Potato Experiments in Cheshire. 



355 



years. The growth of potatoes is a very important part of the 

 agricultural work carried on in Cheshire, and hence special 

 attention has been given to this subject. The objects in view 

 were to test the productiveness, character, and yield of a number 

 of varieties ; to test the advantage of planting whole sets, cut 

 sets, and sets of different sizes ; and to try the effect of 

 artificial manures when applied with farmyard manure. 



A field of six acres was planted, the soil being a loam on 

 which a crop of unmanured oats had been previously grown. 

 The field had been in grass for at least eighty years, and 

 there was, therefore, a considerable amount of old sod not 

 decomposed when the potatoes were planted. Manures were 

 applied in the drills, at the rate of 15 tons of farmyard 

 manure, 3 cwt. of superphosphate (25 to 27 per cent, soluble), 

 and I cwt. of sulphate of ammonia (98 per cent, purity) per 

 acre in all cases, except in the special manure experiments. 

 The following table shows the yield of the leading varieties 

 in 1897 and 1898, but it may be observed that, though the 

 plots varied in size, only the produce of one-twentieth of an 

 acre was weighed in each case, the weights given in the 

 table are the yields per acre calculated from the weights thus 

 obtained. 



Variety. 



1898. 



Total Yield per 

 Acre. 



1897. 

 Total Yield per 

 Acre. 



Early Rotmds — 



Early Market Favourite 



Tons. c. q. 

 14 0 I 



Tons. c. q. 

 II 13 3 



Early Kidneys — 



17 I 3 



14 7 I 



Second Earlies : Kidneys — 



British Queen . . - . - 



18 II 2 



13 18 0 



Late Varieties — 



Up-to-date - . . . 

 Hough Giant - - - - 

 County Councillor - - - " 

 Hough Abundance 



Cheshire Delight ----- 

 Maincrop ------ 



21 3 2 

 20 4 I 



15 9 I 

 14 I 2 



13 13 2 

 13 3 0 



17 13 3 

 16 7 3 

 13 18 I 

 12 0 3 



10 10 3 



11 10 0 



In the six trials of whole sets versus cut sets three cases 

 show that whole sets gave the heavier yield in both total 



Y 2 



