OcTOIiEU 2K. 
THE COTTAGE GAllDENER. 
f.5 
enabled to deepen bis soil—a most important matter at all 
times, as uHbrdiiig continuous nourishment to the roots ol' 
crops during lU'otracted droughts; and, in addition, t!ie 
labourer is enabled to work his soil with half the trouble. 
! I’lit one fit (he most important features connected with 
draining remains to bo pointed to—wo mean tin; increase 
(d' ground w'armth. Our labouring friends, who are more 
familiar with the spado than the. pen, may thiide this a trith;, 
and may stare when we tell them, (hat not only the gar¬ 
deners’ pine-apples and cucumbers require a bottom-heat, 
but that it is beneficial in a high degree to most of our 
ordinary crops. To say that a given xdot of ground, live 
degrees of warmth in advance of an adjoining jilot of e<|ual 
e.Ktent and quality, will produce earlier vegetables, is to 
alllrm what needs little consideration; but we go a steji 
fartlier, and afliriu that it will produce more abundantly. 
Providence has so ordained it, tliat the ground heal over 
most of tlie habitable parts of the globe is some two or 
three degrees higher than the air heat, taking the averagers ; 
so that means taken to increase the ground warmth arc not 
so artificial a proceeding as would at lirst sight appear. 
Next to draining, we regard the improvement of the 
staple the most important matter, and one, of necessity, 
facilitated by tlie former. However, wo w'oiild not rest 
content with that amelioration w'hich proceeds as a mere 
consequence, but cany matters farther. It only requires to 
api>roi)riate a little of the becu'-shop money and time to 
such matters; not that we suppose, by any means, that 
many of our readers in humble life are in the habit of thus 
: squandering their time, although wo do know that such 
characters are to be found in all countries; long may they 
form the exception. 
■ We have not space here to go into details of advice con¬ 
cerning “ staple improvements,” but may merely point to 
tlie fact, that lime-rubbish, and cinder-ashes, burnt moor 
, soil, and such like, are well-known improvers of tlie staple 
of clays ; and that marls, burnt clay, ditch or pond scoiir- 
ings, peaty soils, &c., are of much benefit to burning sands; 
and lime, strange to say, has been found to benefit both. 
We must now piroceed to examine the position of the 
a,llotment or cottage garden, and its crops, stores, &c. And 
, first, 
; I’oTATOES. —This has been a grievous year as to this in- 
I valuable root; great have been the complaints, and, we are 
' sorry to say, great the losses. Nevertheless, so great is the 
, breadth jdanted, that ivo are assured the country will be 
i pretty well siipiplied after all. It appears that the potato 
has, in these days, a double ordeal to undergo; the first, 
when the “plague spot” first overruns the whole system 
1 of the plant, quite perverting its juices; the other, when the 
! tubers are removed, and, as is too much the case, per- 
' mitted to ferment, by being placed in a considerable body. 
I These are crises in the character of the potato of latter 
1 days which deserve a little study. As to the former, all 
I seem alike at fault; a cure is out of the question; preven¬ 
tives are the cliief consideration. No man in his senses 
can doubt—however much or little it can be made to bear, 
on the disease question — that well-preserved seed must 
lead to better results, in some form, than neglected or 
abused seed. We will at once take this for granted, and then 
the question is: how to preserve seed well ? Common sense 
I teaches the veriest clown, that when a potato has sprouted, 
, part of the virtue or energy is exhausted; and that in a state 
of nature this pirocess takes place in the soil; the conditions 
almost diametrically opposite. The former, or artificial, con¬ 
dition of tlie tuber being one exposed, perhaps, to a high 
amount of perspiration or fermentation, and to a capricious 
modiiini; the latter to darkness, and a sort of quiescent state. 
Wo merely throw out these observations to set our allot¬ 
ment-men tliinking during tlie long winter evenings ; and we 
advise them to persevere, and not doubt but that the potato 
' will one day be restored to them in its original purity, how¬ 
ever long the ordeal may be through which it has to pass. 
Store-Hoots. —AVe come here to the general iirinciplcs 
of store-root preservation, which are few indeed, and cx- 
; ceediiigly simple. These are the points— 
Diyness. 
Exclusion of air. 
j Ab.sence of fermentation. 
I A low temperatore. 
