VEGETABLES ALL THE YEAR ROUND FOR A PRIVATE FAMILY. 357 



summer ; and a good supply of manure is a great help to them in hot 

 dry weather, if it is buried deeply in the soil before sowing. To succeed 

 those sown in November, we sow as early in February as possible. 

 ' Duchess of York ' and 1 Criterion ' are the favourites for this sowing. 

 ' Duchess of York,' sown this year on February 20, was ready for use 

 July 2, and 1 Criterion,' sown the same day, was fit to gather on July 8. 

 Early in March ' Criterion,' ' Telegraph,' and similar varieties are best, 

 and on warm soils * Ne Plus Ultra ' may be sown then ; a fortnight later 

 this variety and other wrinkled marrows may safely be sown, and sowings 

 once a fortnight afterwards until the middle of June should be made. At 

 the end of June we sow the hardier kinds again, and thus keep up a 

 supply from early June to the end of October. I ought to add that Peas 

 sown in pots under glass in January, and planted out when ready, are fit 

 for use quite as soon as those sown in November, but in my case all the 

 room under glass is required for other things. 



Potato (Solatium tuberosum). — Most people consider this vegetable 

 indispensable for luncheon and dinner. I fear we are losing flavour in 

 our rush for heavy- cropping varieties, and in my opinion there are none 

 to compare with the ' Ashleaf ' varieties for private use. They have one 

 disadvantage in being of a yellow colour when cooked, and for some reason 

 which I cannot understand many people have an idea that good Potatos 

 should be white when cooked. I am certain the white Potatos are, as a 

 rule, of inferior flavour, and in some instances they lack it entirely. 

 Personally I think the objection to a yellow Potato is most unreasonable ; 

 we may eat eggs, Yorkshire pudding, butter, and an endless variety of 

 things which are yellow, but yellow Potatos are not admissible. I greatly 

 prefer the ' Ashleaf ' varieties for the earliest crops for private use, and 

 still grow the ' Old Ashleaf,' ' Myatt's Ashleaf,' and ' Empress Eugenie,' 

 which is the same as a variety distributed some years since under the 

 name of ' Wilson's Ashleaf.' By planting an ordinary hotbed early in 

 February we have new Potatos ready by the middle of April, and if pits 

 are used with hot-water pipes round for this early planting they will be 

 ready a fortnight earlier. I have sometimes grown a few in pots or boxes 

 in an early Peach house and thus got some ready before those in the 

 pits, but I only got a very small crop. Potatos must have a fair amount 

 of light as well as heat to mature them, and it is possible the electric 

 light may yet help us in getting them ready for use sooner. After the 

 1 Ashleaf ' varieties are used I find 1 Snowdrop ' the best for quality that I 

 can get, and it has the great merit of being good on a clay soil as well as 

 on limestone. This variety is planted in the second week of April, and 

 is ready for use the first week in August ; it also keeps of good quality 

 through the winter months. For the latest crop ' British Queen ' and 

 ' Magnum Bonum ' are the best flavoured, and they are also good croppers. 

 ' Up to Date ' is only fit for cattle-feeding, it has no flavour ; its only 

 merit is a strong constitution which resists the disease. Late Potatos 

 should be grown on a limestone soil, and pay well for good cultivation. 

 In an old manuscript in the Belvoir Castle collection it is recorded that 

 twenty Potato roots were purchased, among other provisions, when James I. 

 visited Belvoir in 1612 ; the price given is not stated. We now use about 

 thirty tons in a year. 



