174 AMERICAN HUSBANDRY. 



to the value of the crop ; but, if done earlier, we ap- 

 prehend there can be no doubt that it will occasion 

 a serious injury." 



In the second volume of the Farmer's Magazine 

 is the record of another experiment m cutting the 

 tops, which shows a great deficiency in the crop ; 

 the tubers were also ill-ripened and of bad quality 

 where the ridges were cut, but, where left untouched, 

 were excellent. In the Memoirs of the Board of 

 Agriculture, Sir A. Grant states, that in his experi- 

 ments " the cutting of the stems in every instance 

 completely failed ;" and a French writer of emi- 

 nence says thai, thougli the clustered sort of potato 

 may be cut in September without injury, yet any 

 other variety would suffer by it materially. In cor- 

 roboration ef these statements we may mention, 

 that last season a heavy gust of wind blew down 

 part of the fence that enclosed our garden-lot, and 

 gave admission to some cows. We had. several 

 beds of fine-looking carrots, the tops very fresh and 

 vigorous, and the greater part of these were ^aten 

 close to the ground. They sprung up again, but at 

 the time of gathering there was a marked difference 

 between the carrots that had been topped and those 

 not touched, in favour of the latter. Some experi- 

 ments have been made that seemed to favour the 

 cutting of potato tops, or, at least, to show that no in- 

 jury resulted from the practice ; but in these cases 

 it is reasonable to suppose that the roots were so 

 far advanced towards ripening as not to be materi- 

 ally affected by the loss of the stems. 



Potatoes are preserved through our winters with 

 little difficulty, whether pitted in the field or stored 

 in cellars of proper temperature. Potatoes, in gath- 

 ering, should be as little exposed to the sun and air 

 as possible — a fact taught by nature herself, in the 

 greater vigour and perfection of roots that remain 

 in the ground over the winter unfrozen. Such roots 

 never fail of vegetating when planted, and they are 



