THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
503 
September 20. 
ALLOTMENT FARMING.— October. 
How many reminiscences of the past—how many antiei 
pations of the future—rush into the mind, when we, in a 
musing mood, estimate our position, and find ourselves on 
the edge of old October. We very naturally thus soli¬ 
loquise:—Is the summer really gone; and are we so fast 
approaching the edge of winter? Are we prepared for that 
gloomy period, when it is vain to look for the fruits of the 
earth, or for sustenance out-doors ? Have we done all 
we could, in the spirit of prudent forecast, to secure a 
winter’s supply of roots and vegetables, to eke out more ex¬ 
pensive affairs; and to add change and variety to the winter’s 
j repast ? 
These are grave questions, at this period, to those for 
whom our labours are intended ; and, indeed, they concern 
| every one who cultivates land, whether a score poles, or a 
j hundred acres. In these days, more especially, do such 
I considerations press with unusual weight, for the prospect 
I before us is strange enough to attract extra attention in an 
unusual degree. The Potato disease, so virulent as well 
nigh to threaten an utter extermination of that invaluable 
root; bread-stuffs of all kind dear, and likely to rise higher; 
flesh meat up to war prices again; and, indeed, everything 
pertaining to dietary matters high in the market, and having 
a tendency to rise. Added to this, at the time I write, much 
difficulty in securing the later harvest, both as regards 
weather, and the labour question. By-the-by, the latter 
will soon become the question of the day, if emigration 
proceeds at the ratio of the last twelvemonths or so ; if, with 
some tens of thousands of Irish labourers, there is much 
ado to secure our harvests, what shall be the case, if not 
only these men emigrate, but a “ drain ” commences on the 
very sinews of old England ? Surely, the day is at hand, 
when the policy, propriety, shall I add, necessity, of attach¬ 
ing our labourers to the soil which bred them, by adding a 
quarter-of-an-acre of good soil to every cottage must be con¬ 
sidered. Plowever, let us cast our eyes over our crops, and 
leave these things to our rulers, who, thanks to God, are 
tolerably alive in these days to the interests of the masses. 
Potatoes. —In these parts, I am sorry to report, the 
disease is worse than it was in its earlier visitations. It is, 
indeed, fearful, doubtless rendered doubly virulent through 
the immense quantity of rain, and general humidity and 
shade of the atmosphere. The whole system of the plant 
has been for weeks disturbed with half-elaborated sap. 
This could not, under present circumstances, but lead to 
increased disease. And what must we do? it will be asked. 
To which I answer, No man can say decidedly. I verily had 
thought that planting early, on land not fresh manured, 
taking them up before the tuber was affected, and strewing 
them thinly on the dry fioor for a fortnight, would prevent 
or arrest the disease. And such a course, last autumn, was 
crowned with the most complete success in my case; so 
much so, as quite to astonish parties aware of the circum¬ 
stances. I am sorry to say, however, that such has not been 
the case up to this time; out of two or three sorts thus 
treated, I have lost some forty per cent, at least. 
I remember once reading a tale of a man, who bet a wager, 
that he would get a hundred receipts for the tooth-ache 
within an hour. He took a seat on (I think! old London- 
bridge, and commenced making wry faces, and uttering ago¬ 
nising cries, and, verily, recipes poured in on him from all 
| sides—he won easily. And so with our Potato disease. A 
man on a journey may soon collect a hundred recipes. I 
met a grave-looking person the other day, at a railway station, 
who fairly begged of me to try the effect of pitting them 
the moment they were taken up ; he assured me that two 
years successively, last and this, he had done so, covering 
the pit or “hog” with nine inches of soil. Now this 
was done with the kind known in these parts as “ the 
Radicals,” than which none have decayed worse during 
the last two or three years. He assured me, that he opened 
a pit last week, which had been thus covered for six weeks, 
and that scarcely one was decayed. His maxim is, exclusion 
i of air by all possible means; and, in order to prove this 
point, I have selected a dozen potatoes, equal in all respects ; 
six I have put in a bottle, sealed; and six I have laid on a 
shelf in the shed. Strange it is, that one party so strongly 
! advocates thorough exposure to the air, drying, and even 
greening; whilst another as strongly advocates just the 
reverse. I am this day (September 17th) covering a lloor 
with Potatoes taken up yesterday, and I am going to smother 
them with fresh-burnt wood ashes, as an experiment. 
