88 



THE GARDENER. 



may be kept off from peas and beans by scattering 

 chopped furze, or the awns of barley, kc. over the 

 drills, and setting traps ; slugs which make such sad 

 havoc among peas and beans, may be caught by strew- 

 ing young tender cabbage leaves along the drills ; the 

 slugs feed greedily on the leaves and may be seized in 

 the act of depredations in large numbers, and as a just 

 punishment for their gluttony they may be thrown to 

 ducks. Those which attack salading must be de- 

 stroyed by solutions of lime or salt. 



Though potatoes ought to have been planted in Xo- 

 vember for a t'e?'i/ early dish, do not omit to put down 

 some for successions in the beginning of this month. 

 Prepare drills, running north and south, and dig half- 

 rotted stable dung into them : cover this by raking in 

 from the sides as much earth as will raise the drills to 

 within four inches of the surface, then lay whole sets 

 ten inches apart,* and cover them lightly at first, 

 but afterwards occasionally add sifted ashes. Until 

 the roots are well up, long straw thro^vn across from 

 ridge to ridge w^ill be a sufficient protection from 

 frost ; afterwards hoops or some sort of rude frame- 

 work may be necessary to support the covering mate- 

 rial, and prevent its pressure on the tender stems. It 

 is important to have a dry bottom at this season for 

 potatoes ; if it be otherwise, the better mode will be to 

 lay the sets on raised beds (manured), and to cover the 

 sets with mould from the sides or alleys. 



The Ash-leaved potatoe, which does not blossom, is 

 one of the earliest varieties. Abercrombie describes a 

 method which is very successful — " For a fair crop 



* Many persons prefer cut sets ; in this case, the crown eyes, 

 with a considerable portion of tuber attached, had better be 

 planted together (the eyes uppermost), and the next sections in 

 one or two drills ; and, as the eyes nearest the lowest extremity 

 ripen last, they are rejected by those who are anxious to obtain 

 the earliest crops. 



