Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 12.djvu/298

286 286 and the seed sown on them in single rows. If dry weather at any time set in, water should be supplied profusely once a week. To produce very early crops the French market-gardeners sow early in November, in frames, on a border having a good aspect, the seeds being covered very slightly. The young plants are trans planted into other frames in December, the ground inside being dug out so as to be 18 or 20 inches below the sashes, and the earth thus removed placed against the outside ot the frames. The young plants, when 3 or 4 inches high, are planted in patches of three or four, 8 inches asunder, in four longitudinal rows. The sashes are covered at night with straw mats, and opened whenever the weather is sufficiently mild. When 8 or 10 inches high, the stems are in clined towards the back of the frame, a little earth being drawn to their base, and when the plants come into blossom the tops are pinched out, above the third or fourth flower, to force them into bearing. As soon as they begin to pod, the soil may have a gentle watering, whenever sufficiently warmed by the sun, but a too vigor ous growth at an earlier period would be detrimental. Thus treated the plants bear pods fit for gathering in the first fortnight in April. A very convenient means of obtaining an early crop is to sow in 5-inch pots, a few seeds in each, the plants to be ultimately planted out on a warm border. Peas may also be obtained early if gently forced in frames, in the same way as kidney beans, the dwarfest varieties being preferable. For the very early peas the rows should range east and west, but for the main crops north and south. The average depth of the drills should be about 2 inches for small sorts, and a trifle more for the larger kinds. The drills should be made wide and flat at bottom, so that the seeds may be better separated in sowing. The large sorts are the better for being sown 3 inches apart. Chopped furze may be advantageously scattered in the drill before covering in, to check the depredations of mice, and before levelling the surface the soil should be gently trodden down over the seeds. A good selection of sorts may be made from the following : Early : Dillistone s Early (Button s Ringleader, Carter s First Crop), the earliest sort ; Sangster s No. 1, a good form of Early Frame ; William I., fine ; Laxtou s Alpha, the earliest wrinkled pea ; Dickson s First and Best ; Mac lean s Little Gem, a very dwarf wrinkled pea ; Tom Thumb (Beck s Gem), a very dwarf round pea. The last two are useful for forcing and for pots. Second Early : Maclean s Advancer, Standish s Criterion, Laxton s Marvel, Carter s Telephone, Dr Maclean, Premier, Carter s Stratagem. Late: James s Prolific, Carter s G. F. Wilson, Veitch s Perfection; N&quot;e Plus Ultra, the finest of all late peas, but a little delicate in cold wet soils and seasons ; General Wyndham, continues to produce very late ; British Queen, Champion of England, Laxton s Omega. 180. The Potato, Solanum tuberosum, is a half-hardy perennial, producing underground tubers, largely used as an esculent. It thrives best in a rather light friable loam ; and in thin sandy soils the produce, if not heavy, is generally of very good quality. Soils which are naturally wet and heavy, as well as those which are heavily manured, such as old garden ground, are not suitable. Indeed it is best, except when there is ample space, to grow only the earlier kinds in gardens. If the soil is of fair quality, the less manure used upon it the better, unless it be soot or lirne. Gypsum, bone-dust, superphosphate of lime, and nitrate of soda may also be used, and wood ashes are advantageous if the soil contains much vegetable matter. Potatoes are commonly propagated by dividing the tubers, leav ing to each segment or &quot;set&quot; one or two eyes or buds. The &quot;sets&quot; are then planted by the aid of the dibble or spade, in rows at a distance varying from 15 inches to 3 feet, the distance being regulated by the height of the stems, and that between the sets varying from 6 to 12 inches, 8 inches being a good average space for garden crops, with 2 feet between the rows. The sets may be put in 6 inches deep. The late T. A. Knight suggested the planting of whole tubers or sets, at greater distances apart, by which means, he argued, a larger produce would be obtained ; he proposed to leave 4 feet between the rows, but that distance, except with the larger varieties, has been found to be too great. Though the planting of whole tubers instead of the cut sets has been thus highly recom mended, yet according to some experiments made in the garden of the Horticultural Society at Chiswick the cut sets yield a much better return than whole ones. The full-sized tubers are, however, preferable to smaller ones, as their larger buds tend to produce stronger shoots. It has also been found that the best returns are obtained from sets taken from the points of the tubers not from their base. Mr Thomas Dickson of Edinburgh long ago observed that the most healthy and productive crop was to be obtained by planting unripe tubers, and proposed this as a preventive of the disease called the &quot;curl,&quot; which sometimes attacks the young stems, causing them and also the leaves to become crumpled, and few or no tubers to be produced. It has also been noted that the sprouting of the eyes of the potato may be accelerated if, while still unripe, it is taken up and exposed for some weeks to the influence of a scorching sun. The best sets are those obtained from plants grown in elevated and open situations, and it is also beneficial to use sets grown on a different soil. The earliest crops