220 
JOURNAL  OR  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDE  HER. 
March  6,  1896* 
THOSE  WRETCHED  POTATOES. 
“  Hope  springs  eternal  in  tlie  human  breast,”  so  says  the 
poet,  and  notwithstanding  an  infinite  capacity  for  grumbling, 
the  British  farmer’s  bosom  contains  an  almost  endless  store. 
Happily  so,  for  his  faith  in  the  future  is  ever  being  put  to  the 
rudest  of  tests. 
When,  as  our  own  knowledge  can  testify,  good  Potatoes  can 
be  bought  by,  nay,  are  actually  pressed  on,  dealers  at  the 
following  prices  on  rail  in  South  Lincolnshire — Bruce,  Fen, 
19s.;  ditto  Selts,  25s.;  Abundance,  22s.  6d  per  ton;  we  may 
well  ask,  Are  they  worth  planting  ?  But  already  the  planting 
of  Potatoes  is  in  full  swing,  and  whatever  the  outcome  may  be, 
the  tubers,  at  any  rate  as  regards  an  important  acreage,  will 
have  a  full  month’s,  or  may  be  five  weeks’,  start  as  compared  to 
last  season.  This  should  result,  bar  May  frosts,  in  an  appreciable 
increase  of  bulk,  experience  having  proved  many  times  that 
early  planting  has  this  effect.  The  crop,  however,  is  more  liable 
to  supertuberation,  with  a  consequent  deterioration  in  quality. 
We  are  only  referring  to  field  crops,  and  more  particularly 
midseason  or  late  varieties.  Maincrop  Potatoes  planted  early 
will  appear  above  the  ground  only  a  day  or  two  sooner  than 
those  planted  early  in  April,  but  the  tubers  will  not  have  been 
lying  idle  all  the  time. 
Growers  of  Hyacinths  and  similar  bulbs  knowhow  important 
it  is  to  give  the  roots  time  to  establish  themselves  before  the 
flowers  are  forced  ;  so  with  the  Potato,  where  heavy  crops  are 
sought  for  get  them  in  early,  give  the  roots  time  to  grow  first, 
then  when  in  due  course  the  top  appears  you  will  have  a  perfect 
plant,  which,  like  a  well-made  machine,  will  turn  you  out  the 
perfect  result  for  which  you  have  striven. 
But  there  is  the  foundation  on  which  to  work — the  soil.  Any 
free  working  or  loamy  soil  will  grow  Potatoes,  but  if  it  be  too 
dry — i  e.,  liable  to  drought,  only  early  kinds  for  hamper  work 
should  be  attempted.  To  lay  the  foundation  of  a  heavy  crop 
deep  cultivation  is  a  sine  qua  non ;  a  drilled  plough  which  can 
turn  over  the  soil  10  inches  deep,  with  three  horses  as  motive 
power,  is  excellent  for  the  purpose. 
If  the  farmyard  manure  be  spread  and  ploughed  in  during 
the  winter  a  great  saving  of  labour  at  a  pressing  time  will  have 
been  effected. 
We  are  now  ridding  land  so  ploughed  and  it  is  in  beautiful 
condition,  the  manure  wTell  incorporated  with  the  soil.  Twenty- 
eight  inches  is  a  good  average  width  for  the  ridges,  but  this  may 
be  .varied  according  to  the  kind  planted,  all  strong  growers, 
such  as  “  Bruce,”  requiring  plenty  of  room. 
Then  the  wheels  of  the  machine  must  be  greased.  How 
much  depends  on  the  course  that  has  been  followed.  Our 
practice  has  been  to  make  Potatoes  follow  Clover,  either  mown 
or  pastured  We  have  applied  3  cwts.  of  kainit  per  acre  to  the 
Clover  the  previous  spring  with  very  marked  effect  on  the 
succeeding  crop.  To  this  we  have  added  3  cwts.  of  superphos¬ 
phate  at  planting  time  on  the  ridges  and  2  cwts.  of  sulphate  of 
ammonia  per  acre  (sometimes  three),  hoed  in  when  the  haulm  is 
about  3  inches  high.  Care  should  be  taken  only  to  sow  this  when 
the  leaves  are  quite  dry,  or  the  effect  may  be  like  that  of  a  sharp 
fl’OSt. 
