130 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, December 1, 1857. 
contained many fine Ericas, Boronias, Eriostenions, 
Ac. The east side was cliiefly devoted to stove plants 
1 and Orchids ; the most of the latter being young, but 
| growing vigorously. R. Fish. 
{To be continued.) v 
THE POTATO CROP IN KENT IN 1857. 
Contrary to the expectations I held out at Mid¬ 
summer, the Potato crop of the present year has been 
more diseased in this neighbourhood than it has been 
since 1849. But there are some features about it 
worthy of notice, and which may enable us to partially 
escape this uncontrollable pest another year, if the 
season and other circumstances be like the past one. 
In the first place, I may say that this neighbourhood 
is not generally a good one for Potatoes. A dry, stony 
soil affords them little moisture in the growing months, 
unless there be abundant rains during the time, in 
which case they do very well; but the months of May, 
June, and July being very dry with us, the Potatoes 
towards the end of the last-named month began to 
ripen, they being only small in size, and crop indiffe¬ 
rent ; and by the first or second week in August m any 
of the early kinds were nearly fit to dig up ; and those 
who had the good fortune to dig them up then, saved 
them, or nearly so, from disease. Some heavy rains 
fell at that time, which, starting the Potato into a 
second growth, rendered it more easily attacked by its 
inveterate enemy. The consequence was, the rapid 
development of the disease by the end of the month 
worse than for many years ; and the subsequent ^en¬ 
largement of those tubers which escaped, has injured 
them very much in quality. 
As I have said, the disease did not exhibit itself 
until the middle of August; and many hoped that its 
effects would not be serious ; and they consequently 
left their crops in the ground until September, when 
they took them up, and to their mortification found 
the decay continued to spread after they were stored 
away; while those I speak of, which were taken up 
early in August, have kept tolerably well, only occa¬ 
sionally a rotten one being found amongst them ; which 
is easily accounted for, by the fact of the Potatoes 
not being ripe at the time. But those dug up and 
stored away in the middle of September, though sorted 
over carefully at the time, have become very bad since ; 
so that, taking the bad ones into account that were so 
at digging-up time, and those that have become so 
since, full three-fourths, or more, have fallen a prey to 
the disease; and this, with an indifferent crop/has 
made Potatoes both scarce and dear with us. 
I may as well observe, that some parties, and amongst 
them one very extensive grower near here, did not 
take up the crop until the middle of November; as by 
that tune the disease had so fully run its course, that 
those remaining sound at that time are likely to keep 
so all winter. Of the policy ot this plan I say nothing ; 
the party who did it has tried all plans before, in¬ 
cluding early and late planting, various kinds of Po¬ 
tatoes, manures ot sundry kinds, and other plans, and 
has come to the conclusion, that they do not decay any 
raster in the ground than in the storehouse ; thinking 
that where the seeds of the disease exist, the root is 
quite in as good a position to resist it in the ground, 
I as w hen lying in confined heaps in some outhouse, 
where it is more likely to spread by contamination if 
it be propagated that way. 
The season of 185/ has taught us not to delay taking 
up and storing away the Potato crop as soon as they 
i become set and half ripened; for those that did so this 
I year escaped ; while the majority of growers, thinking i 
the season was too far gone for the disease to do much 
harm, let them remain in the ground after the rains 
came, and, consequently, suffered as above. And there 
seem to have been no exceptions to the two cases, and I 
but little difference in the way the various kinds of j 
Potato were attacked; as some which had been asserted 
to be “disease proof,” were as bad as any; and the ! 
early ones were as much affected as Regents and late 
kinds, although the former were much riper: but the 
rain exciting a second growth, laid the plant open to j 
that disease which it was unable to resist: hence the 
result. J. Robson. 
[This entirely confirms what we have for years 
urged; and once more we say, “Plantin November, or 
early in December, and grow only the earliest-ripening 
kinds P- —Ed. C. CL] 
FLOWER-BED IRRIGATION. 
We have all been accustomed from childhood to hear of 
the irrigation annually effected by the overflowing of the 
Nile; and the overflowings of our friend Mr. Mecki upon 
a somewhat similar subject are become almost as familiar, at 
least to the agricultural portion of the community. But 
neither the Nile nor the Tiptree Hall, neither the natural nor 
the artificial, expositions of what might be accomplished by 
the deposits of an overflow on the surface, will be here con¬ 
sidered. No. The above is an agricultural question, and 
our subject must be strictly a floricultural one: yes, flower¬ 
bed hrigation. But how is this to be effected ? The words 
“ to irrigate ” and “ to overflow” seem indissolubly connected; 
and surely the idea of overflowing, or laying under water a 
flower-bed, perhaps a yard square, must appear altogether 
irreconcilable to any sane system of gardening tactics what¬ 
ever ; and in this we fully concur. But although we cannot 
consent to the absurdity of attempting flower-bed irrigation 
in the common acceptance of the word, still we by no means, 
as the sequel will show, ignore irrigation altogether. 
A close and intimate connection of some years with garden¬ 
ing has, each succeeding season, forced upon us the absolute 
necessity of adopting or introducing some more effectual and 
less expensive mode of watering bedding plants than either of 
the two. artificial means we at present possess; the cumbrous 
hose and the laborious water-pot being at present the only 
practical representatives of rain and moisture for many a long 
and parching week in June, July, and August. Now, expe¬ 
rience has perfectly convinced us of the utter insufficiency of 
these two irrigating mediums of the day; firstly, on account 
of the great labour and expense occasioned for days and weeks 
together during the heat of summer in watering by hand; 
secondly, on the inadequate nature of the supply thus afforded 
to the plants, especially in exposed situations; and lastly, 
from the natural tendency of the surface of the soil to become 
what is termed “ baked,” hardened, and almost impervious to 
water, as is well known is the result of frequent waterings 
from a hose or water-pot. Now, these are all Jhe certain 
drawbacks of the present system of watering by hand; and 
there are other incidental ones no less important, which it will 
not now be necessary to mention. That a great extra amount 
of labour, expense, and trouble is incurred at the busiest 
season of the year is undeniable, besides taking into consider¬ 
ation the hardened and Macadamised appearance of beds and 
borders treated in this manner; and to endeavour to obviate 
all these objections, and to point out a more perfect and less 
laborious system of conveying a sufficient supply of moisture 
to bedding-plants, are the intent and object of the writer in this 
communication; and were I not perfectly satisfied of the 
merits of the system I now advocate, I should not presume 
to intrude upon your pages. 
Before building a houso it is necessary to count the cost; 
and before adopting the system now proposed for irrigating i 
flower-beds, men who delight in improving their flower- 
gardens may consider over, ere spring cornea again, the 
propriety of carrying out the sure and simple system here 
introduced to their notice ; and this system is no mere “ base¬ 
less theory,” but a tried, lasting, and substantial application 
