POS 



[ 639 ] 



POT 



GREENHOUSE ANNUALS. 

 P. halimoi'des (halimus-like). $. Yellow. June. 

 Jamaica. 1823. 



meridia'na (noonday). . Yellow. May. E. 



Ind. l/gi. 



parvifn'/ia (small-leaved). . Yellow. June. 



Jamaica. 1799. 



jpi7o'sa(-haggy). $. Pink. June. S. Amer. 



1690. 



pusi'lla (weak). . Yellow. June. Trinidad. 



1824. 



quadri'fida (four-cleft). $. Yellow. August. 



E. Jnd. 1773. 



HAEDY ANNUALS. 

 P.folio'sa(leafy). J. Yellow. June. Guinea. 1822. 



grandiflu'ra lu'tea (large yellow -flowered). 



Yellow. June. Chili. 1827. 



Guine'nsis (Guinea). . Yellow. June. Guinea. 



1823. 



involucra'ta (involucrated). \. Pink. June. 



1820. 



mucrona'ta (sharp-pointed), i. Yellow. June. 



1822. 



olera'cea (eatable), f . Yellow. July. Europe. 



. 1582. 



sati'va (cultivated). 1$. Yellow. August. 



S. Amer. 1652. 

 au'rea (golden). 1. Yellow. August. 



S. Amer. 1652. 



POSOQUE'EIA. (Posoqueri,ihe Guianan 

 name of longiflo'ra. Nat. ord., Cincho- 

 nads [Cinchonacese]. Linn., 5-Pentandria 

 I-Monogynia. Allied to Gardenia.) 



Stove, white- flowered, evergreen shrubs. Cut- 

 tings of young shoots in sand, under a bell-glass, 

 and in heat, in April or May ; sandy loam, leaf- 

 mould, and a little peat. Winter temp., 48 to 

 60 j summer, 60 to 85. 

 P. gra'cilis (slender). 5. Guiana. 1825. 



latifo'lia (broad-leaved). 5. September. Gui- 



ana. 1826. 



longiflo'ra (long-flowered). 5. Guiana. 1822. 



versl' color (changeable-coloured). Pinky-white. 



September. Cuba. 183Q. 



POTATO. Solatium tubero'sum. 



Soil A dry, friable, fresh, and mode- 

 rately rich soil is the best for every 

 variety of the potato. 



The black - skinned and rough -red 

 thrive better than any other in moist, 

 strong, cold soils. If manure is abso- 

 lutely necessary, whatever may be the 

 one employed, it is better spread regu- 

 larly over the surface previous to digging 

 than put into the holes with the sets, or 

 spread in the trench when they are so 

 planted ; but, if possible, avoid manuring. 

 .Leaf-mould, or very decayed stable- dung, 

 is the best of all manures ; sea-weed is a 

 very beneficial addition to the soil ; and 

 r;o is salt. Coal-ashes and sea-sand are 

 applied with great benefit to retentive 

 soils. The situation must always be open. 



Propagation. It is propagated in 

 general by the tubers, though the shoots 

 arising from thence, and layers of the 



stalks, may be employed. New varieties 

 are raised from seed. 



Planting in the open ground is best 

 done in October and November, and may 

 thence be continued until the end of 

 March. This last month is the latest in 

 which any considerable plantation should 

 be made. They will succeed if planted 

 in May, or even June ; yet it ought always 

 to be kept in mind that the earliest 

 planted, especially in dry soils, produce 

 the finest, healthiest, and most abundant 

 crops. 



Sets. The next point for consideration 

 is the preparation of the sets. Some 

 gardeners recommend the largest pota- 

 toes to be planted whole ; others, that 

 they be sliced into pieces containing two 

 or three eyes ; a third set, to cut the 

 large tubers directly in half; a fourth, 

 the employment of the shoots only, 

 which are thrown out if potatoes are 

 kept in a warm, damp situation ; and a 

 fifth, that merely the parings be em- 

 ployed. Cuttings of the stalks, five or 

 six inches in length, or rooted suckers, 

 will be productive if planted, during 

 showery weather, in May or June ; and 

 during this last month, or early in July, 

 the potato may be propagated by layers, 

 which are formed by pegging down the 

 young stalks when about twelve inches 

 long, they being covered three inches 

 thick with mould at a joint. For the 

 main crops, moderate-sized whole pota- 

 toes are the best. 



To obtain early crops where tubers are 

 rapidly formed, large sets must be em- 

 ployed. In these one or two eyes at 

 most should be allowed to remain. If 

 the sets are placed with their leading 

 buds upwards, few and very strong early 

 stems will be produced; but, if the 

 position is reversed, many weak and later 

 shoots will arise, and not only the earli- 

 ness but the quality of the produce be 

 depreciated. For the earliest crops there 

 are, likewise, several modes of assisting 

 the forward vegetation of the sets. These 

 should be prepared by removing every 

 eye but one or two ; and being placed in 

 a layer in a warm room, where air and 

 light can be freely admitted, with a cover- 

 ing of straw, chaif, or sand, they soon 

 emit shoots, which must be strengthened 

 by exposure to the air and light as much 

 as possible, by taking off the cover with- 

 out injuring them. During cold weather, 

 and at night, it must always be removed i 



