THE FARMKR'S MAGAZINE. 



30 



the price of wheat, wheu it ia below the net coat of produc- 

 tion, and when distress is already at the door of the farmers.' 

 "If we were to commit an act so fatal, our agriculturistu 

 must do aa did the Irish, and either emigrate or die. Such 

 was the course taken by the agriculturists of an isle, admira- 

 ble nevertheless for its fertility—' the green Eriu.' In ten 

 years, one peasant in four had left his abode. That is equal 

 to nine millions of French to be exterminated from the sod of 

 the country. Will they do it ? These are no romance but 

 facts. " I am, Mr. Editor, 



"E. DE MONPOLY. 



" Ponlleoay (Loire-et-Cher), Sept. 12." 



Agriculture claims not, and never has claimed any privilege. 



Eq\iality with other production for us is the only wish it has 

 ever unanimously expressed. This is just what M. Borri has 

 said and what M. Monpoly asks. It would refuse a protection 

 that would injure maiuifacture or commerce, or the develop- 

 ment of the maritime or colonial power of France. Of this 

 M. Charles Dupin may be assured. Our agriculture can pro- 

 duce at the same price as otlier and foreign nations, and it is 

 this which gives it a superiority over manufacture : they have 

 availed themselves of this fact in order to overload it with fet- 

 ters to the benefit of ether iuterests. The government, we 

 firmly believe, now wishes that il resumes its place, that it 

 may not be sacrificed in its efforts to fulfil its mission. 



EXPERIMENTS WITH POTATOES. 



Does the Potato Degenerate ?— In answer to this question, 

 allow me state some facts -which have come under my own 

 observation this season. Of some two dozen varieties 

 planted, not more than one-third of them have produced a 

 single ball. Six of these, occupying less than three-fourths 

 of an aci'e of ground, we do not believe produced more than 

 one quart of balls all told. The Early Blues produced some 

 halfa-pint to a pint of balls to a square rod or so. But 

 some Prince Alberts produced some four quarts to the 

 square rod by actual measure. Tliis would be at the rate of 

 20 bushels of balls to the acre. I do not think either this 

 town or county has produced from all other varieties put 

 together 20 bushels of balls this season. 



Seven stalks of the Albert produced 135 balls, and GO 

 tubers. One hill of three stalks produced 54 balls and 20 

 tubers, and one stalk to one hill produced 42 balls and 5 

 good table potatoes. This last-named stalk is an isolated 

 case, and gives a product of over 8 balls to each tuber. The 

 Albert is loithoiit a rival in producing either balls or tubers. 

 The Albert is tough, hardy, and vigorous, and will endure 

 the blight like the king of vines. His stalks are still green, 

 which, with my Jenny Linds, which are also green, still 

 stand unharmed comparatively with the potato blight, which 

 was never known to be worse in its features, or more extended 

 in its ravages than noio among our common varieties. 



Experiments ivitli Salt. — About the first of June last I 

 took up a refuse potato, and began to cut it open ; it was 

 black within, and not fit to give to a hog. The chits in part 

 being alive, I resolved to plant it (or the eye chits), and 

 after digging down to the subsoil, I put down at least two 

 large handfuls of salt, and returned the earth again ; then 

 about even with the surface I scattered in the eye chits. 

 After many days four of the chits came up, of a deep green 

 hue, and grew vigorously. Not until just before the last 

 hoeing did I add any further stimulant, when I put on two 

 handfuls of compost of hen manure, ashes, and rich earth. 

 These tops continued to grow vigorously until September ; 

 but no balls, no blows, and no buds, nor the least sign of a 

 bud ever made their appearance on these tops. I pulled 

 these tops green Sept. 11th., and dug out nine tubers, all 

 sound and perfect up to this date ; I intend to plant the same 

 in 1859 ; and if they continue sound and produce balls, I 

 intend to report the same for the benefit of the reading pub- 

 lic. I believe in a warm dry soil, salt as a manure* 

 and deep clean culture, in raising a crop of sound potatoes, 

 and last, but not least, in harvesting potatoes like other 



crops, as they ripen— at least their tops, which amounts to 

 the same thing. This is like electricity and steam on this 

 point. " Knowledge is power." 



I have as yet dug but five rods of Alberts, one rod 

 of which yields 44 quarts, or at the rate of 220 bushels to 

 the acre. This rod was salted in the hill, eight inches 

 below the chits, three chits in the hill, twenty-five hills to 

 the square rod, manured with a fork of hog manure upon 

 the salt, and the whole covered with five or six inches of 

 mellow soil, and then, in dents made with the hoe inverted, 

 the chits were dropped near the natural surface of the soil, 

 the hills gradually raised by three hoeings, before the last 

 of which a large handful of home-made guauo was thrown 

 in among the stalks, composed of four parts hen manure, 

 one part ashes, and eight parts lich earth, mixed together, 

 dry and fine. One rod was planted in rows, and done as 

 the other four, salt excepted, and the product in tubers was 

 40 quarts, or at the rate of 200 bushels to the acre. The 

 salted potatoes ripened four or five days first, without losing 

 their freshness any sooner than the unsalted ones, in respect 

 either to their stocks or leaves. 



The Kansas potato is unsurpassed for the table by any 

 coloured variety, and yields nearly as well as the Albert 

 with the same treatment. Have dug two or three bushels 

 of these, the largest of which weighs 14 ounces. The lar- 

 gest Albert yet dug weighs 9 ounces, but they have very few 

 small in size. The other objection to the Kansas potato is 

 that it ripens in the critical period ; if this can be obviated 

 so as to make it a later variety, it will be considered second 

 only to the Albert in excellence for the table for some time 

 to come. 



My main object in planting so many varieties of the 

 potato every season, is to find some way to invigorate, and 

 then to redeem the whole. I do confidently expect to show, 

 by the end of twelve months, a true method of working out 

 full " redemption " for the potato crop. 



The solution of this problem, is connected with the estab- 

 lishment of the equilibrium in the development of the stalk 

 and root of the potato. On this critical point man's ^ inge- 

 nuity will be taxed to the utmost stretch for some time to 

 come, as it has been in time past. 



To discard the use of manure in growing a crop of potatoes 

 is not likely to accomplish the greatest discovery of this or 

 any former age of the world, J. C Cleveland. 



Torringford. Ct., Sept. IG.— 



Country Gentleman. 



