i04 



buist's family kitchen gardener. 



new kinds ; and if even half a peck of apples were collected, sep- 

 arate and wash the seeds from the pulp, dry them, and wrap 

 them up in strong paper till Spring : about the middle of 

 April, prepare a bed of fine earth, draw shallow drills thereon 

 six inches apart and a quarter of an inch deep ; sow the seeds 

 thinly, and cover lightly with very fine earth. They will come 

 up in two or three weeks. When they are two inches high, 

 thin out a portion, lifting them very carefully with a trowel, and 

 transplant them into a piece of well prepared ground, four 

 inches apart and eight inches from row to row. Choose a 

 moist, cloudy day for the purpose, hoe them freely, and earth 

 them up a few times during the season. Treat the bed in 

 like manner. In October, the roots will furnish a supply of 

 small Potatoes, which must be taken up and a portion of the 

 best preserved in sand during Winter, to be planted next 

 Spring in the usual way. After they have had the ensuing 

 Summer's growth, in October their tubers will have attained 

 a sufficient size to determine their properties. It will be ne- 

 cessary to consider, not only the flavor of each variety, but the 

 size, shape, color and fertility : also the earliness or lateness, 

 rejecting all that have not every quality combined, for only 

 such are worthy of permanent culture. It will thus be seen 

 that with very little care and a little labor, new varieties may 

 be produced and proven in the short space of two or three 

 years. 



Potatoes intended for keeping should be fully ripened be- 

 fore being taken up. When going through the process of lift- 

 ing, drying, and storing, they should be handled with caro, 

 not filled up and emptied down as if they were as many stones. 

 After having gone through this stone-casting process, nearly 

 every Potato shows its effects when brought to the table, be- 

 ing covered with bruised marks in proportion to their rough 

 treatment : whereas, if they are managed properly, every tuber 

 would be as sound as on the day of its removal. Dry cellars, 

 free from frost, are the most appropriate places of storage, and 



