Cklhwe of the Potato. ^ 483 



for their rich flavour, and others for producing large quanti- 

 ties ; some sorts have their fruit large very early, while others 

 are small until nearly ripe ; some, again, bear large berries, 

 but only a lew^ of them, while other sorts bear both large and 

 numerous berries ; some sorts are ripe early, as 1 op Sawyer, 

 Huntsman, Rockwood, &c. ; some, again, continue to grow 

 much longer than others before they are ripe, such are the 

 Printer, Duckwing, and several more. Now, unless a person 

 knows the names and peculiarities of the different sorts of 

 gooseberries, he is not likely, when he gives an order for 

 plants, to be suited according to his wish, as there are several 

 sorts not worth ffrowinsr. 



I am, Sir, &c. 

 Blachley, near Manchester. Joseph Clarkson. 



Art. XIII. On the Culture of the Potato. By Mr. C. Hale 

 Jessop, Nurseryman, Cheltenham. 



Sir, 



I HERE send you a few lines on my mode of cultivatino- that 

 inestimable root the potato, a vegetable so little thought of a 

 century ago {Encyc. of Gard.^ p. 624^.), that the famous nur- 

 serymen, London and Wise, did not consider the potato 

 worthy of notice in their Complete Gardener. The rapid pro- 

 gress which this most useful of cultivated esculents has made, 

 its varieties, and the various uses to which it may be applied 

 (Vol. I. p. 438.), must be viewed by all with astonishment and 

 delight. By some it is considered as the poor man's food ; 

 but at what table does it not almost daily appear, more espe- 

 cially at the tables of those who, like myself, prefer a vege- 

 table diet, where its use could not be dispensed with ? 



I have for many years successfully cultivated the potato in 

 the under-mentioned manner, and the crops have much sur- 

 prised those who have seen them, no small ones or refuse of 

 any kind being produced. 



It must be allowed that, either in the growth of timber or 

 potatoes, we cannot get beyond a certain quantum on a cer- 

 tain surface, and evei^y one will allow that thick planting is 

 not the way to obtain it, and must to a very great degree 

 exhaust the soil, especially with potatoes you expect to pro- 

 duce again. My practice is as follows : — 



Double-dig the ground, and, without manuring, plant the 

 potatoes whole, 2 ft. apart each way. When the plants rise, 

 I hoe and draw the earth up to them, moulding entirely round 



I I 2 



