102 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
October 18, 1890. 
of sorts, Flag Iris, and a host of others, which do not 
die down altogether, herbaceous plants ? Aie not 
Alyssum saxatile, Iberis corifolia and I. sempervirens 
herbaceous plants ? And are not alpine plants also 
herbaceous plants ? 
“ W. P. R.” adds, “It has been suggested in your 
columns that hardy border plants would meet the case 
of one of your correspondents, but there are numbers 
of small shrubs grown in borders that would, I think, 
create dissatisfaction.” I presume these remarks refer 
to my communication in The Gardening World of 
September 27th, and if so, and “W. P. R.” will refer 
back to that number, he will read my words as 
follows:—“I think schedules would be more explicit 
if the prizes were offered for hardy border flowers, 
shrubs, Roses and annuals excluded, and making a class 
as well for bunches of hardy annuals at the August and 
September shows .—A Perplexed. Judge. 
-- 
THE POTATO. 
( Concluded from p. 87 .} 
I have sometimes thought it might be worth while 
to destroy crops thus situated on the very first breaking 
out of the plague, and compensate the owners at the 
public expense. We have done much in stamping out 
the cattle plague that decimates our herds, and why 
should not similar attemps be made to battle with the 
Potato plague ? Considering the large sums of money 
expended in dealing with disease amongst cattle, 
it is at least strange that so little has been done 
by the State to assist in the attempts made to 
conquer this enemy, the loss from which, during a 
series of years, is far greater, and attended with loss to 
a wider circle of people. Cutting off, or preferably 
pulling up the haulm, has many advocates, and I 
would not say a word against the practice, provided 
the tubers are approaching maturity when it is done, 
for if not, they will, from the want of those elements 
derived from the root action, prove very deficient in 
quality. Better a smaller quantity of good quality 
than a larger one of indifferent quality which no one 
can eat with pleasure. 
There is one other thing in reference to Potato sets 
which I wish to draw attention to, namely, the size of 
the sets. It was sometimes said, in the early years 
of the Potato disease, that the planting of small sets was 
at the bottom of the evil, because by so doing, the 
plant would lose much of its vitality. How small 
sets mean small eyes, and a correspondingly meagre 
produce may be expected. The crop, other things 
being equal, will be the best from sets which have 
stout, well-developed eyes. _Good crops have been 
grown from cuttings, and single eyes with a very small 
piece of the tuber attached to them. For instance, I 
once cut up 3J lbs. of one of the American varieties into 
single eyes during the month of March, letting them 
dry for a few days ; we then packed them away in bran 
till about the middle of April, when they were planted 
on ground prepared as usual for an ordinary crop, and 
from these 31 lbs. we lifted upwards of 1 cwt. of good 
Potatos. 
Culture. 
In preparing the ground for Potatos it should be borne 
in mind that the deeper it can be broken up the better. 
Crops will vary very considerably, according to the 
depth of the soil moved and the tilth into which it is 
worked ; at the same time, high cultivation of this 
particular root may be carried to an extent which will. 
prove non-remunerative. Where the space at command 
is limited, and the production of early crops is all that 
can be attempted, digging with the spade or fork is the 
only method open to the cultivator ; but when larger 
breadths are grown, the plough will be most frequently 
used, because the work can be done more expeditiously 
and cheaper than by spade labour. In naturally good 
or high-manured soils it is better to give the preceding 
crop a good dressing of farm-yard manure, and if 
thought desirable, to give the Potato ground a dressing 
of superphosphate or some specially-prepared Potato 
manure at planting time. From experiments made at 
Rothamstead, it appears that this crop is less able than 
any other root crop to avail itself of the nitrogen in the 
manure, and the produce was much less where nitro¬ 
genous manures were employed than by mineral ones. 
A special reason for the use of phosphate is that it 
greatly increases the development of feeding roots in 
the surface soil. In dealing with poor hungry soils of 
a sandy or gravelly texture, a'good coating of well- 
decayed farmyard manure well distributed is desirable. 
