THE POTATO CROP. 349 



the previous cultivation has so made the soil in that pul- 

 verised state that the weeds are pulled up with compara- 

 tive ease. It is a fortunate circumstance that the very act 

 of getting rid of weeds in fallow crops helps to insure 

 heavier crops. As soon as other crops are off the field, 

 the weeds should be taken in hand, either by forking the 

 patches covered with weeds, or by the use of the plough, 

 the grubber, or the cultivator. In the case of meadow 

 land, and in pasture, the effect of certain artificial manures 

 has not yet been fairly and fully tried. We have rea- 

 son to believe that there is much to be done in 

 this direction. We had occasion once to take occu- 

 pation of a large meadow a short time pnevious to 

 the hay crop being ready; but such was the condition 

 of one part of it, as regards weeds, that it was diffi- 

 cult to say which was the best crop, the grass or the 

 weeds. This part of the field was literally red with the 

 seeds of the dock, which was the prevalent seed. In mak- 

 ing the hay we had all the weeds carefully separated from 

 the hay, and the whole burnt; and as soon as the hay was 

 housed and the field cleared, we top-dressed the whole of it 

 with a mixture of nitrate of soda and salt in about equal 

 proportions, and at the rate of 2^ cwts. to the acre, taking 

 care to give to the weed-infested part a much heavier dress- 

 ing. To the great delight of the writer, the weeds were 

 fairly mastered, and no longer did they show in anything 

 like the rampant style they did in his first occupation of 

 the field. The hint thus afforded was taken, and the plan 

 adopted in other parts, and with the like success. In his 

 locality, and with his soil (a pretty heavy one), he has had 

 such a success in the treatment of perennial or root-propa- 

 gating weeds with nitrate of soda and salt, that he has a 

 good deal of confidence in the belief that if not a prevent- 

 ive it is a cure. 



152. The Potato Crop. The potato belongs to the order 

 "solanae," the genus is "solanum," and the species is 

 " solanum tuberosum." The varieties cultivated are very 

 numerous, over two hundred, of these there are two 