1 may here again recommend caution and care in the 
selection and preservation of seed for the ensuing year. 
There are those who say it is as well to plant from diseased 
seed, but both science and common sense arc averse to such 
a proceedure. 
Storing Roots in General. —By the end of the month, 
Carrots and Mangold must be stored; indeed, Carrots pro¬ 
bably sooner, especially if the grub has been busy. A dry 
period should by all means be chosen. The Carrot tops are 
valuable food for either cow or pig, and should be used 
accordingly. They may be mowed or knifed down to within 
three inches of the crown, leaving the root to draw them by; 
and when taken up they may bo cut into the quick, that is 
to say, a slice taken off the crown, to destroy or weaken the 
growing principle. These crowns may be mixed with boil¬ 
ing food for the fattening of store pigs. Now, both with re¬ 
gard to this and other store roots, it may again be observed, 
that to get them housed dry, and to keep them dry after, is 
the chief secret. If there be a considerable bulk of such 
roots, and house, shed, or cellar-room is scarce, they may be 
piled in a ridge, in any high and dry plot, and protected 
from frost. My practice is to select a plot of the kind 
behind a hedge, fence, or wall, where the sun seldom shines; 
and where, in drenching periods, wet can never lie. Here 
the various roots are piled in pyramids of about three feet 
at base by nearly four feet in height. On the ground, a 
little new and dry straw is laid, and the whole pyramid of 
roots, carefully placed, is also covered with new straw, and 
the whole is soiled over about two inches thick; the soil 
taken from the sides or base of the pyramids and cut to slope 
from the pyramid ; this at once conducts away all rains. 
In the beginning of December, six inches more soil may 
be added if the roots are to keep until spring; or, if more 
convenient, a good coating of litter may be strewed over. 
Thus, it will be found, that any of our store-roots will turn 
out in March and April quite fresh ; the main features being 
dryness and as low a temperature as can be attained short 
of freezing the roots; albeit, a slight approach to this 
condition would do good rather than otherwise. 
Tho weather being dry, when the roots are pulled, they 
may be thrown on the surface of the soil for three or four 
horns, and then they may be slightly scraped if much soil 
adheres to them; and this little ceremony, by causing the 
operator to move all the roots, performs a double operation; 
it turns them and dries the other side. They may be 
scraped, if necessary, with a ]hece of lath cut in proper form, 
but care should be taken not to wound them. Those who 
can pile such roots in out houses, or anywhere in-doors, 
must take care that they do not become shrivelled; mere 
dryness will scarcely accomplish this; but if there be fire- 
heat, or the sun or light can act on the roots, they will 
speedily lose their virtues. They must, by all means, be 
kept dark, and the air excluded. 
As for Parsnips, they are better left in the soil until the 
beginning of February, as we have oftentimes proved and 
stated. It is well, however, to cover their crowns when cut 
down slightly; and my practice is to spread the manure 
allowed to the succeeding crop over their surface, and to 
dig them out according as needed : they will keep, however, 
without shrivelling, two or three weeks, at least, on any cool 
and damp floor, always taking the precaution of tin-owing 
something over them to keep them dark, and to avert the 
action of the air; for every one surely must know that the 
conjoint influences of air and light changes the character 
of those portions of plants which have been formed beneath 
the surface of the soil. 
Swedes. —These will endure ordinary winters unprotected; 
but there is nothing like having these things under com¬ 
mand at a moment’s notice. It is awkward for the cottager’s 
wife to have to combat with half-a-dozen inches of snow in 
order to get at some Swedes for her family, or for the hog. 
Moreover, they are not quite safe in the soil. 
Collecting Leaves, Tops, &c.— Some of our modern 
cultivators advocate the cutting off the leaves of root crops 
whilst in the middle of their growth ; this is extraordinary. 
Surely, the keen hunt after startling novelties in this age of 