As to the first, they can hardly he too dry, if the dryness 
is aocomjianied by a very low temperature; if vir. could 
select or lay down a pilch, we should say to 40°. Ex¬ 
clusion of air is but another tewm for darkness, which is, 
indeed, an esseutiid ; and, in general, what promotes the 
one accomplLshcs the other. Exclusion from the air jire- 
veuts loss by perspiration; and darkness prevents a tax 
on (he growing tendencies of the crowns of such roots as 
lAIaiigold, the Swede, I’otatoes, Carrots, Parsnips, Ac. Eer- i 
mentation, caused by placing roots in too great heaps, robs 
them of a consideralile amount of both their nutritious and ' 
keeping properties : this is the very bane of many proceed- ! 
iiigs. A low temperature is another important ali'air. Jtest 
is Ihc maxim with aU. these things; to this end northern 
aspects must be sought, and other local advantages, taking 
care that a high and dry situation be selected. No lodg¬ 
ment of w'aters must ever be thought of where roots are 
stored. Thus much about roots in the lump ; we have not 
space for detail. AVe may, however, observe, that it is well 
with all store-roots to cut tin' crown somewhat “into the 
(piick; ” the growing principle is thereby crippled for a 
longer period, and, indeed, weakened. Mangold should be 
imniediatoly got in, the roots scraped with a piece of stick 
cut to an edge, and housed dry, if piossible ; if there is no 
room in any outhouse, they may be piled, in a dry state, 
on a piiece of high and dry ground, and simply covered nine 
inches with soil, taking care to sharpen the exterior to a 
ridge, to throw off rains. Swedes may remain on the ground 
for another month, for they are vciy hardy; and, as the 
Mangold tops are now in use for the pig, Ac., the Sw'edo 
tops may thus be made to succeed them. 1‘arsiiips may 
remain where grown all the winter, unless needed off-hand. 
Our practice for many years has been to trim off the leaves 
in the early part of November, and immediately to manure 
the ground for the succeeding crop; then to open a trench 
a good depth at one end of the row', and thus provide for 
trenching them out as w’aiitcd, at the same time ridging the 
soil ready for the succeeding crop. Laud, thus treated, is 
in fine order the following Mai'ch for any crop of import¬ 
ance. Carrots will, of course, be stored, as they are tender; 
we cut their tops completely to the quick—a plan named 
twenty years since in Loudon’s Magazine, and which wo 
have practised ever since; it assiu'cdly keeps the roots fresh 
much longer, and no injury has ever arisen from the practice. 
CjVbbage-worts. ■—^AA^e long since explained that this 
broad term was intended to express all those greens, 
whether Cabbage or not, which are in these days worked 
into the general cropping economy—some preferring one 
kind, some another. If we were in a position to grant 
allotment land to the industrious, we should assuredly take 
all the lawful means in our jiower to xiersuade or to coax 
our tenantry to secure a sprinkling of these over all portions 
of the land occupied by summer crops. AVe are led to these 
remarks by observing, in a late northern trip), some of the 
finest soil “ that ever a crow flew over,” as our Cheshire 
picasants have it, lying totally idle for the winter, after a 
crop of rotten potatoes, and this, too, land bringing some 
three to five pounds per acre. This is really a pity; the 
time is not far distant when every pole of English land will 
require to be kept in high cultivation most of the year, in 
order to keep) pace with a stretching population, hungry as 
the famous Egyptian locusts. AVell, all Cabbage-worts will 
bring to hand half-decayed leaves, which are useful to the . 
swine, at least; and, as these are removed, advantage may 
be taken to cultivate between them, both for the sake of 
the existing crop and its successor. AA'hat is termed “ soil¬ 
ing-up,” although condemned by some, is, according to our 
experience, quite the thing; it prevents the plants wind- 
w'aving; it destroys a crop of weeds ; it admits air to the soil; 
and it does more, it causes the plants to root up the stem, ■ 
thereby rendering them more profitable. j 
Kidging. —This was pointed to before; but as a good talc 
is none the worse for being twice told, we beg again to refer 
to it. Our advice, then, is, let every yard of land, on which ; 
no crop is standing in the end of November, bo deep dug, ; 
and thrown into shai'p) ridges. 
Onions. —Keep your Onions dry; yea, warm if you will, 
sooner than permit any damp to lodge about them. Leeks, 
if growing, as they should be in drills, should be soiled up I 
like celery some dry day. 