But in stiff heavy land the fresher it can be put on the 
better, because of its mechanical action rendering the 
soil more porous and permeable to the surface roots, and 
the decomposition of organic matter will render the 
soil warmer. 
Time and Mode of Planting. 
This will be governed to a great extent by local 
circumstances and the exigencies of any particular- 
season. On dry soils, in' favourable seasons, the 
middle of March will not be too early, but in wet and 
heavy soils it is best deferred till April is well 
advanced. For the earliest crop I have found none to 
surpass Myatt’s Kidney. Our earliest crops of these 
are planted on a south border, and this crop we plant 
in the trenches as digging proceeds, scattering either 
well-decayed manure or leaf-soil over the sets. For all 
other crops we used the dibber, but not because I think 
it the best way. Irrespective of labour, the plan of 
planting as the work proceeds is possibly the best, 
though some plant in drills and on wet and tenacious 
soils. There is much to be said in favour of the 
latter plan, but either of these methods entails a far 
greater amount of labour than the planting with the 
dibber does, and provided the soil is in good tilth, as 
it ought to be, I have yet to learn a better and more 
expeditious way of getting- over the work. 
In easily worked soils, the little treading they get 
during the process of dibbling is rather beneficial than 
otherwise, and a good workman will make the holes so 
that there is very little difference in their depth. Given 
this, and even-sized seed, there will be little difference 
in the time at which they appear above ground. The 
bulk of our crop,is planted on fresh-ploughed ground ; 
we dib the holes in the furrows, and cover the sets in 
with the hoe, leaving the ground rough till the seed 
weeds show themselves. Then choosing a fine day, it is 
harrowed over, which buries many and uproots some, so 
that by repeating this process, when the Potatos appear 
above ground, we save a good deal of hand hoeing. 
In soils liable to cake and consolidate, a forking between 
the rows or a horse hoe well worked between them is 
very beneficial to the crop by keeping the soil open, so 
that the plants can fibre well into it. Soils in a close, 
heavy condition, rarely produce good crops. As regards 
the width to plant, 1 have frequently found that the 
wider apart we plant, within certain limits, the better 
crops we get, the distance being regulated by the 
character of the variety. Those with short stems we put 
about 2 ft., while stronger growers, as Magnum 
Bonum, we place 3 ft. from row to row. 
Earthing Ui*. 
This is almost universally practised, yet by no means 
essential if the tubers are planted deep enough. The 
reasons for the practice are to prevent the young tubers 
being exposed to the light, and it is often easier to lift 
a crop well moulded than one on the fiat. 
Lifting and Storing the Crop. 
This may be done at any time after the tubers are 
matured. When the disease makes its appearance 
many lift them, thinking to save the produce from 
further loss, and in the case of those who grow for sale 
'much may be said for this practice, because perchance 
it is the only way in which heavy pecuniary loss can 
be avoided. But for private growers for own con¬ 
sumption the remedy is very often worse than the 
disease, because those which are affected must sooner or 
later succumb, and those which might have been of 
fairly good quality, if left to mature in the soil, 
are spoilt, and become very indifferent in quality. 
Storing.—If possible they should be lifted when dry, 
and should be put away so. In my own experience, 
the best plan of all is to store them in a shed facing 
the north, from which frost can be effectually 
excluded. We put ours into tubs, which are very 
handy to move about, and give such ready facilities for 
overhauling, besides keeping the potatos drier and 
cooler than is possible in either bins or heaps. By 
this means we have kept them in good condition till 
late in July with very little labour. 
Potato Forcing. 
A point of great importance in some places is the 
production of early frame Potatos. Since the impor¬ 
tation, however, of new Potatos from Malta, and later 
on from the Scilly and Channel Islands, from whence 
they are delivered into the London markets, frame 
culture has not been so extensively carried out as 
formerly, because they can be bought at less than the 
cost of production at home. But home-grown ones, 
if well done, can be put on the table in much superior 
condition to those imported, and few things bring 
greater credit to the grower if well done. The time 
for starting frame crops must depend very much upon 
the circumstances of the case. Where there is the 
advantage of a heated pit, a commencement may be 
made about Christmas ; but where fermenting material 
is the only heating power to be had, the early part of 
February will be soon enough. A point of great 
importance is never to start till an abundance of 
material is at hand to renew linings with when 
necessary, because if given a good start and from want 
of material there is any great fall in temperature, the 
crop will receive a check from which it will not recover, 
and prove deficient in both quality and quantity. 
