318 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[March 14. 
We have the less doubt that we are correct, be¬ 
cause we have seen other writers recommending that 
potatoes he not earthed up; and among those writers 
is one who would not agree with us if, by possibility, 
he could avoid it. Moreover, we know, by the gene¬ 
ral consent of gardeners, that potatoes in frames are 
not earthed up ; because such earthing up would re¬ 
tard the production of tubers about a fortnight: and 
any practice which retards such production by so 
much, renders them liable to the disease when culti¬ 
vated in the open ground, for the earliest ripened 
are always most free from infection. 
Again, we considered what are the objects to be 
attained by earthing up ; and we could discern none 
but such as are opposed to the early and perfect 
ripening of tubers—namely, causing the progress of 
the tubers to be delayed whilst the plant is issuing 
fresh roots into the earth drawn up about its stem, 
and retaining more moisture about the tubers. 
We were satisfied, therefore, that not earthing up 
potatoes is a sound practice; and until we received 
the following letter, we did not know that any doubt 
could be raised upon the subject. The letter is from 
a clergyman, like ourselves a searcher after truth, 
and we, therefore, readily print it thus prominently: 
“Your correspondent M. E. A. (near Hastings), 
wishes to know, if any of your readers can give him 
the result, from his own experience, of ‘ not earthing 
up potatoes?’ Allow me to reply that, I have grown 
for years, and I may say successfully, the potato 
under various treatments; and having several times 
attempted the system of 1 not earthing up,’ which I 
remember to have been advocated in one of your 
valuable numbers of The Cottage Gardener last 
year, I determined to try it again; but I found it a 
failure; and whilst, at taking up time, I had an abun¬ 
dant crop of American earlies in beds earthed-up in 
the usual way, those not earthed, both Americans and 
Regents, produced a very inferior crop—half of them 
green, much smaller, and more diseased. Your cor¬ 
respondent will probably say, ‘ this was your fault in 
not planting them deep enough; ’ to which I reply, 
as a general axiom to be observed in growing the 
potato, never plant deep, excepting on the approach 
of winter. By deep, I mean anything exceeding three 
inches. I never plant a potato till it has sprouted, 
and its sprout is an inch in length. I then let the 
potato go so deep, with the dibble, into the ground 
as to allow the sprout to rest within three inches 
of the surface. And for this most profitable sys¬ 
tem, I am indebted to that valuable little pam¬ 
phlet ‘ On the Management and Growth of the 
Potato,’ published by Mr. James Cuthill, of Cam¬ 
berwell, Surrey, in praise of which I cannot suf¬ 
ficiently speak. I have just planted with my own 
hand some American earlies, and Rylott’s flour-ball, 
which I obtained of Mr. Turner, of Sheffield; all of 
which I have kept through the winter in single layers, 
on a cold plaster flooring of an out-building, free 
from all outward air; and stronger or more healthy 
sets I never saw. Indeed, my neighbours were as¬ 
tonished, the sprouts of many being two inches 
long, whilst the tuber itself is so robust and cold to 
the touch that, without presuming too much, I would 
almost venture to leave it exposed to any moderate 
frost. I have found lime, dug in before planting, a 
great preventive of disease; but, more than all, I 
never cut a tuber. All mine are planted whole, from 
the Ash-leaved to the Regent; and here again may I 
be excused in referring your correspondent, M. E. A., 
and your readers generally, who take an interest in 
the culture of this root, to the observations of Mr. 
Cuthill, in his pamphlet, on this very point, where 
lie justly condemns the mincing and slicing practice, 
which is too often adopted under cover of a false 
economy. The seeming extravagance to many of 
planting whole sets, I have invariably found, under 
proper treatment and due regard to space, to be in 
the end the cheapest as w T ell as most profitable mode. 
I have found, too, that insertion by the dibble, 
rounded at the end, is by far the best mode, provided 
the potato is planted as the ground is dug, so that it 
is not pressed by being trodden on.—A. A., Clericus.” 
Here, then, are two totally conflicting results of 
experiments; and we can only suggest, that one cause 
of our correspondent’s failure, so far as the goodness 
of the unearthed tubers is concerned, is patent in the 
fact, that they grew partially out of the ground. 
This, of course, made them green and small. Now, 
though we do not earth up our potatoes, yet we take 
care that the tubers nearest the surface have an inch 
in depth of earth over them. 
Our potatoes, on which we experimented, were 
planted at Winchester in November, by the dibble, 
six inches deep, in a light fertile soil, without 
manure, and were frequently hoed. The varieties 
were Ash-leaved Kidneys and Julys; and were all 
ripe and stored early in August. The result of our 
comparative experiments was, that the unearthed 
crop was one-fourth heavier, and the tubers finer, 
than in the crop earthed up. 
We state these particulars, because we shall be 
obliged by our readers trying experiments, and 
favouring us with full particulars of the place where, 
soil, time of earthing up, planting, treatment, and 
the results. We shall try some more experiments 
ourselves this year, and whatever may be the issue 
we will place every detail before our readers. The 
question is now raised—Whether to some varieties, 
and on some soils, the practice of earthing up the 
potato plants is beneficial? 
THE ERUIT-GARDEN. 
The Forcing Matters of the Amateur. —Having 
now completely despatched for this spring all that 
concerns planting and pruning, the latter as applied 
to trees in a rest state, we must now occasionally 
take a glance at the amateur’s fruit-forcing, returning 
at intervals to the cottager. 
Now, it is much more difficult to offer advice to 
the amateur on the subject of fruit-forcing than to 
those persons who possess a house or pit for every¬ 
thing they desire to cultivate; for in the amateur’s 
house we may find, at times, such a mixture of 
objects as at first sight would seem to bid utter 
defiance to all classification as to their culture. And, 
indeed, it is no very easy matter to do so, and the 
attempt must at times necessarily lay us open to 
misconception. Nevertheless, we trust to offer some 
remarks which may prove serviceable; addressing 
