172 THE POSSIBILITIES 



some new, often unexpected improvement in 

 the art of agriculture, which for so many 

 centuries had been dormant. 



We just saw that while the average potato 

 crop in the country is six tons per acre, in Jersey 

 it is nearly twice as big. But Mr. Knight, 

 whose name is well known to every horticulturist 

 in this country, has once dug out of his fields 

 no less than 1,284 bushels of potatoes, or 

 thirty-four tons and nine cwts. in weight, on 

 one single acre ; and at a recent competition in 

 Minnesota 1,120 bushels, or thirty tons, could 

 be ascertained as having been grown on one acre. 



These are undoubtedly extraordinary crops, 

 but quite recently the French Professor Aime 

 Girard undertook a series of experiments in 

 order to find out the best conditions for grow- 

 ing potatoes in his country.* He did not care 

 for show-crops obtained by means of extrava- 

 gant manuring, but carefully studied all con- 

 ditions : the best variety, the depth of tilling 

 and planting, the distance between the plants. 

 Then he entered into correspondence with some 

 350 growers in different parts of France, ad- 

 vised them by letters, and finally induced them 

 to experiment. Strictly following his instruc- 

 tions, several of his correspondents made ex- 



* See the Annalea agronomiques for 1892 and 1893 ; also 

 Journal des Economises, fevrier, 1893, p. 215. 