A very moderate heat is sufficient, but it should be 
steadily maintained through all stages of growth. In 
making up a bed choose material likely to maintain a 
steady heat for a prolonged time. For this, nothing 
is better than leaves with a very small admixture of 
stable manure. When filling brick pits, the material 
should be trodden as firmly as possible, and left about 
1 ft. from the glass ; the weight of earth put on will 
bring it down sufficiently to allow for the growth of 
the haulm. For portable frames make the beds from 
4 ft. to 5 ft. high, and 3 ft. extra in the length and 
breadth of the frame. The soil used should be good 
friable loam, leaf-soil, and charred vegetable refuse ; 
two thirds of loam to one of leaf-soil. Plant the sets 
4 ins. in depth, in drills about 16 ins. apart ; at this 
depth little or no earthing up is required. A good 
plan is to start the sets in 4-in. pots in a vinery or 
Peach house, and plant when about 4 ins high. By 
having them in readiness when the frames are fit for 
planting, a gain of about a month will be effected. 
Air should be given from the back on all favourable 
occasions, and the lights need seldom be removed till the 
crop is lifted. Keep the soil moderately moist, and 
when watering becomes necessary, give enough to 
saturate the soil throughout its entire depth, using 
chilled water at a temperature of from 70° to 73°. 
Careful watering is most essential to success, and can¬ 
not be neglected without loss to the crop. Whilst 
guarding against drought, care must be taken that the 
soil is not brought into a heavy, sour condition from 
over watering. A temperature of about 60° should be 
maintained as near as well can be by day ; a drop of 
10° to 15° at night will do no harm. During bright 
sunshine, a rise of 10° may be allowed. Under this 
treatment, tubers should be fit for table in about nine 
weeks from the time of planting. Covering of some 
kind is requisite to prevent too great a lowering of 
temperature during the night. 
With a few lines on the choice of varieties I must 
conclude. This should be governed by the circumstances 
in which the grower finds himself placed. For instance, 
what in some soils are large and coarse growers, will, 
when the soil is poor and dry, produce tubers of 
moderate size. Take for instance the White Elephant, 
which in rich soils produces enormous tubers, but on 
light hungry soils, tubers moderate in size and more 
shapely. I pointed this out as a variety likely to 
become useful for marketing owing to its suitability to 
light, poor ground when it came out, and so it since 
became, and was for some time comparatively exempt 
from disease. Those who have the opportunity will do 
well to grow one or two of the new varieties every year, 
taking careful note of them, and if of good quality and 
disease-resisting, work up a stock for main crop 
purposes, but mercilessly discard all which show 
any peculiar liability to disease. — TV. B. Glcisscoclc. 
-- 
GARDENERS’ MUTUAL IMPROVE¬ 
MENT SOCIETIES* 
Their Aim and Object. 
The rapid spread of gardeners’ mutual improvement 
societies throughout the country, shows that they are 
supplying a want of the present time, when information 
that is likely to assist one in whatever he may be 
interested is eagerly sought after. It is, therefore, 
gratifying to find that such an intelligent body of men 
as gardeners are not behind others in this thirst for 
knowledge that is so apparent at the present day. 
The great aim of the members of all gardeners’ societies 
should be to benefit one another by the exchange of 
knowledge gained from experience in the past, and 
difficulties overcome. This we seek to do by the 
reading of papers at our meetings. These papers 
ought to be read by members as far as possible, and 
outside help only should be sought when it cannot be 
had from within. 
The preparation of a paper for a society like this, 
demands time, and in the preparation much useful 
information to the writer is gained, for no matter how 
- Read before the Ealing and District Mutual Improvement 
Society, October Sth, 1S90. 
S 
