354 THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN'S COMPANION, February 24,1857. 
rich and light purposely. I just covered the sets over, 
and as they came up they were earthed up slightly. 
When about six inches high I poured water freely on 
the row, so freely as to wash away the soil down to the 
old sets. I repeated this watering frequently, and by 
that means almost prevented any young Potatoes being 
formed. I had the pleasure to see dower-stems formed 
aud bloomed, and 1 have no doubt Crabs would have 
followed ; but the ground was suddenly wanted for a 
building, and my experiment was destroyed. Now, if 
nny of our renders have time and means, I would advise 
them to try the same plan. I have no doubt whatever 
of their success ; and then we might have an improved, 
or, at any rate, a renovated variety. 
2. Handsworth Early Round Potato. —I do not know 
much about this variety, but it is very strongly recom¬ 
mended here as an excellent new variety, coming 
into season even earlier than the preceding. The words 
used about it are, “ The earliest of all, very dwarf tops, 
and highly recommended for forcing.” A person who 
has grown it says that it need not be planted wider 
apart between the rows than eighteen inches, and nine 
inches in the row; and it is very productive, and as 
good in quality as the Ash-leaf, and, like that variety, 
is not liable to tne disease. It was raised, I believe, at 
Messrs. Fisher and Holmes’, the Handsworth Nursery, 
near Sheffield, i was told one London seedsman said 
“ it was worth its weight in gold.” 1 saw a sample of it 
to-day (February 14tb), and it appears to me to be a 
good likely sort. The samples were about the ordinary 
size, shallow-eyed, and haudsome shape ; there were no 
small ones amongst them. I hope to be able to speak 
more fully and confidently about this promising variety 
before this year is over. 
SECOND EARLY VARIETIES. 
1. Haigh's Kidney, synonyme Capstone Kidney. My 
friend Mr. Weaver, at page 187, says this resembles the 
Walnut Kidney, but is much more productive, and 
nearly if not quite as early. I do not know how it 
may be at Winchester; but here, at Sheffield, Haiglis 
Kidney is not in its prime till August, and con¬ 
tinues good till Christmas. 1 had some on my table as 
late as that, and better Potatoes were never eaten. The 
origin of this most excellent variety has been hitherto in 
obscurity: I am happy to bo able to give the true history. 
It was raised at a village called Newton Kyme, near 
Tadcaster, by a Mr. Haigh, a schoolmaster, who took 
considerable pains in raising seedlings. Certainly it is 
one of the best sorts, possessing every quality in the 
highest degree. It is excellent for the table; its pro¬ 
duce, if rightly managed, most productive; and for the 
table no kind can surpass it, and it is very little subject 
to the disease. My friend Mr. Flintham, of Rother¬ 
ham, cultivates it largely, and his method, as he in¬ 
formed me, is to plant 'it in good ground three feet 
six inches between the rows, and one foot from set 
to set in the row. He drills them in, not deep, using 
no dibble, and earths them up, so as to have a wide 
ridge for the Potatoes to swell out in. I saw them 
growing this summer, and though the rows were so 
wide the tops nearly met. A root was taken up to 
show the crop, and I counted fifteen fine Potatoes, be¬ 
sides a few small ones. This variety I consider A 1. 
Every one that grows Potatoes ought to grow a large 
portion of this variety. 
2. Pink-eyed Regent. —A good "second early white, 
mealy variety, a great cropper, and excellent every way 
up to Christmas, or even through January and Febru¬ 
ary. It is a handsome shape, with shallow eyes and a 
rough skin, and scarcely ever diseased. It is, I believe, 
a local variety about Rotherham and some parts of 
Nottinghamshire. Being a handsome-looking variety 
it takes at a market readily. The south growers ought 
to inquire for and obtain it. It is far superior to the 
old Yorkshire Regent, itself a good variety, but subject 
to the Potato murrain, and wearing out fast. 
LATE POTATO. 
The Fluke. —I cannot learn the correct history of this 
best of all late Potatoes. I first saw it at Heaton Park, 
near Manchester, the seat of Earl Wilton, about four 
years ago. Mr. Shuter, the gardener, showed me the 
crop, and praised it very highly as a good sort. I do 
not think, however, that even he was aware of its excel¬ 
lent keeping quality. The fact is, the season when it is 
in the greatest perfection is May and June, or even July; 
it will keep sound and firm to the end of that mouth if 
prevented from sprouting too long. Indeed, if eaten 
before May, it tastes rather sweet, like one that has been 
slightly frosted; therefore use your Pink Eyes and 
Haigh's Kidneys till then, or any other sort you may 
have, but by all means keep the Flukes for the last of 
the season. 
This variety, like Haiglis Kidney, should be planted 
in rows wide apart. Even in small gardens there is 
nothing gained by planting thickly. If the ground is 
completely shaded by the leaves and haulm it is 
scarcely ever dry, and that has a great tendency to pro¬ 
duce disease; aud, besides that, on shaded ground the 
Potatoes are never so good and wholesome, nor do they 
ripen so quickly as on ground on which the sun can 
shine at least part of the day. On that account 1 would 
always, if possible, let my rows of Potatoes run north 
and south, for then the sun can shine on both sides of 
the ridges; that is, on the east side in the forenoon, aud 
on the west side in the afternoon. 
To produce good sound Potatoes good ground is abso¬ 
lutely necessary; whoever expects them to be good in 
quality and quantity in wet or heavy, clayey soil will 
certainly be disappointed. If the soil, whether a garden 
or a field, has been a loug time under tillage, a good 
dressing of lime will be useful. 1 see some writers 
recommend coal ashes. The benefit of using them is, 
to say the least of it, apocryphal. The only benefit 1 
can imagine will be on stroug land, as having a tendency 
to keep it open. I have seen very good Potatoes pro¬ 
duced on dry moorland freshly broken up, the furze, 
heath, &c., burnt and spread on the surface ; but that 
sort of land soon tires of one crop, and, therefore, a 
rotation is necessary 
The cause of the disease in the Potato has been much 
written about, discussed, and with some, in their opinion, 
clearly pointed out. I have my crotchets on the matter, 
which I may probably some day present to our readers. 
In the meantime I trust the above few remarks on the 
most desirable varieties, with a hint or two on their 
peculiar culture, will be useful. T. Appleby. 
CAPSICUMS AND THEIR CULTURE. 
Amongst the plants requiring to be reared as early in 
the spring as possible Capsicums certainly stand first, 
especially when they have to fruit and mature their 
growth out of doors, or with but little assistance from 
glass. The increased demand for this article, for pickles 
or other pur-poses, has led to its more general cultivation, 
and, instead of a few stunted plants in pots being found 
in a hothouse, large quantities are grown out of doors in 
sheltered borders, or, what is more congenial to them, in 
a cold frame; but as it is not in every case that they 
ripen their fruit or even perfect its growth when placed 
in such situations, a few remarks on the conditions 
under which they are grown will, perhaps, solve the 
mystery of this, and point out a remedy. 
The tropical origin of this plant would point out to us 
the utter impossibility of our obtaining results in our 
