A 
August THE COTTAGE GA TIDE NEE. 283 
proceeding: we are anxious that the allotment por¬ 
tion which has produced a crop of onions should bo 
re-cropped immediately. This is, indeed, the earliest 
root-crop ground which comes to hand, and if our ad¬ 
vice, as to the sowing of the dwarf cabbage or cole- 
wort in June, has been acted on, the plants will be 
ready for this very purpose. They will, however, 
need a little manure, and such need not he dug in 
deep; we would rather have it within four or live 
inches of the surface, for the crop we suggest must 
have obtained full growth by the middle of October; 
some very rotten manure, therefore, should he selected. 
But to return for a moment to the onions : how are 
they to be dried ? This, in backward or damp sea¬ 
sons and in our northern counties, is an important 
question. They are far best, in our opinion, dried by 
artificial heat, that is to say, in a warm room, unless 
the season is dry and hot, when we have known them 
dried as perfectly as though they had been in a kiln. 
The allotment holder, however, has not always con¬ 
venience for indoor drying, hut he can keep them in 
baskets, and carry them in and out daily, for the 
night dews in autumn frequently retard their drying 
as much as the sunshine or wind of the previous day 
had advanced it. Our onion practice is, in pulling 
them up, to place the root-end to the sun as we draw 
them, on the very bed in which they grew. Onions 
grown in wet soils, or soils which have long been 
under culture, and which of course possess a consider¬ 
able amount of humus (the black remainder of putri- 
fied vegetable matters), are very apt in damp seasons 
to engender a mouldiness at the root, which if not 
arrested speedily becomes a putrefaction or gangrene, 
striking at once at the vital or keeping properties of 
the bulbs; such is, in general, arrested immediately 
by laying them with the root-end to the sun for a 
week or so. After this the necks (withered stems) 
may be partially stripped away, and the thorough 
drying accomplished by the means before described. 
Those who rope them will pursue another course: 
here the means employed reduce the number of mis¬ 
chances much; indeed, roping is, after all, the safest 
plan for those who can spare the time. 
Potatoes. —We are sorry to find that that old foe, 
the fungus Botrytis infestans, is at work on the leaves 
of the potato in all parts of the kingdom. It would 
appear, however, that the evil is much mitigated, for 
it has not only made its appearance later, but its 
progress is not marked at present with that degree 
of virulence which characterized it in former years; 
neither do we expect that it will prove so bad, for we 
lay the utmost stress on a more perfect elaboration 
of the juices of the potato. We have had much 
sun-light in the early part of the summer, and maugre 
the idea—fallacious in our opinion—of Mr. Cuthill 
and others that sunshine had caused the disease, we 
still think that this mellow and bright state of at¬ 
mosphere is everything with the potato. Added to 
this, it is gratifying to find that some country folks, 
who formerly were most difficult to win over to any 
opinion but that they had been accustomed to, have 
at last been persuaded that planting potatoes through 
the end of April and up to June is not the way to 
ensure a crop in difficult times, and that what will 
prove a restorative in such a case will not be bad 
practice when all is set right again. However, we 
must try to make ourselves useful as to disease cases 
with allotment holders. We have ever been of the 
opinion—based, as we think, securely on facts—that 
when the plague spot or blotch has fairly invested 
the plant it is high time the haulm parted company 
with the potatoes. There can be little doubt that 
the virus engendered by an arrested or stagnant 
elaboration of the sap descends after it has been 
formed into the tubers, and many persons have taken, 
as we think, a wrong impression, from the fact that 
this upper series of tubers being always invested 
first with the disease, it must necessarily be atmos¬ 
pheric in its origin. When, however, we consider 
that the upper series must of necessity be the first 
to receive the diseased fluids, we may fairly pause 
before we adopt the atmospheric or any other theory. 
It is surely hardly worth while casting about for far¬ 
fetched reasons when cogent ones, although simple 
in appearance, lie close at hand. Our digression, 
however, must cease, and our main point must now 
be with the allotment cultivator, to induce him to 
plant cabbages of the colewort character on ground 
from which potatoes have been removed. We re- 
1 commend this course on the presumption that he 
has a cow or a pig, for in Such cases it is impossible 
to produce too much from the narrow compass allot¬ 
ted to such holders. Before recropping so late in 
the season it behoves him to take a prospective 
glance at the coming year, for we would by no means 
permit a secondary crop to interfere with tiny sound 
policy connected with the next year’s operations. 
As before observed, these cole worts may be planted 
at one square foot apart, and they will prove very 
useful to the family through November and Decem¬ 
ber, whilst the refuse from them will of course go to 
the pig, for even the roots will be devoured. 
Mangold. —Towards the end of September a few 
of the lower leaves which begin to change colour 
may be progressively stripped away, and given to 
the cow or pig. Any “bolters,” too, or those which 
run to seed, should be drawn up and given to the 
stock, to let the sun shine on their neighbours. No 
other culture will be necessary for this root. 
Carrots. —If any of the carrot crops are badly 
“ grubbed,” they should be drawn betimes and em¬ 
ployed in pig feeding, for if allowed to remain long 
they will scarcely be usable. No further culture ne¬ 
cessary until storing time. 
Parsnips. —Their culture merely consists in keep¬ 
ing down weeds. 
Swedes. —Thorough weeding will be necessary, and 
those which were transplanted late after potato crops 
should receive a careful hand hoeing. 
Common Turnips. —Either hoeing or hand thin¬ 
ning must here be resorted to ; many persons lose a 
great weight of root by leaving them too thick. Such 
as the stone turnip or Dutch should be set out at 
about eight inches apart. Any early crops which are 
becoming overgrown may be pulled, and their tops 
cut off rather into the quick; they may then be 
placed on a dry piece of ground, and soiled over 
like potatoes. 
Peas. —These, most likely, are all used up long 
since; if any remain which are getting too hard, they 
may be pulled up, dried on the hedge, and then 
thrashed out for boiling purposes. 
Broad Beans. —Any of these which remain may 
also be dried; they will make excellent meal when 
ground. One portion of this to three of Indian corn 
meal makes capital pig flour. 
Runner Kidney Beans. —Keep these close ga¬ 
thered, except a few at the bottom for seed. Their 
long bearing depends on keeping the large pods well 
under. 
Greens of all Kinds, Brocolis, &c. —All these 
things should be well soiled up, if not already done, 
and one clean weeding given before they cover the 
ground. 
