lU riCTOBIAL FnACTI'\iL VEGETABLE GROWIXG. 



the novelist writes of love, discussing its strength and its weLikness, 

 its beauty and i:-- ':l:arrri-. i:s elasiveiiess anu c^'ntradicrious. its 

 influence on liuiLa _ n. its countle-- i^La---. iii!pu!>es, and 



elfc'Cts. All th:- iia.y l^e, I am tied down_. by typebound 

 decree, to a few ai:ri'a_'.:^d y:i.r:i,rai'b>. 



Let me s:!-:: a tcw la^iM- of sp:c::il interest in connection with 

 Potatoe>. aa.i ,:^'e th^in caad artei.ricai. 



What is the b^^r ^ranin or Pvrato seed i By seed, it is well 

 understood. I do ncc -prak cO -crd prope]\ wliiL'li i> r^nlv lued in 

 crossd^reeding. but or Srt-i. la;2-e or sniab -ced bc^ ; Should it 

 be cut or uncut Xow. the more l^jaatces a man ^r-WYs and the more 

 carefully he experiments— in >horr. the m'"'r>e ex]-?rienced he is. the 

 more he hesitates t-:^ answ-r these cpa^-ti v-.s. Th'.ase experts who 

 have never grown P'^tatoes, except on be>t Lvaality. t\A';'pence-per- 

 ream. sermon paper, cau answer them fast enough, oi c:ur>e. A- to 

 the lirst, in a con-:dera:de collection nf varieties some are r.aturally 

 large and otliers .-mall. A H-oz. seed would be large in the ca-e of 

 Myatt's Ashleaf. but small in the case of b p-to-date, And as to the 

 second, a cut set is good if it has a strong" rent and is dry, but bad 

 if it is unsprouted and wet, when planted. Taking an average of 

 many >orts. I shoald say (I) that t^-^ 3-oz, seed i- large enough for 

 anything or anybody : {2) tliat it mattc-rs very little whether whole 

 or cut sets are u-ed so long as tkev are wdl prepared beforehand. 

 Personally, I have done eqnaby well ur.der the ruht conditions and 

 equally badly under the wrong with both. 



People generally begin to think about their -red Potatoes some 

 half hour or so before they want to j'lant. They -liouid thirds abont 

 them directly they take them up tUe previ^ou- year, >eed Pcoatees 

 should nevei be clamr^-d. but should be kept in a light, cool, frost- 

 proof place. They wik tiion beceme ^reen, in this -tate they are un- 

 wholesome as lo^d. but are much liardlcr than ungreened tubers, and 



EEFERExXCES TO FIGURE OX PAGE 115. 



A, section of 8-inch pot: a, draiiifige : a ••set" with one strong sprout 



placed at the proper depth and :;u li^h: position; c, depth ot cover- 

 ing with soil if a top-dressing i- : : : ir o ied when the top is well above 

 the level of the rim of the pot, od-eiwi^e cover to depth shD^n: cf, 

 space for water. 



B, result— e.rly Potatoes of home production. 



C, section of Ti-inch pot: drainage; /, rough compost: ^7, Sjil ;2 parts 



light fibrous loam and 1 part well-rotted manm^e, old Mushroom led 

 manure or hotbed debris^ or even rotted leaves, answeiing well) ; h, 

 *^set8," each with one strong sprout, in proper position and duly covered 

 with soil ; t, space left for top-dressing ; /. room ultimately required for 

 water. 



D, section of r2-inch pot wdth Potato plants propeily earthed : /.-, soil added ; 



/, space for water. 



E, result of growing three plants in 12-inch pots, two tops being omitted for 



lack of space. 