should, if possible, be planted in a light soil and in a warm situation, towards the end of February, or as early as [VEGETABLES. possible in March. In some cases the tubers for early crops are sprouted on a hotbed, the plants being put out as soon as the leaves can bear exposure. If the young sprouts are about 2 inches long, they may be planted out towards the end of March ; if they are pro tected young potatoes will be procured in seven or eight weeks. It will improve the crop if, when the stems have grow r n a few inches above ground, the earth is drawn up to them, but the operation will delay its maturity for two or three weeks. Mr Knight recommends removing the flowers as they appear, in order to increase the pro duce. The fine early varieties, however, scarcely produce any flowers. The main crop should be planted by the middle of March, late planting being very undesirable. Those intended for storing should be dug rip as soon as they are fairly ripe, unless they are attacked by the dire disease, in which case they must be taken up as soon as the murrain is observed ; or if they are then sufficiently developed to be worth preserving, but not fully ripe, the haulms or shaws should be pulled out, to prevent the virus passing down them into the tubers ; this may be done without disturbing the tubers, which can be dug afterwards. See AGKICULTTJKE, vol. i. p. 364. forcing. The best forcing sorts are. the Ash-leaf as a kidney, and the Early Market or Eector of Woodstock for a round. The earliest crop may be planted in December, and successional ones in January and February. The mode of cultivation adopted by the London market gardeners is thus in substance explained by Mr Cuthill. A long trench, 5 feet wide and 2 feet deep, is filled with hot dung, on which soil to the depth of 6 inches is put. The sets employed are middle-sized whole potatoes, which are placed close together over the bed, covered with 2 inches of mould, and then hooped and pro tected with mats and straw, under which conditions they will sprout in about a month. A bed of the requisite length (sometimes 100 yards) is then prepared of about 2 feet thickness of hot dung, soil is put on to the depth of 8 inches, and the frames set over all. The potatoes are then carefully taken up from the striking bed, all the shoots being removed except the main one, and they are planted 4 inches deep, radishes being sown thinly over them and covered lightly with mould. When the haulm of the potato has grown to about 6 inches in height, the points are nipped off, in order to give the radishes fair play ; and, although this may stop growth for a few days, still the potato crop is always excellent. Alter planting nothing more is required but to keep up the temperature to about 70, admitting air when practicable, and giving water as required. The crop is not dug up until it has come to maturity. Potatoes are also grown largely in hooped beds on a warm border in the open ground. The sets alter having been spiouted, as above, are planted out in January in trenches 2 feet deep filled with hot dung, the sets being planted 5 inches deep, and over all radishes are sown. The ridges are then hooped over, allowing about 2 feet of space in the middle, between the mould and the hoop, and are covered with mats and straw, but as soon as the radishes come up they are uncovered dail} T, and covered again every night as a pro tection against possible frosts. This is continued till the potatoes are ready for digging in May. Potatoes are sometimes grown in pots in heat, sprouted sets being planted in 11-inch pots about two-thirds full of soil, and placed near the glass in any of the forcing-houses, where a temperature of from 65 to 70 is to be maintained. The plants are duly Avatered and earthed up as they advance in growth. Small supplies of young waxy tubers are produced during winter, in boxes placed in a mushroom-house or in a common cellar. If in October old seed tubers are placed in layers, alternately with a mix ture of tree leaves and light mould, the young tubers before mid winter will often attain the size and appearance of early potatoes ; they are, however, watery, and possess little flavour. The varieties of the potato are very numerous, and much atten tion has been paid during the last few years to the production of new and improved kinds. The following are named as a limited selection of a few of the standard sorts in the several groups, those marked * having coloured skins, the rest being white: Early .Round : Early Market, Eector of Woodstock, Porter s Excelsior, Old Ash-leaf, Myatt s Ash-leaf, Avalanche, Snowfiake, International Kidney, Main Crop and Late. Round : Schoolmaster, Regent, * Vicar of Laleham, Victoria, * Grampian, * Vermont Beauty, Champion. Kidney: Covent Garden Perfection, Lapstone, Woodstock Kidney, * Trophy, Magnum Bonum, *Late American Rose, Cattell s Eclipse. 181. The Radish, Eaphanus sativus, is a fleshy-rooted annual, tin- Radish, known in the wild state. Some varieties of our wild radish, R. Raphanistrum, however, met with on the Mediterranean coasts, come so near to it as to suggest that it may possibly be a cultivated race of the same species. It is very popular as a raw salad. There are two principal forms, the spindle-rooted and the turnip-rooted. The radish succeeds in any well-worked not too heavy garden soil, but requires a warm sheltered situation. The seed is generally sown broadcast, in beds 4 to 5 feet wide, with alleys between, the beds requiring to be netted over to protect them from birds. The earliest crop may be sown about the middle of December, the seed-beds
 * Triumph, *Radstock Beauty, Bedfont Prolific, lireesee s Climax. Kidney:
 * Bountiful, * Beauty of Hebron.