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"In spite of all the oontingent losses to which the cultivation of the potato for market is liable, 

 it is evident that it is in market districts still one of the most widely {^rown, and best paying crops." 



The potato crop of Great Britain is estimated to be of the annual value of £16,000,000, and in addi- 

 tion to this, potatoes to the value of several millions sterling are yearly imported. 



Potatoes will grow in almost any kind of soil with good cultivation, but a good friable loam, 

 rather light than otherwise, and free from stagnant water is the best. Good potatoes are produced ia 

 light sandy soil, but a liberal supply of manure is necessary to ensure a heavy crop. 



Manure. — The quantity, and kind of manure to be employed must depend on the nature of the 

 soil : to a light, sandy soil a liberal supply of thoroughly decomposed manure should be given, but if 

 the soil is of a heavy, damp nature, half rotten long manure is best. In hot dry soils, cow dung, 

 when it can be obtained, is preferabla, as it retains more moisture than stable manure, but it should be 

 well mixed with litter. Pigs' dung is too powerful in an unmixed state, but when mixed with about twice 

 its own bulk of earth it forms an excellent manure. Generally speaking, however, for the hills of 

 Jamaica farm-yard manure, that is the excrements, both solid and liquid, of the various animals kept 

 about a place, mixed with litter and refuse and allowed to decompose, is probably the best. 



" Seed" or sets. — There is some difference in opinion as to whether the tubers should be planted 

 whole or cut, but from experiment made in the Gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society at Chis- 

 wick, London, it was found on the mean of two plantations that the produce from cut sets exceeded 

 that from whole tubers by nearly one ton per acre. Good sized tubers are considered best for sets. 

 The eyes in a potato are true buds, and it stands to reason that good sound tubers with strong eyes 

 or buds will produce much more healthy and vigorous plants than small tubers with comparatively 

 weak eyes. This also, has been proved by actual experiment. 



When good sized tubers are used for sets they may be cut in halves, passing the knife through 

 from the bunch of eyes at the top, and generally the halves may be divided again. One good eye to 

 each set is all that is really necessary, but it is safer to cut the set so that it may two eye8,a8 some- 

 times an eye so blind, or so weak as to be unable to push. 



The sets should not be planted for a few days after being cut, but kept in a dry place, and some 

 wood ashes or such like material mixed with them to absorb the juice exuding from the fresh cuts, 

 and thus prevent decay setting in. 



Planting. — Potatoes are planted here from December on to the following March, but January and 

 February are considered the best months for putting in this crop. 



Modes of Planting. — For garden cultivation, or small patches of ground, drawing drills with the 

 hoe, if the soil is well pulverized, or digging trenches are probably the best methods. I have no 

 doubt that drawing the earth into hills, as is done for sweet potatoes, and planting one set in each 

 hill would be an excellent plan. By this means each plant could be moulded with fine soil when 

 needed, and the hills being above the level of the ground would ensure good drainage, and it should 

 always be borne in mind that two of the main things necessary to ensure success in the cultivation of 

 the potato are good drainage, and a good body of pulverized soil. In heavy wet ground a good plan is 

 to throw the soil up in ridges. These are really raised beds about 4^ feet wide, with trenches 18 inches 

 wide between them ; the soil taken from the trenches is thoroughly broken up, and used for covering 

 the sets, and for moulding the plants later on. The trenches act as so many drains during heavy rains 

 and keep the ridges comparatively dry. 



Some growers spread the manure on the ridges, or in the drills or trenches just previous to plant- 

 ing and lay the sets on it, but this is not considered a good plan, as later on the young tubers come 

 into direct contact with the manure vvhich causes them to scab, and as manure is provided to afford 

 nourishment to the fibrous roots, not the tubers, it is a mistake to run the risk of spoiling the appear- 

 ance of a crop by adopting this method. For field cultivation I should recommend opening trenches or 

 drills from end to end of the ground, spread the manure evenly in the bottoms of the trenches, or on 

 the tops of the ridges if that system of cultivation is adopted, and cover it to the depth of a couple of 

 inches with fine soil, then lay the sets and cover up. If only a garden, or small piece of ground is to be 

 planted, it will be better if it is evenly manured and well dug over sometime previous to planting, and 

 when the season comes round the trenches can be opened and the sets planted without any further 

 manuring. 



Dibbling in the sets is a system followed in England to a considerable extent, but unless the 

 soil has been well cultivated previously it is not a system to be recommended here. The sets are 

 likely to be placed at unequal depths, and the chances are that the eyes will be turned down in the 

 holes instead of being placed uppermost, and in performing the work the ground gets trodden unneces- 

 sarily, the consequence being that if dry weather follows the soil cakes and the buds are unable to 

 push through it, whereas if rain follows immediately after planting, it collects in the holes and as 

 likely as not causes the sets to rot. 



Distance apart. — The distance at which the sets should be placed apart varies with the nature of 

 the soil and vigour of the kind grown ; in rich soils a greater distance should be allowed than in poor 

 soils. In general, the distances should be 2\ to 3 feet between the rows, and 12 to 15 inches between 

 the sets in each row, but, as a rule, the greater the distances the better the yield. 



Depth. — The depth to which the sets should be covered also varies somewhat, but 4 to 5 inchos in 

 heavy, and 5 to 6 inches in light soils are about the proper depths. 



Subsequent Culture. — This consists in keeping the ground free frona weeds, earthing up the plants 

 as they advance in growth, and keeping the soil stirred and fine as the more it is pulverized the better, 

 but taking care not to injure the young roots, or tubers. 



Lifting. — When the tops are observed to wither from natural decay the crop may be lifted, and 

 this should not be delayed too long, as if so, in this climate the new tubers are apt to vegetate. Choose 

 fine, but if possible cloudy weather, aB potatoes should be exposed to light, and especially bright sun- 



