300 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



December, 1913 



an Ecxchange. The seed size tu- 

 bers are picked up in these boxes 

 straight from the ground, taken to 

 the storeroom and stacked up in 

 tiers. About three or four months 

 before planting time, and before 

 growth commences, they are grad- 

 ed according to size, and set up on 

 end in their boxes to sprout, f^ee 

 circulation of air being given at 

 all times, except ' during actual 

 frost, and growth is conhned to 

 one or two strong sprouts. 



The following advantages result 

 from the above method. A, sprout- 

 ed tuber given favourable weather 

 comes up at once, and an earlier 

 crop results. Should the weather 

 be unfavourable, planting( can be 

 delayed until the soil is in a suit- 

 able state, when, once in the 

 ground, the sets go on without a 

 cheick . At planting time the boxes 

 are taken out as they are, the sets 

 are put direct from them into the 

 trenches, and the result is a per- 

 fect set with sprouts undamaged. 

 I have dwelt on this at length, as 

 upon the proper selection and 

 treatment of the sets the crop to 

 a great extent depends. 



— Soil and Preparation of the 

 Same. — ' 



The quality and quantity of 

 ground to be set aside for Potato 

 culture must, of course, be deter- 

 mined by the cultivator. Potatoes 

 may be and are grown excellently 

 in nearly every class of soil, al- 

 though the best results may be ex- 

 pected from sandy loam. It is just 

 here, however, that a little judi- 

 cious experimenting, together with 

 an intelligent observation of your 

 neighbour's crop, may come in 

 useful. Take notice of those sorts 

 which do well in your immediate 

 neighbourhood on soil similar to 

 your own, test their keeping and 

 cooking qualities where possible, 

 and make your selection of vari- 

 eties accordinghr. Shoidd you de- 

 sire to grow for the show table, 

 the appearance of the tuber, must 

 also be studied. I ha\'e no hesita- 

 tion in saying that tubers quite 

 suitable for both purposes may be 

 obtained by observant selection. 



which will work evenlv and easily. 

 I am well aware that on the point 

 of autumn digging and manuring 

 expert opinion differs ; however, I 

 contend that groimd so prepared 

 in nine cases out of ten is in a far 

 more suitable condition to receive 

 the sets and gives better results 

 than when prepared and planted 

 straight away in spring. Where 

 good natural manures cannot be 

 obtained, artificial nvust be used. 

 There are at the present time 

 many excellent sorts of, Potato 

 manure on the market ; but for 

 those who like to prepare their 

 own, the undermentioned is an 'ex- 

 cellent mixture : Three parts super- 

 phosphate, two parts kainit and 

 two parts sulphate oi ammonia. 

 Sow it broadcast over the ground 

 before commencing to plant at the 

 rate of 81bs. .to lolbs. per square 

 rod. This mode of application en- 

 courages root formation and the 

 tender rootlets run less risk of 

 damage by contact with the sttong 

 chemicals than when the manure is 

 sown in the trenches in quantity. 



— Planting. — 



The principle to guide us here 

 must be to see that sufhciant space 

 is gi\ en to every plant to mature 

 and absorb sim and air, according 

 to the character of the variety 

 and the state of the soil. There is 

 no doubt that close planting is a 

 source of disease, resulting as it 

 does in a drawn weakly haulm, 

 which, when saturated with mois- 

 ture and without sufficient space 

 for air and sun to penetrate and 

 dry it falls a prey to disease and 

 the crop is worthless. W th cane 

 in planting the opposite result 

 would probably have been ob- 

 tained. 



The following are safe distances 

 to plant : Early varieties, i foot 

 from set to set, i8 inches to 2 

 feet, between the tows ; second 

 earl'ies and small top varieties, I2 

 inches to sixteen inches from set 

 to set, 2 feet to 2'% feet between 

 the rows ; main crop — 15 inches to 

 18 inches from set to set, 3 feet to 

 4 feet between the rows. 



— Cultivating. — 



be readily distinguished, as they 

 carry an embryo green fruit under 

 their yellow petals, whereas the 

 male Uower has only a thin stalk. 

 As there is always a great excess 

 of male llowers, gardeners pick one 

 off, remove its petals, and then 

 insert the remaining, central part 

 into a female Oower, leaving it 

 there. This method is generally 

 effectual, and if six female flowers 

 can be so fertilised on one day, 

 the operator has done his best to 

 secure a crop. If there are only 

 one or two female llowers open at 

 once it is best to pick them' off and 

 wait till there are several ready at 

 the same time, even when you are 

 depending on natural fertilization. 

 Whichever it is, it is important 

 that all the melons should have 

 an equal start. The middle of the 

 day is the best time to operate 

 on the llowers. 



♦ 



Potatoes. 



Potato boxes, constructed from 

 quarter-inch deal boards, 24 inches 

 long, 12 inches wide and 2% inches 

 deep, provided with stout cross 

 handles i inch thick, and standing 

 4 inches clear above the top of the 

 box, are universal in Jersey, says 



OLD WASH WAYS ARE GOOD 



but tk* 



CLEANSO WAY IS BETTER. 



The old washing ways had to b« tho- 

 roughly tested before they could really 

 be called GOOD. If you do the same 

 with COX' CLEANSO— give it a tho- 

 rough test, use it according to the 

 instructions on each bottle (n«t using 

 too much) there is only one conclu- 

 sion you can come to, and that is, 

 that it is far better than the old way 

 of rubbing with a lot of soap, for 



CLEANSO saves half your time, 



CLEAN*SO saves a go«d deal of so«p 



CLEANSO dispenses with the need 

 of a washboard. 



CLEANSO obviates all tiresome rub- 

 bing and scrubbisg ; aad there- 

 fore clothes last much longer. 



CLEANSO cleanses THOROUGH I. Y 



CLEANSO is non-injurious to even 

 the most delioftte fabrics and 



EVERY GROCER SELLS CLEANSO. 



As regards preparation of the 

 soil, for my own part, when- 

 ever possible, I practice and 

 strongly recommend aiitumn dig- 

 ging and manuring, then leaving 

 the ground rough to get the bene- 

 fits accruing from frost and rain. 

 Give a liberal manuring with half- 

 rotted stable manure, trenching 

 the same in at least i foot. By 

 this process there will be a friable, 

 mellow toj) crust at planting time. 



If good results are desired this 

 must be carefully attended to. As 

 soon as the growth shows above 

 ground lightly fork or hoe care- 

 fully between the rows, 'thus keep- 

 ing down weeds and making the 

 soil more suitable for earthing iij). 

 Careful attention must be given 

 to earthing up as growth progress- 

 es, and when it is apparent that 

 the haulms will be bruised by fur- 

 ther working among them the final 



