Retrospective Criticism. 719 



rows ; and whether any gardener of any country is prepared to prove, that 

 he ever saw as large, or even half as large, a produce afforded by the 

 dwarfish ash-leaved kidney potato, as that above stated; or who will en- 

 gage to cause as large a produce to be aftbrded by any other mode of culture 

 than that pointed out by me. I could put many more questions to you, 

 which, I think, you would find it difficult to answer: but, as I conclude 

 you will lay my paper before the public (as I have called upon you to do), 

 I think the foregoing sufficient. You may perhaps say, as you did respect- 

 ing my pine-apple plants, that you have seen a gardener and a nurseryman 

 who had seen my crops of potatoes, and insinuate that they could contra- 

 dict my statement, only that they do not choose to give their names : but 

 such evidence is not calculated to convince any person, nor to injure any 

 character (I believe I could here use a past tense) except your own. I 

 remain. Sir, your obedient servant, — T. A. KnigJit. T)ow7iton, Sept. 10. 1829. 



The following is a copy of our answer to the above communication : — 

 _T. A. Knight, Esq. Bayswater, Sept. 15. 1829. 



Sir, I have received your communication of September 10. which I am 

 sorry is too late for the October Number of the Gardener's Magazine, but 

 it will appear in the December Number, together with the whole of your 

 paper on the potato, as you required. 



As I put the question, to which your communication is an answer, myself, 

 I think it would render yoin- answer more clear, if you would state what 

 breadth you allowed to your row of 20 yards. You say, that you " al- 

 lowed something more than the full extent of the ground occupied by the 

 selected portion of the crop; " but if you would state in figures what that 

 " extent of ground " was, it would perhaps prevent me from falling into 

 any mistake in replying to your communication. I am. Sir, )'our most 

 obedient servant, — J. C. Loudon. 



The following reply to this letter was received, marked private ; but 

 having written to Mr. Knight and obtained his permission to publish it, we 

 now do so : — 



J. C. Loudon, Esq. Downton, October 16. 1829. 



Sir, I should have answered your question sooner, but that 1 waited 

 with the hope of being first enabled to see, and to state, the produce of a 

 small plantation of potatoes, which still remain unfit to be got up, on 

 account of the excessive wetness and coldness of the season. 



The crop of potatoes, which I stated to have been proportionate to 

 five hundred and thirty-nine bushels per acre, was planted with a plough. 

 My orders were for the rows to be placed accurately at four feet distance 

 from each other, conceiving that to be a proper distance for that variety of 

 potato. I measured accurately, when the potatoes were taken up, the 

 width of the intervals upon each side of the selected row, and having taken 

 half the width of those united, I am quite certain that my calculation was 

 correct. But if I obtained, as I did, and as I can obtain next season, a 

 produce proportionate to six hundred and sixty-five bushels per acre, from 

 a small and generally supposed unproductive small variety of potato, it 

 is not, surely, very important that I should prove that I obtained a much 

 smaller produce from a large and very productive variety. 1 did not sug- 

 gest anj' possible cause why the produce of the smaller variety was not 

 greater than I stated it to be ; and, therefore, I think (and I have good 

 reason to know that others think) that your sneers ami personality might 

 have been spared, as I certainly have never done any thing to call forth 

 either. 



The public are not (and I am sure that they have no reason to be) in- 

 clined to believe that I am actuated by any interested or impure motives ; 

 and whether your character, or rather that of the work of which you call 



