19-21.] 



Potato Growing in Essex. 



89 



Seed. — It pays the farmer to sow good seed for all crops, 

 but the seed is of special importance in growing potatoes. The 

 benefits derived from change of " seed " are now generally 

 admitted, but some growers are not sufficiently particular as to 

 the source of their new " seed " potatoes. 



Boxes for Sprouting Potatoes. 



It is generally admitted that Scotch seed potatoes yield the 

 best crops, but still a large number of farmers cling to the belief 

 that '* once-grown " seeds {i.e., potatoes grown in England from 

 Scotch seed) will yield crops equally as good as those grown from 

 seed direct from Scotland. Satisfactory results are undoubtedly 

 obtained from " once-grown " seed potatoes in those parts of- 

 the country which have a fairly heavy rainfall, but in the drier 

 parts (the south-eastern and home counties) far heavier crops 

 are obtained from Scotch seed than from " once-grown " seed 

 potatoes, although in a year with a heavy rainfall during the 

 growing season occasionally the latter will yield crops almost 

 equal to those obtained from the Scotch seed. These, however, 

 are the exceptions which prove the rule, that in the dry eastern 

 counties fresh Scotch seed should be planted every season. Not 

 onlv in the weight of the crop is the advantage of the n(^w seed 



