92 
Practical  Hints  on  Vegetable  Farming. 
of  Potatoes  by  means  of  a setting-peg  is  also  objectionable, 
especially  on  stiff  or  wet  soils. 
Potatoes  for  “ seed  ” should  be  carefully  selected  from  the 
stock  at  lifting  time.  The  tubers  should  be  well  sha]>ed  and 
should  weigh  between  two  and  three  ounces  each.  Many 
experiments  have  demonstrated  that  smaller  or  larger  “ seed  ” 
are  not  so  ])roductive  as  those  of  the  size  recommended. 
Moreover,  ex])eriments  have  shown  that  large  tubers  when  cut 
into  several  j)ieces  do  not  ])roduce  such  good  results  as  whole 
tubers  of  the  size  mentioned. 
Seed  Potatoes  should  be  stored  in  a cool,  light,  and  frost- 
proof ])lace.  If  it  is  possible  to  accommodate  them  in  single 
layers,  so  much  the  better.  Nests  of  trays  are  now  much  in 
use  for  storing  seed  ; they  are  portable,  and  the  Potatoes  can 
be  examined  and  moved  from  place  to  j)lace  with  ease  and 
safety.  And  as  the"  trays  can  be  arranged  one  above  another 
to  almost  any  height,  it  is  obvious  that  a large  quantity  of 
seed  can  be  perfectly  stored  by  such  means  in  a comparatively 
small  space. 
If  an  earlier  growth  is  desired,  the  trays  may  be  removed 
to  a warmer  place  ; a little  fine  soil  should  be  sprinkled  over 
the  Potatoes,  which  should  then  be  slightly  watered.  In  a 
short  time  each  Potato  will  send  forth  a large  number  of 
rootlets  into  the  moist  soil  ; they  should  then  be  duly  ])lanted 
out  without  receiving  any  check.  This  is  a simple  and 
effective  way  of  helping  forward  the  crop  of  early  Potatoes, 
Where  the  soil  is  mechanically  suitable  for  the  cultivation 
of  the  Potato,  but  chemically  deficient,  as  in  some  places  in 
the  centre  of  Worcestershire,  I think  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  a change  of  “ seed  ” is  not  only  advisable  commercially, 
but  is  almost  com])ulsory  if  satisfactory  crops  are  to  be  obtained. 
Some  soils  are  suitable  in  every  way  for  the  growth  of  the 
Potato,  and  then  a “change  of  seed”  is  neither  necessary  or 
desirable,  provided  a variety  has  been  found  which  suits  the  soil. 
We  hear  and  read  much  about  the  natural  deterioration  of 
varieties  of  Potatoes,  but  why  has  not  Myatt’s  Early  Prolific 
Ash-leaved  Kidney  disappeared  because  of  deterioration  ? 
That  variety  is  not  specially  vigorous,  yet  it  is  still  with  us  and 
is  as  much  alive  as  it  was  many  years  ago.  It  was  first  raised 
about  the  year  1850. 
Early  Potatoes  are  more  ])rofitable  than  late  Potatoes,  and 
vei"y  good  crops  are  generally  obtained — crops  varying  from  8 
tons  to  12  tons  per  acre — from  such  early  varieties  as  Sutton’s 
