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the crops, as well as in obviating their tendency to the curl, 
which is so greatly injurious to them. 
The plants are increased by the root, either whole or cut 
in pieces, each cutting forming a proper set or plant. This 
is their general method of cultivation ; but they may likewise 
be raised from seed to gain new varieties. 
In most places the general season for planting this root is 
from about the middle or the latter end of February to the 
middle of April; the early sorts, for forward crops, being 
planted in the latter end of February or early in March; 
but for the general crops, March, and the first fortnight in 
April, is the most proper planting season, especially in moist 
land; as, if planted earlier, and much wet should succeed, 
it would rot the sets, more particularly if cuttings ; though 
in cases of necessity, where the ground is not ready before, 
they maybe planted any time in April, or even in May, and 
yield tolerable crops by October. And the ground for this 
purpose should always be dug over for the reception of the 
plants to one full spade deep. 
But as to the planting, it may be performed by means of 
a dibble, by holeing in with a spade, or drilling in with a 
hoe, bedding in, &c., in rows or two feet asunder, eight, 
twelve or fifteen inches distant in each row, and not more 
than four or five inches deep at the most. 
Dibble-planting is performed with a common large gar¬ 
den dibble, blunted at the bottom, making holes four or 
five inches deep, at the distance before mentioned, drop¬ 
ping one set into each hole as you go on, and striking the 
earth in over them, or raking it afterwards, which is a better 
method. 
The surface of the ground should, some time afterwards, 
be further raked, and left perfectly even and level. 
In drill-planting the drill may be formed either with a 
large hoe, two feet asunder, and four or five inches deep, in 
which drop the sets a foot asunder, and cover them in with 
the earth equally the depth of the drill; or the drills may 
be made with a spade, and the sets covered in by means of 
a rake. 
Furrow-planting is performed by putting in the dung, 
and then dropping the sets in the furrow immediately upon 
it, and with the next furrow of course cover them. 
Lazy-bed planting is sometimes done in low wettish 
land, for the sake of raising the beds, and sinking the alleys 
deep enough to drain off the too copious moisture, and is 
thus performed:—the ground is divided into four, five or 
six feet wide beds, with alleys two or three feet wide between 
bed and bed; and the beds being dug, the potatoe-sets are 
placed upon a little fresh dung on the surface in rows length¬ 
wise ; and then the alleys dug out a spade deep, casting the 
earth over the sets about three of four inches thick; or the 
alleys may be first dug out to raise the beds, and the sets 
then planted with a dibble in the common method: thus, 
by either of these methods, in wet ground, the alleys being 
sunk, and the beds raised, the alleys drain off the redundant 
moisture, which might rot the sets before they begin to 
sprout out and grow. 
And this method of planting is sometimes performed on 
grass or sward-land, marking out beds as above with alleys 
between of proportionable width; then, without digging 
the beds, the potatoe-sets are placed immediately upon the 
sward at proper distances; the alleys being then dug and 
the spits turned grass-side downward upon the beds over the 
sets, covering them the proper depth as above, in which, if 
any additional depth is wanted, it may be supplied from the 
under earth of the alleys; and thus the sets being between 
two swards, grow, and often are productive of very good 
crops, if permitted to have full growth. This is a sort of 
lazy-bed mode of planting, that is not to be much practised 
in gardens. 
In the after-management of the crops, where the weeds 
begin to over run the ground, two or three hoeings should 
be given to kill them and loosen the surface of the soil; and 
when the plants have some growth, some hoe up a ridge of 
earth close to each side of every row of plants in the first 
or second hoeing, to strengthen their growth more effec¬ 
tually, and render them more prolific, as the bottom of the 
stalks so landed up generally emits roots in the earth that 
become productive of potatoes the same as the principal 
roots. 
Before the potatoes are begun to be dug up, whether in 
the early or late crops, the haulm should be cut close to the 
ground and cleared away, in the former only to the extent 
of what is to be taken up at the time, but in the latter for 
the whole space which is to be dug up in the day, or other 
length of time, or for the quantity there may be. It is to 
be turned off in heaps on to the dug land, that the surface 
of the ground to be dug for potatoes may be rendered per¬ 
fectly clear and convenient for the work. This is usually 
done as the workman proceeds. In forking the crop up, 
the labour then goes on, by fird opening a trench along one 
end of the ground to the depth and width of a good spit, 
proceeding in the same way with the rest, throwing the 
whole of the potatoes, as they are dug up, into large baskets 
placed for the purpose, carefully digging over all the land 
in a regular manner spit by spit, turning each clean upside 
down into the previous open trench. In this manner the 
whole is to be completed. Potatoes are very valuable as 
food for cattle. 
SO'LAR, or So'lary, adj. [solaire, Fr„, Solaris, Lat.] 
Being of the sun. 
Instead of golden fruits, 
By genial show’rs and solar heat supply’d, 
Unsutferable Winter hath defac’d 
Earth’s blooming charms, and made a barren waste. 
Blaclcmorc. 
Belonging to the sen.—They denominate some herbs 
solar, and some lunar. Bacon. —Born under or in the pre¬ 
dominate influence of the sun. 
The cock was pleas’d to hear him speak so fair. 
And proud beside, as solar people are. Dryden. 
Measured by the sun.—The rule to find the moon’s age, 
on any day of any solar month, cannot shew precisely an 
exact account of the moon, because of the inequality of the 
motions of the sun and moon, and tire number of days of 
the solar months. Holder. 
SO'LAR, s. See Sollar. 
SOLARI (Andrea), a native of Milan, called also del 
Gobbo. Vasari says he flourished in the time of Correggio ; 
and praises him as a pleasing colourist, and a graceful de¬ 
signer. He is one of those artists whose figures of the Virgin, 
&c., are constantly sold as Lionardo da Vinci’s productions. 
He died about 1530. 
SOLAROLO, a small town of Italy, in the province of 
Ferrara. 
SOLAROSSA, a small town of the island of Sardinia, in 
the Capo di Cagliari, with 3000 inhabitants. 
SOLARS, three small islands in the Eastern seas, under 
the power of the Dutch, with provisions of every kind ; and 
the middlemost is said to have a good harbour for shipping, 
situated to'the east of Ende island. 
SOLBE, a small river of England, in the Isle of Man, 
which falls into the Irish sea. 
SOLCI, a small town of Sardinia, with a good harbour, 
and the see of a bishop. 
SOLD. The preterite and participle passive of sell. 
SOLD, s. [sould, old Fr. Trevoux.j Military pay; 
warlike entertainment. 
But were your will her sold to entertain. 
And number’d be amongst knights of maidenhead. 
Great guerdon, well I wot, should you remain. 
And in her favour high be reckoned. Spenser. 
SO'LDAN, s. [soldano, Ital., souldan, old Fr. from 
the Arab. “ Sultan, soultan, souldan, and with the ar¬ 
ticle as is the name of supreme honour amongst the 
Arabians, and seemeth to be as much as imperator was 
amongst 
