ABOUT FRUITS, FLOWERS AND FARMING. 385 



" When the plant makes its appearance above the surface, 

 the follo\\nng mixture may be used : for each acre take 1 

 bushel of plaster and 2 bushels of good ashes, and sow it 

 broadcast as even as possible ; a moist day is preferable for 

 this operation — for want of it, a still evening will do. 



" The operation of hilling should be performed once and 

 once only during the season ; if repeated after the potatoe 

 is formed it will cause young shoots to spring up, which 

 retards the growth of the potatoe and diminishes its size. 

 If weeds s])ring up at any time they should be kept down 

 bv the hand or hoe, Avhich can be done without disturbinsr 

 the growth of the stalk. 



" My manner of hoeing or hilling is not to haul in the 

 earth from the space between the hills or rows, but to bring 

 on fresh* earth sufficient to raise the hill around the plant 1^ 

 or 2 inches ; in a wet season the lesser quantity will be suffi- 

 cient, in a dry one the larger will not be found too much. 

 The substance for this purpose may consist of the scrapings 

 of ditches or filthy streets, or the earth from a barnyard that 

 requires levelling : where convenient, it may be taken from 

 swamps, marshes, the beds and banks of rivers or small 

 sluggish streams at low water. If planted on a clay soil, 

 fresh loam taken at any depth from the surface, even if it 

 partakes largely of fine sand, will be found an excellent top- 

 dressing. If planted on a loamy soil, the earth taken from 

 clay pits, clay or slaty soil will answer a valuable purpose ; 

 in fact, there are but few farms in the country but what 

 may be furnished with some suitable substance for top- 

 dressing, if sought for. The hoeing and hilling may be per- 

 formed with facility by the aid of a horse and cart, the 

 horse travelling in the centre of a space between the 

 drills, tlie cart-wheels occupying the two adjoining ones, 

 thereby avoiding any disturbance or injury to the growing 

 plants." 



Mr. Barnimi's method has attracted great attention, from 

 the fact that he actually raised from 1,000 to 1,500 bushels 



17 



