THE POTATO. 167 



a serious drain upon the vegetative powers of the 

 land. In England and Ireland, however, large quan- 

 tities of the finest wheat are produced after potatoes ; 

 but as this crop is usually heavily manured, and as 

 its culture requires a thorough moving of the soil in 

 planting, hoeing, and gathering, this will account for 

 the success of the wheat, in defiance of the drain 

 upon the soil by the potato. In this country wheat 

 rarely follows the potato unless as a spring crop, in 

 which case it usually succeeds well. 



With us potatoes are almost invariably planted in 

 hills ; in England and Ireland, in drills or by dib- 

 bling. According to the British Husbandry, "The 

 market gardeners and farmers of Essex, from which 

 the London market is principally supplied, dibble in 

 their sets ; and a plan followed by men engaged in 

 such large undertakings is entitled to every degree 

 of attention." 



■ The ground is laid out in drills at the average dis- 

 tance of two feet, the surface being flat or ridged, 

 according to the nature of the soil. In Yorkshire, 

 the ground is ploughed into one-bout ridges, and the 

 sets or potatoes used for seed are dropped by women 

 and children in the furrows. The manure is put in 

 at the same time and covered by the plough, divi- 

 ding the ridge, and rriaking a new one over the pota- 

 toes. Potatoes should be kept clean until the tops 

 have a considerable size, when they overcome all 

 weeds, and require no farther attention till the time 

 of gathering. Manuring in hills is also practised in 

 this comitry, and in most instances with success ; 

 but from some experiments made by the British 

 Board of Agriculture, it appears that sets placed over 

 the dung produced at the rate of five to four beyond 

 those placed under it : thus, with an equal quantity 

 of sets and manure, those placed above the manure 

 gave 105 lbs. four ounces, those beneath, 81 lbs. 

 three ounces. 



Few individuals in this country will be inclined, 



