Influence of Soils, etc., on the Potato Crop. 219 
smelling, his tasting, his touch, all find employment. Every 
sense is gratified; his whole system, mental and corporeal, seems 
inspired with new vigor. I cannot add more forcible illustration 
of the healthful and agreeable influence of rural pursuits than by 
introducing some remarks of an old Greek writer who enters upon 
the subject with the feelings of one whose whole soul is evidently 
enlisted in what he describes: 
" Moreover, it (husbandry) furnishes us with beautiful flowers 
and other excellent materials for the ornament and decoration of 
the temples and altars, affording the richest gayety and most fra- 
grant odors. What science is more agreeable to a studious man? 
lor he finds in it every thing he can have occasion for. Where 
can we abide with greater pleasure in summer, than near rivers, 
springs, woods, groves and fields, where gentle breezes fan the 
air? Where may a man treat his guests more agreeably, or make 
more triumphant banquets? What place do servants delight in 
more? Or, what other place is more agreeable to his wife? 
Where do children covet more to be? Or where are friends bet- 
ter received, or better satisfied? There is no science, in my mind, 
more delightful than this, if a man has a convenient substance to 
put him to work; nor any business more healthful or profitable 
to a man, if he have skill and industry." 
INFLUENCE OF SOILS AND MANURES UPON THE QUANTITY 
AND QUALITY OF THE POTATO CROP. 
The potato thrives best on a light loamy soil — neither too dry, 
nor too moist. The most agreeably flavoured table potatoes are 
almost always produced from newly broken up pasture ground, 
not manured, or from any new soil. W^hen the soil is suitable, 
they delight in much rain, and hence the large crops of potatoes 
obtained in Ireland, in Lancashire, and in the west of Scotland. 
No skill will enable the farmer to produce crops of equal weight 
on the east coast, where rains are less abundant. It has not been 
shown, however, that the weight of starch produced in the less 
rainy districts is defective in an equal degree. Warm climates 
and dry seasons, as well as dry soils, appear to increase the per- 
centage of starch. 
Potatoes are considered by the farmer to be an exhausting crop, 
and they require a plentiful supply of manure. By abundantly 
manuring, however, the land in the neighborhood of some of our 
large towns, where this crop is valuable, has been made to produce 
potatoes and corn every other year, for a very long period. 
