tect. /T. THE COUNTY OF FlFE. ijf 



as it is equally prolific with any other kind, im- 

 proves towards the end of the season, and con- 

 tinues longest sweet and good. While grow- 

 ing, the young tartars keep together in a cluster 

 about the root of the stem, and ly near the 

 surface ; whereas the white kinds grow deeper, 

 and spread wider in the ground. The tartars 

 are of a pale red, streaked with white, especially 

 at the top end. They are hollow eyed, and of 

 a round form. There is likewise a kind to be 

 met with, called blacks or blackamores, of a ve- 

 ry dark purple, inclining to black. It is said 

 to possess all the good properties of the tartar, 

 with this exception, that it is not so prolific. 



Potatoes are seldom planted whole ; but are 

 cut into pieces, care being taken to have an eye 

 in each set. The quantity of seed necessary de- 

 pends partly on the attention paid to the opera- 

 tion of cutting the sets, and partly on the greater 

 or less width of the drills. Three bolls will,- 

 in general, be sufficient for a Scots acre. 



3^/, Time of Planting. Potatoes are planted 

 here from the middle of April to the middle of 

 May, and sometimes as late as the beginning 

 of June. 



4//&, Culture while Growing. Whichsoever of 

 the methods of planting before mentioned, is 

 adopted, the ground is harrowed at or a jitfle 

 before the time when the potatoes begin to ap- 

 pear. This destroys all the seed weeds that have 

 sprung since the time of planting. As soon af- 

 ter as the rows can be distinctly observed, the 

 earth is tilled away from the potatoes ; the 

 plough, in this operation, being brought as near 

 A a 



