278 



GARDENING FOE THE SOUTH. 



Culture. — The Irish potato likes a cool, moist climate 

 and soil like those of Ireland. The soil should be well en- 

 riched with vegetable and not with animal manure. The 

 best potatoes in this country are grown in the cool and 

 hilly sections of the North, and the best there are grown 

 by simply turning over a meadow sward ; upon this the 

 rows are laid off shallow, and the clover sods are often so 

 tough with matted roots when planting (having been 

 newly turned over), that earth is with difficulty obtained 

 to cover the potatoes. Soon decomposition commences, 

 a gentle heat is given out, and by the time the potatoes 

 are ready for the first working they can be plowed with 

 ease. At the second working, when the plants are laid 

 by, the soil is mellow as an ash heap, the young plant the 

 meanwhile being supplied with moisture and the very 

 food required to perfect its tubers and render them fari- 

 naceous and nutritive. In our gardens we cannot obtain 

 such a soil, but we can very much improve the yield, and 

 especially the quality of our Irish potatoes by imitating 

 it as nearly as possible. We can dig into the soil vegetable 

 matter to decompose, such as leaves, garden refuse of all 

 kinds, and pine straw. Even tan bark is not a bad appli- 

 cation to the potato crop, but if used must be accompanied 

 with plenty of ashes or lime to correct its acidity. One 

 reason for the application of vegetable manure to this 

 plant is the superior quality of the tubers produced. 

 Liebig first remarked that ammoniacal manures injure the 

 quality of the potato, though they increase the size and 

 quantity. If manured with strong animal manure the 

 tubers are moist and waxy, while if grown upon a soil ma- 

 nured with ashes, lime, and an abundant supply of carbo- 

 naceous manures, such as decaying vegetable matter, the 

 produce is far more starchy and nutritive. Potatoes en- 

 riched with strong dung are far more liable to rot than 

 if manured with leaves, ashes, and lime. 



The rows should be from two to two and a half feet 