When  Potatoes  are  grown  after  a  white  crop,  a  larger  supply 
of  nitrogen  is  necessary.  With  twenty  loads  per  acre  of  good 
manure  2  cwts  of  sulphate  of  ammonia  may  be  sufficient,  but 
3  or  34  may  be  used  if  only  a  small  quantity  of  manure  is 
available.  The  supplies  of  phosphoric  acid  and  potash,  however, 
must  be  made  to  balance  the  nitrogen,  and  therefoi’e  3  or  4  cwts. 
of  kainit  with  4  cwts.  of  superphosphate  should  be  split  in  with 
the  sets. 
On  naturally  rich  and  fertile  soils  less  ammonia  and  more 
phosphate  may  prove  the  most  profitable.  No  hard  and  fast 
rules  can  be  laid  down,  as  land  varies  so  much,  but  we  are  writing 
from  a  considerable  experience  of  light  land. 
The  following  dressing  will  give  a  fair  crop  of  Potatoes  on 
average  land  without  farmyard|manure  : — 
Quantities  in  Hundredweights,  Price  Per  Hundredweight, 
and  Cost  Per  Acre. 
Quantities  per  acre.  Price  per  cwt. 
s.  d. 
Sulphate  of  ammonia,  4  cwts.  ...  9  6 
Kainit,  4  cwts .  2  \\ 
Superphosphate,  5  cwts .  2  0 
Price  per  acre. 
£  8.  d. 
1  18  0 
0  8  6 
0  10  0 
Total 
£2  16  6 
Compare  results  of  this  with  results  from  twenty  loads  per  acre 
of  fair  farmyard  manure  and  we  should  venture  to  prophesy 
that  “muck  ”  would  get  the  worst  of  it.  Personally  we  prefer  a 
moderate  admixture  of  manure  and  chemicals  to  an  exclusive 
use  of  either,  a  mixed  diet  being  good  for  roo's  as  well  as  for 
animals. 
It  is  very  important  to  thoroughly  understand  the  character¬ 
istics  of  the  different  varieties  when  manuring  Potatoes,  some 
being  improved  by  a  quantity  which  would  ruin  others.  We 
propose  to  refer  to  this  in  dealing  with  varieties  in  another 
article 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
As  the  days  lengthen  and  the  sunshine  increases,  care  must  be  taken 
not  to  overdo  the  young  cattle  with  rich  foods.  A  diet  suitable  for  cold 
frosty  weather  will  often  produce  splenic  apoplexy  when  there  is  a 
change  to  warmth,  and  where  other  foods  are  plentiful  cake  and  corn 
may  be  saved  altogether,  and  the  young  stock  progresses  quite  fast  enough 
without  them. 
Highly  fed  sheep  are  very  liable  to  turn  lame  about,  this  time.  A 
little  flowers  of  sulphur  mixed  with  the  artificial  food  twice  a  week  will 
generally  prove  a  prevention  much  cheaper  and  easier  than  any  cure. 
At  last  has  come  a  slight  check — cold  N.E.  winds,  with  frost,  and  the 
sky,  judging  from  appearances,  gives  one  the  idea  of  Bnow  not  far  distant. 
Be  it  snow  or  rain,  we  need  moisture  of  some  sort.  Dykes  are  dry  that 
usually  run  till  midsummer,  and  there  seems  poor  prospect  of  springs 
rising  much  this  season. 
Just  now  our  thoughts  are  turned  much  in  the  direction  of  labour. 
