ed the first growth the sooner it disappears the better. Thus,
with a little extra trouble, sound tubers have been prepared for
planting, and the main reasons for taking this extra trouble are
doubtless fully apparent. The best seed possible is wanted and the most
suitable soil; these two items forming the first chapter. By sprouting
the seed time is gained, which is equivalent to a lengthening of the
season. By limiting the number of shoots an excess of foliage is
prevented. Where the shoots are crowded the tubers will not be crowded,
a few strong shaws with all their leaves exposed to the air and light
being capable of producing better results than a large number contending
for air and light that are insufficient for them all. And finally, by
cutting the sets, whether to divide them, or simply to hasten their
decay, we insure that they will not reappear with the young crop as
useless, ugly things.

==Distances for Planting==.--The distance at which the sets are planted is
of importance, for a crop too crowded will be of little value. But the
ground must be properly filled. By wasting only a small space in each
breadth, or in the spaces between the sets, the total crop will be many
bushels short of the possible quantity. The guiding principle must be to
allow to each plant ample room to spread, and absorb the air and
sunshine, in accordance with the character of the sort and the condition
of the soil. A considerable proportion of the losses from disease may be
traced to overcrowding in the first instance; the tangled haulm being
rendered weak through want of air, and then becoming loaded with water,
and in contact with wet ground, the disease has made havoc where, had
the management been founded on sound principles, there might have been a
vigorous healthy growth. If a doubt arises, it is safer to allow too
much rather than too little space, and in this respect the exhibition
growers are very liberal. They often place the rows of strong-growing
varieties four feet or more apart, and allow a space of three and a half
feet for the more moderate growers. Even then, with good land, in a high
state of preparation, the shaws sometimes meet across the rows, and
enormous crops are lifted. For a very comprehensive rule, it may be said
that the distance between the rows may vary from fifteen inches for the
early sorts of dwarf growth, to forty inches for the vigorous-growing
late sorts. Between these measurements, for varieties p