252 the amateur’s kitchen garden. 
potting. In repotting put them rather low, so as to bury an 
inch or so of the stems. When sown in the large pots, the 
pots should be filled to within about two inches of the rim, 
and when the first rough leaves are developed add an inch and 
a half of soil, and in doing so exercise sufficient care to avoid 
bruising the stems, which at that stage are rather tender. A 
compost consisting of good loam four parts, and leaf-mould 
and well-decayed manure a part each, can be recommended as 
in every w r ay suitable for beans. 
From the time the pots are moderately well filled with roots 
until the last gathering, the supply of water to the roots must 
be liberal, and once a day at least the syringe must be plied 
vigorously. During periods of bright frosty weather, when it 
is imperative to keep the fire going briskly, a syringing twice 
a day, morning and evening, will be most beneficial. As soon 
as each batch comes into bearing, liquid manure of a moderate 
degree of strength should, if there is no great difficulty in 
obtaining a supply, be applied alternately with the clear water, 
or once or twice a week, as may be most convenient. The 
liquid manure must, of course, be of the same temperature 
as the house when used. 
Forcing the Potato. — The only satisfactory way of ob- 
taining very early potatoes is to grow them in pots, but 
successional supplies may very well be obtained by planting 
out on beds heated with pipes or by means of a fermenting 
material. In this case, however, it would be found best, in 
most cases, to start the sets in pots and plant them out when 
the pots are well filled with roots, because the preparation ot 
the beds would be delayed, and whatever plan tends to the 
economy of space in the forcing pit, is worthy of special 
attention. In growing for market, the system of planting out 
in beds must be followed, but for producing small supplies for 
a household, the earliest may with advantage be grown in 
pots from first to last, and for the successional supplies the 
usual pits and frames will be available. It is not necessary to 
discourse at length on this subject, but we shall endeavour to 
be explicit in order that the beginner may enter on the busi- 
ness with the aid of our advice with a fair prospect of success. 
About the middle of December we shall look out a sufficient 
number of sets of the earliest sorts, such as Alpha , Veitclis 
Ashleaf Early Bose, Sandringham Kidney, Extra Early 
Vermont , King of the Earlies, and Early Coldstream, which 