Masters  and  men  have  now  to  decide  on  their  movements  for  next 
year.  Garthmen  and  general  labourers  seem  pretty  plentiful,  but  there 
is  a  dearth  of  shepherds  who  know  their  work  and  can  ^do  it.  Of 
shepherds  the  great  complaint  is  that  they  are  so  “  Bhifty  about  the 
bits  of  work  that  come  really  into  their  province,  but  are  not  actually 
sheep.  To  them  more  than  to  any  other  class  of  farm  labourer  beer 
seems  so  attractive,  and  a  steady  hard-working  shepherd  who  knows  and 
will  do  his  duty  is  a  person  of  great  value,  and  can  command  a  really 
excellent  wage.  _  ,  , 
Tbere  is  a  movement  on  foot  to  extend  technical  education  to  snep- 
herds ;  in  fact  in  East  Suffolk  classes  of  this  kind  have  been  in  operation 
since  1893.  The  attendances  have  included  flock  masters  as  well  as 
shepherds,  and  the  teaching  has  been  fully  appreciated.  The  course 
comprised  lectures  on  the  management  of  the  flock,  young  sheep,  with 
the  special  diseases  affecting  sheep.  The  series  wound  up  with  practical 
demonstration,  and  a  healthy  and  a  diseased  sheep  were  submitted  to  a 
post-mortem  examination.  If  the  sons  of  farmers  would  interest 
selves  individually  in  such  work  we  should  hear  less  of  incapable 
shepherds  and  of  fewer  losses  among  sheep. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS, 
Oamden  Square,  London. 
Lat.51°  32' 40"  N-  :  Lons.  0°  8/  0"  W.:  Altitude  111  feet 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
1896. 
February . 
Barometer 
at  32°,  and 
|  Sea  Level. 
Hygrometer. 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
1  foot. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Sunday  ..  23 
Monday  . .  24 
Tuesday  ..  25 
Wednesday  26 
Thursday . .  27 
Friday  . .  28 
Saturday  . .  29 
Inchs. 
30-324 
30-482 
30-356 
30-079 
30-265 
30-158 
80-13S 
deg. 
32-9 
30- 1 
31- 2 
28-9 
35-2 
47-0 
45-9 
deg. 
31-1 
29- 7 
30- 6 
27-5 
33-0 
46-3 
44-6 
N. 
N.E. 
N.E. 
N. 
N.W. 
W. 
S.W. 
deg. 
40-5 
38-8 
37-6 
36-8 
36-1 
36-9 
39T 
30-257 
35-9 
34-7 
38-0 
IN  THE  Day. 
Rain. 
Shade  Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun. 
On 
Grass. 
deg. 
deg. 
dee. 
deg. 
iDchs. 
41-2 
28-2. 
71-9 
24-0 
41-2 
26-6 
73-1 
23-1 
— 
35-0 
25-1 
62-1 
21-4 
— 
85-9 
23-2 
60-9 
19-8 
— 
47-8 
29-2 
79-2 
28-7 
0-013 
56-4 
35-1 
85-1 
32-0 
o-oio 
53-8 
44-3 
59-6 
38-9 
0-037 
44-5 
30-2 
70*3 
26-8 
0-060 
23rd.— Bright  sunshine  all  day  ;  clear  cold  night. 
24th. — Bright  sunshine  almost  throughout. 
26th. — Overcast  morning  ;  generally  sunny  in  afternoon. 
26th. _ Generally  overcast,  but  gleams  of  sun  about  noon. 
27th.— Fine,  and  generally  sunny  day  ;  a  little  rain  in  evening. 
28th.— Dull  and  drizzly  early,  frequently  sunny  after  10  A.M. 
29th—  Overcast,  with  frequent  showers.  .  . 
The  coldest  week  this  year,  although  it  included  two  warm  days.  The  rainfall  is 
still  very  small,  very  little  more  than  1  inch  in  the  two  months.— G.  J.  SYMONS. 
