Farming in Devon and Cornwall. 
523 
if it only extends to a few yards, it ie cultivated for these early 
crops, and a most pleasing sight it is, when sailing along the 
coast, to view these efforts to make so unpromising a surface 
productive. 
These plots of cultivated ground are subdivided by tall fences, 
chiefly of elder (because of its rapid growth), for the purpose of 
shelter from the rough weather from the south-west. In many 
instances these fences when running north and south are but 
three or four yards apart, in some instances even less, but at the 
east and west ends they are at much greater distances. They 
thus make the enclosures long and narrow, with their greatest 
lengths open to the south. Early maturity is the sole object 
aimed at, as, unless the potatoes can be the first of the English 
crop in the market, they cannot be made remunerative. The 
shallowness of the soil, adverse as it is to the growth of heavy 
crops, is conducive to this early maturity, whilst not infrequently 
the tendency of a deep or rich soil to delay maturity is checked 
by an artificial admixture of sea sand. Sea-weed is the chief 
manure used, though nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia, 
kainit, and other artificials, to the extent of as much as a ton per 
acre, have of late years come into favour, whilst guano has gone 
out because of the uncertainty of its quality. Where stable 
dung can be obtained it is preferred to all others. 
Planting begins generally with the New Year with sets 
which have already sprouted, care being taken not to injure 
the sprouts when handling or planting them. The sets are 
planted very close and shallow, and in rows less than a foot 
apart. No earthing up or hoeing is done, and when the crop 
is being lifted a flat and long-handled spade is used which 
does not penetrate the ground more than two and a half to three 
inches in depth. In a small field close to Penzance some thirty 
hands (men, girls, and boys) — part of a lot of one hundred en- 
gaged for picking green gooseberries for jam — were seen filling 
up their time in lifting and sorting a crop of potatoes. They 
worked in gangs. One man lifted the plants and tubers and 
placed them on vacant ground alongside the row. A boy then 
took hold of the stalk and shook the tubers from it. Two others 
(or girls) picked up such of the potatoes as were visible and 
spread them on the site of the row previously removed, whilst 
another boy with iron rake followed to stir over the soil, and 
a fifth and last one gathered up the extra tubers thus exposed. 
Other hands followed and sorted the potatoes, putting the largest 
together in barrels, and the small ones, " seconds," into others. 
Carts were in waiting to convey the ban-els to the station or quay. 
The crop was estimated to produce 81. to 1 0/. per acre. 
M M 2 
