only upon tie- foliage of 

 the plant, but upon the surface of the intervening 



spaces of ground. It' we suppose that the main 

 crops will be planted at the latter end of March 

 and during the month of April, the sun's merid- 

 ional altitude will be advancing daily, for at least 

 nine weeks; and during that period, the develope- 

 inent and growth of the stem and ha.es will be 

 in a state of rapid progress. After the turn of 

 days, and when the plants have attained their full 

 growth, the sun will continue to exert its most 

 powerful influence. Should the ground he ol' a 

 proper texture and quality, the plants' will stand 

 erect, and the maturing process will proceed with- 

 out interruption ; and alter favorable summers, 

 wherein there have been regular and moderate 

 suppl'u s of rain — particularly during May and 

 June; with a prevalence, however, of bright sun- 

 shine, the crops of potatoes will be regular, the 

 tubers generally of a medium size, and the qual- 

 ity mealy, and altogether superior. If the soil he 

 a strong mellow loam, enriched with much ma- 

 nure, the haulm will, in all probability, grow too 

 rank, and filially fall over ; neverthi Ii ss, the I HI e 

 ■ hetwi en the rows will greatly remedy this 

 evil, for the sun's beains # will act upon one surface 

 :t the least, and the mailing and other injurious 

 consequences resulting from close drilling will be 

 prevented or obviated. I cannot retrain, in this 



place, lr correcting an erroneous opinion, w hich 



almost universally prevails. We heareverj where 

 of potato plants running away to haulm, and thus 

 expending their viial energy upon useless stem and 

 foliage, instead of i mploying it in the production 

 of tuberous roots. Now this remark is wholly 

 ..pposeil to philosophical fact, for invariably the 

 strongest and heaviest bulk of potatoes is found 

 attached to the most luxuriant haulm. The evil 

 ol' over luxuriance is not to he referred to the 

 paucity of tuberous product, for that is always 

 great ; it is a consequence of an over-rich soil, 

 which causes the haulm to grow so tall as to fall 

 over, become entangled, and thus to lose the ma- 

 turing influence of light ; hence, such haulm sel- 

 dom ripens in due time, it remains green even in 

 December; and the tubers, though huge, numer- 

 ous and heavy, are immature, void of mealiness, 

 and vapid in flavor. 



A fact of great importance to the growers of 

 potatoes remains to be noticed. The outside rows, 

 and all singlt rows, will be found to produce far 

 greater crops than any of the interior rows of a 

 plot in the garden or field. This depends upon a 

 variety of causes, the chief of which is, the more 

 perfect exposure of the foliage to the agency of 

 air and light. Mr. Knight assures me, that be ob- 

 tained from one outside row of an early seedling 

 variety of the preceding year, which was two feet 

 six inches exterior of an adjoining row, "« pro- 

 duce equivalent to more than fifty-eight ions per acre. 



