C 217 3 



No. XIV. 



jin Essay on the Cultivation of Potatoes. By the Rev, Edmund Carlwright. 



Honos erit huic quoque Pomo. ViR. 



Potatoes, though they have been naturalized to this climate for nearly two hun- 

 dred years, were not considered as objects of field culture till about half a century 

 ago ; and it is not much above half that time since they were first cultivated with 

 any other view than as the food of man. 



Their primary application ought certainly to be as an article of human suste- 

 nance, and yet, unless they can be produced on such terms as will enable the 

 grower to afford them to his catde and hogs, when there is no demand for them in 

 the market, he will not venture to cultivate them, except, perhaps, for the London 

 sale, on such a scale as will always insure a regular supply. 



The ori^nal country of the potatoe is Brazil ; and yet, though coming from 

 between the tropics, it is the production of a temperate climate, being a native of 

 the mountains, at such an altitude above the general surface of the country as not 

 to suffer by too hot or too cold an exposure. Hence it accommodates itself to 

 the vicissitudes of an English atmosphere with nearly the facility of an indigenous 

 plant. 



I. "The Method of raising Potatoes from Seed. 



In treating of this invaluable esculent, I shall begin with pointing out the method 

 of raising it from seed. 



It is to be observed, that the apple of the potatoe, which contains the seed, rarely, 

 if ever, finds sufficient heat in this climate to ripen. The apples, therefore, are to 

 be gathered with their stalks, and hung up in some warm place, a kitchen, for ex- 

 ample, or other room where there is a constant fire. In the course of the winter 

 the apples will become pulpy, which is an indication that their seeds are ripe, 



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