VEGETABLES DESCRIPTION AM) CULTUEE. 



399 



should be planted as early in the spring as possible. At 

 the South in January or February, and at the North in 

 March or April. The main crop may be put iu three or 

 four weeks later, but the early planted crops (if they 

 escape the spring frosts) are best. In colder climates the 

 sets are often kept in a warm room covered with damp 

 moss until they have grown a half inch, and then if 

 planted out without being dried, in a warm situation, are 

 considerably earlier. A teaspoonful of gypsum dusted 

 over the plants when they appear above ground is very 

 beneficial. Never work the crop after the blossom buds 

 appear. 



When the tops begin to die, dig the crop, and store in a 

 cool, dry place. Sprinkle them with lime when dug, and 

 they are less in danger of rot. This disease often attacks 

 them while growing, beginning at the haulm, and de- 

 scending to the tubers, which soon become a mass of rot- 

 tenness. If potatoes are allowed to remain in the ground 

 until they begin to grow, they become waxy and worth- 

 less, and those that are stored will not remain eatable, 

 unless the sprouts are rubbed off as they appear. 



Second Crop of Potatoes. — It has been the practice in the 

 South for many years, particularly in some sections, to 

 grow seed potatoes from the first crop, but the custom has 

 been to look to the Northern-grown potato for the supply. 

 It needs no demonstration to convince an intelligent 

 gardener that the potatoes grown in the South are pre- 

 ferable to those shipped from a colder climate for seed 

 purposes, and the method of securing this end by what 

 is known as the second crop is receiving a great deal of 

 attention among gardeners. To succeed in this cultivation 

 the following plan must be adopted. The potatoes of the 

 early crop must be allowed to remain iu the soil until 

 fully ripe; this can be determined by the dying of the 

 tops. They are then dug and placed in the shade, ex- 



