316 Transactions of the London Horticultural Society. 



potatoes are laid between layers of earth, in boxes, and placed 

 in any dry covered place free from frost. It is evident that, 

 as there are no leaves formed, no new vegetable matter can 

 be generated; but merely the transformation of the vegetable 

 matter in the old potato into the form of new tubers. All 

 that is obtained is a small quantity of a delicate article, for a 

 large quantity of a useful one. Half a dozen modes of doing 

 this will be found given in the Encyclopedia of Gardening, 

 2d edit. p. 594. ; and a mode practised in Scotland, very 

 similar to that of Mr. Knight, will be found described in our 

 present Volume, p. 56. 



The remaining part of Mr. Knight's paper describes his 

 economical method of obtaining early potatoes ; but we really 

 cannot see in what the economy consists, or in what respect 

 his mode of procuring potato sprouts is better than that de- 

 scribed by our correspondents R. W. (Vol. I. p. 405.), Mr. 

 Saul (Vol. II. p. 47.), and a Denbighshire gardener (Vol. II. 

 p. 171.). Our opinion is, that it is nothing like so good; 

 but, that our readers may judge for themselves, we shall give 

 the remainder of Mr. Knight's paper verbatim. We are the 

 more anxious to do this, because Mr. Knight has charged us 

 with misrepresenting a former communication on the same 

 subject (Vol. V. p. 718.), and even threatened us in no very 

 measured terms (Vol. V. p. 719, 720.). It is not, however, on 

 account of Mr. Knight's threats (to " bear us down," &c), 

 that we give his communication at length ; but because we 

 really do not fully understand his paper, are most solicitous 

 to avoid misrepresentation. 



" Similar experiments were made in the last autumn ; but the tempera- 

 ture of the ground was so low, owing to the excessive coldness of the pre- 

 ceding summer, that not a single tuber vegetated. A part were therefore 

 taken up, and made to vegetate by artificial heat, till they had emitted 

 stems about 3 in. long ; when they were taken from the soil, and the further 

 progress of vegetation arrested. In the middle of January, these were put 

 into a pot with some barren sandy soil, and placed in the pine-stove, and 

 supplied moderately with water, till the middle of March. At that period 

 I discovered that small new potatoes had been abundantly generated, and 

 water was not subsequently given till the middle of April ; when I found 

 the pot to contain very well grown young potatoes, which were without 

 .any other defect than that of not being, to my taste, sufficiently mature. 

 The requisite degree of artificial heat to insure success in experiments 

 similar to the preceding, may, of course, be obtained from a variety of dif- 

 ferent sources, which I need not point out ; and not improbably, I think, 

 by means of a temperate hot-bed, the surface of the mould of which might 

 be applied to other purposes ; but I should prefer clean and barren sand 

 for the tubers to be placed in, as those could not receive early benefit from 

 a rich soil, and their produce might be injured in quality. 



" The largest crops of early potatoes will usually be obtained from tubers 

 which have ripened late, and somewhat imperfectly, in the preceding year ; 

 but it is quite essential to the success of the preceding experiment, that 



