CULTIVATION OF PLANTS. 133 



toes will then have been formed, and those only are to be re- 

 served for cultivation which are approved of. It will be found 

 that, whatever has been the parent stock, the seeds will pro- 

 duce numerous varieties, some white, some dark in the colour, 

 with tubers of different forms round, oblong and kidney- 

 shaped. This is a tedious process, but necessary when it is 

 desired to cultivate new varieties from seeds. 



Preparation of the land. In preparing the land for pota- 

 toes, it ought to be ploughed late in the preceding autumn a 

 slight sprinkling of lime over the ground before the turning of 

 the furrows, which should be as deep as the nature of the soil 

 will justify will be found beneficial to the crop. The plough- 

 ing should be lengthwise, so as to keep the ridges dry. In 

 the ensuing spring, as soon as the other labours of the farm 

 will allow, and the land is sufficiently dry, it is to be cross- 

 ploughed and harrowed, by repeated turns of the harrow, in 

 every direction. 



The roller also, if necessary, is to be employed to reduce' 

 the soil; and all the root- weeds are to be carefully collected 

 and carried away, to be formed into a compost, as is described 

 in page 61. The land is then ploughed in a direction cross- 

 ing the last ploughing; that is, the plough is carried across the 

 field diagonally, as it is not only desirable, but important, that 

 each alternate ploughing should cross the previous one; and 

 as the next turn forms the drills they will be in the direction 

 of the former ridges. Thus all the ploughings are made to 

 traverse each other. 



The distance from centre to centre, or in other words, the 

 breadth of the drills at the base, vary from twenty to thirty 

 inches. The drills, if not formed at the last ploughing as above 

 mentioned, may be laid out by means of a small drill plough, 

 calculated to turn a deep narrow furrow. 



The manure, when the drills are formed in this manner, is 

 to be spread in suitable quantities in the hollows. Dung, in 

 all cases, it is known, acts most quickly upon young plants 

 when it is well prepared; but in the case of the potato, it is 

 not necessary. It should, however, undergo some slight fer- 

 mentation. 



The quantity of manure varies according to the character 

 of the soil and other circumstances. From twenty to thirty 

 common loads of barn-yard manure is considered sufficient, 

 when, instead of being deposited in the drills, it is spread on 

 the surface and ploughed in. A liberal application in either 

 case is necessary. When the plan of ploughing in the manure 

 is adopted, the addition of about twenty bushels of lime may 

 12 



