GARDENING FOR ALL. 45 
been properly stored it is most probable that the young shoots 
will be either lost or spoiled or in great danger of being so, if 
planting is deferred—as I know it is by a few people—until 
after the period mentioned. The first sprouts are the best, 
therefore they should be saved if possible. 
Other conditions being equal, whole sets are the best in 
the long run; and those weighing 3 or 4 ozs. each, are better 
for producing heavy crops than are sets that are larger or 
smaller. I am quite aware, that, under special cultural 
conditions, single eyes can be made to produce heavy crops ; 
but, if those special conditions were withdrawn, then the 
single eyes would be a comparative failure, as has been 
demonstrated in practice. 
It is better to plant in furrows rather than in holes or 
cups formed by a dibber. Furrows may be drawn by the 
plough, or the hoe, and should be three or four inches deep, 
according as the soil is sandy or clayey, four in sandy soil and 
three in stiff soil. The cups hold water about the sets, the 
furrows don’t. 
Plant widely apart, both between the rows and in the 
rows, in order that the plants may have space for root 
extension and for a free admission of sunlight to, and a 
circulation of air around, all their leaves and stems. A rule 
for our guidance in planting may be stated in this way: 
Plant any late variety of potato, at such distance apart 
between the sets in each direction, as will be nearly equal 
to the average height or length of the top or haulm. We 
do not carry this out strictly to the letter, but they who 
carry out the spirit of the rule reap their reward and are 
satisfied. 
Lift the crop as soon as ripe in September or October. 
Select the seed at once for the following year, and, instead 
of placing them in heaps and covering with soil, place them 
(if possible) in single or double layers on shelves in light and 
airy sheds, or rooms, from which frost can be excluded. 
Then, gradually through the winter, a short, stout shoot is 
produced of a deep purple colour, and around its base is a 
mass of rootlets ready to seize and penetrate the soil in all 
directions as soon as planted. Growth follows with 
marvellous rapidity, and none of the pristine vigour of the 
seed has been lost. 
