Potatoes. 277 



protection given to the Potatoes, by planting broad beans or 

 early peas on every second, third, or fourth ridge. 



Forcing in Frames. Although the forcing of early Potatoes 

 in frames has hitherto been relegated to the private gardener, 

 it is by no means certain that the grower for market is not 

 neglecting the opportunity for doing a profitable business. 

 In the island of Guernsey many of the growers regularly crop 

 their cold glasshouses with Potatoes during the winter and find 

 it a profitable business, and although they have a great advan- 

 tage over growers on the mainland in a comparative immunity 

 from severe frosts, this is not a matter of the first importance 

 when growing in frames, because frost can be excluded by the 

 use of straw mats. The high prices which early Potatoes 

 realise are sufficient to tempt French growers, who are now 

 forcing them, and if they can find a satisfactory profit in the 

 business it ought to be possible for us to do the same. The 

 fact that some of our growers can now hold their own against 

 imported early frame-grown salads is an argument in favour 

 of extending the effort to frame-grown Potatoes. 



The crop can be grown either on mild hot-beds or in cold 

 frames ; in the former case the tubers are ready for lifting in 

 the early part of May, and in the latter about the end of May 

 or the beginning of June. The shallow frames already fully 

 described on pages 68 to 71 will serve admirably for this 

 purpose if a Gin. board is temporarily fixed round the bottom to 

 increase their depth. The hot-bed is made in the second 

 week of February, about 1ft. thick, as described on pages 128 

 and 129, then the frame is put on, and about 9in. compost, as 

 described on the preceding page, is put inside. A few days 

 afterwards, when the soil is warmed through, well-sprouted 

 sets are planted 4in. deep and 9in. apart, this giving twenty-five 

 to each light. The frames are kept closely covered with mats 

 until the tops begin to show, when the mats are removed each 

 morning but replaced each night. Ventilation is given daily, 

 from an inch on rough cold days to three or four inches when 

 the weather is mild, removing the lights altogether during the 

 daytime as the weather becomes genial. When the haulms 

 reach the glass, the frames are raised on a brick at each 

 corner. If the tubers show through the soil or there is any 



