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THii t'ARMElVS MAGAZINE. 



18tb, 1857, three pits were made, teu inches deep, and 

 about the same in diameter. Three white kidneys were 

 placed horizontally on the bottom, and just covered with 

 a little fine earth; and then another layer, similarly 

 covered ; and then a third layer ; so that the whole 

 consisted of three layers of potatoes, with just earth 

 enough between to keep tbem from touching each 

 other, and the uppermost layer about two and a-half 

 inches under the surface. A few diseased leaves and 

 stems were placed on the pit No. 1, and then watered 

 with half a small garden-pan of water, 'with a fine rose ; 

 pit No. 2 was watered with the remaining water ; pit 

 No, 3 had a large slate put on it : 



Sept. 28th, 1857, No. 1 pit had each of the three upper po- 

 tatoes slightly affected. 



Jan. 23rd, 1858— No. 1. Three upper potatoes quite rotten, 

 No. 2. Three upper much affected. 

 No. 3. Three upper not diseased. 



In all three pits both the under-layers were free from 

 any taint." The subject is very fully noticed by Dr. 

 Lang in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society 

 (vol. xix. p. 77), and well worthy the careful perusal of 

 those interested in the cultivation of this useful crop. 

 He also states that in the digging of a considerable quan- 

 tity of potatoes, none of those tubers covered with more 

 than three inches of soil were found to be diseased. 



This is iu some degree confirmed by the success result- 

 ing from the excessive earthing of potatoes practised in 

 some parts. It is certainly a very gratifying fact to 

 learn, and worthy of being taken advantage of in our 

 practice. 



The crop having been produced, we have to take the 

 necessary precautions for its preservation. The tubers 

 should be raised in dry weather, and should also be dry 

 when put into the cave. In making the cave, a dry 

 spot of ground must be selected, and a double row of 

 four-inch drain-pipes should be laid along the bottom, 

 so as to assist in ventilating the heap and carrying away 

 the moisture arising from the stock. The heap should 

 be brought to an apex, and continued in length accord- 

 ing to circumstances, but it should not be more than 

 five feet wide at the base. At intervals small bundles of 

 reed or straw (say six inches in diameter) should be 

 placed from the bottom to the top of the heap, and 

 then passed through the thatch. In this manner the 

 air enters by the drain-pipe and ascends through the 

 stack, carrying with it the sweat from the roots, which 

 if kept in would very much promote their rotting. 

 When the frosty weather comes, these apertures may be 

 stopped up. There should be a trench around the 

 potato cave, so as to keep it perfectly dry. 



A RETROSPECTIVE GLANCE AT SOME OF THE IMPLEMENTS EXHIBITED 

 IN THE GALLERIES AT THE SMITHFIELD SHOW, DECEMBER, 1859. 



It has been our pleasant duty, for some time back, to 

 present to our readers descriptions of the implemental 

 novelties at the leading exhibitions of our agricultural 

 bodies. It has always been our aim to make these de- 

 scriptions more detailed in character, than these in the 

 usual newspaper report, which are of necessity drawn 

 up under a pressure of time, which hinders greatly, all 

 attempts to examine closely the mechanical details of 

 the implements presented to the notice of the reporter. 

 From this detailed review many advantages of a prac- 

 tical character are obtained, too obvious to need men- 

 tion here. Several circumstances have conspired to 

 prevent our presenting the descriptions of implements 

 so soon after their exhibition as has been our wonted 

 custom. This delay, however, will not be prejudicial to 

 the real interests of the- subjects discussed, for this ad- 

 vantage will certainly be obtained by it — we are now 

 approaching rapidly the period of the great Canterbury 

 gathering, at which many of the implements we propose 

 to describe will likely be exhibited ; so that our de- 

 criptions now may serve to introduce them to the notice 

 of our readers, who will likely attend the great show, 

 and tend to familiarize their minds with their peculiari- 

 ties, so that all improvements effected since their 

 primary exhibition may at once be noticed and noted 

 down. It helps greatly towards the practical examina- 

 tion of the actual machine to have been previously made 

 acquainted with its peculiarities through the medium of 

 a mechanical description. It is practically lengthening 



out the time which may be devoted to an examination 

 of the leading features of the show yard — a matter of no 

 small moment when one's time is all too short for the 

 magnitude of the task of examination which the show- 

 yards of the Royal Society now yearly impose upon 

 visitors. 



Although crowded to an extent which put the squeez- 

 able power both of implements to be seen, and of the 

 crowds who rushed to see them, to the utmost test, 

 the implement galleries of the Smithfield show of 1859, 

 presented a somewhat marked, and may we say novel, 

 absence of novelties. Formerly we have had so many 

 new things presented to our notice, that the task of ex- 

 amination has been a somewhat heavy one ; last year, 

 the select few exhibited made the duty comparatively 

 light. Although, however, the novelties exhibited were few 

 in number, they were important in character, and to a 

 description of them we ijow direct the attention of the 

 reader. 



Although exhibited at two of the great exhibitions of 

 the year — the Warwick and the Edinburgh Shows — and 

 consequently barely meriting the name of a novelty, still 

 we venture to class it as such, and give a description of 

 Ilornsby's Patent Plough. Of this we present two 

 illustrations, taken from our " Year Book of Agricultu- 

 ral Facts for 1859 " (Blackwood), one being a side ele- 

 vation, the other a sectional plan. From these, with 

 the following details, some notion may be obtained of 

 the arrangement and construction of its parts. 



