230 Review of Loudon's Gardener's Magazine. 



all its breast wood on, and observe the difference. He will soon find 

 that the stripped part will almost cease to thicken, and, in a short time, 

 will not possess power sufficient to form a good tufl of leaves on the em- 

 bryo buds, as noticed in the early part of this paper ; and will eventually 

 become what practical men term " hide bound." The only way to decoy 

 the ascending sap into the inferior branches, in the growing season, is by 

 stopping the superior ones at a certain period of their growth, and leav- 

 ing the inferior ones with all their breast wood growing. In the rest sea- 

 son, another way of effecting this is, by close pruning and shortening all 

 the heart of the tree, which, by my mode of management, is always full 

 of young luxuriant wood, and which I denominate " waste pipes." These 

 waste pipes I not only encourage, but I stinmlate the ti'ee to make them 

 by pruning. The purpose to which I hold these shoots subservient is, 

 by their strong action, to cause the roots to make plenty of new fibres 

 every year (the action of the root and top being well known to be recip- 

 rocal); which fibres, when in motion, are made, in the ensuing spring, 

 to serve the purpose of the inferior branches. I speak now of such trees 

 as I alluded to above. By pruning these " waste pipes " tolerably close 

 (as to the degree of which, nothing but an intimate knowledge of the 

 habits of the tree, and the effect desired, can guide us), the new root, 

 now beginning to work, and which would have filled those shoots re- 

 moved with the ascending sap, is made, instead, to fill all the inferior 

 branches of the tree first ; and, by the time that the trees have developed 

 a good strong tuft of healthy leaves on the embryo buds, the waste pipes 

 in the centre of the tree are getting to work, and decoy that heavy fund 

 of sap away, which, had it not vent in this way, would have driven most 

 of these buds into wood. Another point of much importance is, care- 

 fully, and at all times, to preserve a leading shoot at the extremities of 

 ail the branches." 



The eighth article is upon the culture of the potato, containing 

 the results of experiments made last season, which tend to show 

 that whole potatoes are more profitable to plant than sets. The 

 following is the result of one experiment : — 



" One row was planted with eight whole potatoes (of the agricultural 

 kidney), each containing eight eyes, sixty-four in the whole. Produce, 

 thirty-three potatoes ; weight, twelve pounds. 



" Two rows of the same size were planted with eight sets each, each 

 set containing four eyes, sixty-four in the whole. Produce, fifty-two po- 

 tates ; weight, eighteen pounds. 



" The result was, that twice the quantity of land produced only an ex- 

 cess of one third in weight ; but, if two rows had been planted with 

 whole potatoes, the produce would have been twenty-four pounds. I 

 have repeatedly tried the experiment, with nearly the same result ; and, 

 therefore, I come to the conclusion, that it is more advantageous to 

 plant whole (kidney) potatoes than sets. The rent, the taxes, the plough- 

 ing, and the dung must be the same in both cases. I calculate that my 

 Yorkshire friend loses £7 an acre, or 1000 guineas a season, by the use 

 ^of sets. 



" I have not tried the experiment with the round potato, which, gene- 

 rally, is so full of eyes, that it must be cut. But the pigs ask no ques- 

 tions: I speak only of potatoes fit to be eaten by man." 



