348 



Spiking Budding. 



Vol. XI. 



rare to see a field of potatoes exhibiting any 

 quantity of flower ! 



I. Stewart Hepburne, of Colynhalzie, 

 Crieff. 



The potatoe as originally brought from Vir- 

 ginia by Sir Walter Raleigh, is stated to 

 have been of a watery or waxy nature — and 

 of a small size, little larger than a walnut. 

 In Europe, for a period of two hundred years, 

 it has been subjected to our artificial process 

 of high culture with much manure, which 

 has greatly changed its chemical and struc- 

 tural condition. By this artificial forcing in 

 higher conditioned land, it has been vastly 

 increased in size, and the relative proportion 

 of its constituent principles altered. The 

 proportion of its starch and sugar, both abso- 

 lute and relative, has been very greatly aug- 

 mented, and that of its gluten, as I conceive, 

 proportionably diminished. 



The potatoe is an exotic and tropical plant, 

 and although it has been long acclimatized, 

 we know in practice that it is a delicate es- 

 culent, requiring a great deal more care in 

 its cultivation and preservation generally, 

 than it has received. 



The wearing-out theory is not well estab- 

 lished ; although no inconsiderable amount 

 of learning has been brought to bear upon 

 it. Raising potatoes from the seed or apples, 

 however, is said to have driven away the 

 cur] in some parts of the country forty-five 

 years ago, and quite coincides with the pro- 

 priety of a vigorous trial being made to raise 

 potatoes from the healthiest seed — notwith 

 standing those raised from the seed, in this 

 part only a few years ago — as well as in 

 other parts, have equally failed with the 

 long cultivated varieties — from all accounts 

 I can learn. To imitate nature as far as 

 practicable, in raising potatoes for seed, is of 

 vital importance; and planting shallow on 

 the flat surface would appear to comprehend 

 this principle. 



No difference between those received from 

 seed and those from tubers. 



Some years ago we got a few seed pota- 

 toes from Mr. Bruce, tenant, Greenknow, 

 Berwick, they are known by the name of 

 "Jacob's cattle," which had been planted by 

 Mr. Bruce and his father, during the last 

 eighty years, without one solitary instance 

 of failure, — and last year the crop was per 

 fectly free of disease. From repeated expe 

 riments in the last five years, we have found 

 that old and long cultivated varieties have 

 been less subject to failure than the new va 

 rieties raised from the apple. In point of 

 fact, until we began to raise new varieties 

 from the apple, such a thing as failure or 

 disease was never once heard of! 



Potatoes planted early, so as to be ripe by 

 the last of July — all perfectly sound. 



About eight years ago I took it into my 

 head that the failure was owing to the potatoe 

 having been so long planted from tubers, and 

 I set about raising them from the seed. I 

 succeeded in raising a very great variety, 

 but selected one I considered far superior to 

 the others, and got a good stock from it. I 

 had more failures from this stock than from 

 any other. 



Late planted potatoes have escaped dis- 

 ease. 



The great mass of authority goes to es- 

 tablish, that no modification of the disease 

 was observed to result from the condition or 

 kind of manure, and that it manifested itself 

 to an equal extent, and with equal virulence, 

 under all applications, whether of common 

 manure or what have been called special 

 manures. This information is from the most 

 experienced, practical farmers of the coun- 

 try. 



The more richly manured, the greater the 

 disease. 



That the disease was as prevalent on 

 newly cultivated as on old cultivated lands ! 



The higher the cultivation and the richer 

 manured, the greater the disease. 



On the estates of the Duke of Montrose, 

 potatoes on the north side of a hill all sound 

 — on the south side all unsound ! culture, 

 &c., the same on both sides of the hill. — 

 Farmer and Mechanic. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 Spring Budding. 



Mr. Editor, — Having frequently tried 

 spring budding, by inserting buds that had 

 already commenced to grow, without much 

 success, an improvement suggested itself, 

 which I put in practice this spring. 



Being in your office early in the present 

 month, before the success of my experiment 

 could be determined, and meeting an espe- 

 cial favourite, The Horlicullurist, I natu- 

 rally turned to the very interesting article 

 on this subject, by R. Nelson. 



From the fact that he does not mention 

 any method of pruning the scions, there may 

 be less difficulty in doing so generally, than 

 I have found. Spring budding is not new, 

 but because of the difficulty in preserving 

 buds of the tender fruits, it has been less 

 practised. By cutting scions as late in the 

 spring as the season would allow, covering 

 them with snow, and the snow with chaffs 

 and straw, to prevent it melting, until the 

 sap ascends, I have succeeded admirably. 

 The buds then inserted in the usual way, 



