GARDEN EXPERIMENTS. ^07 



In trying for very early potatoes for the table we found that 

 medium sized potatoes planted whole and put six or eight inches 

 deep in the ground, the opening being made with a spade, ma- 

 tured earlier that the same variety cut into pieces and planted in 

 ordinary hills. This is not the first time that this plan has given 

 the same results. Our earliest potatoes planted in this way were 

 in rows parallel to some plum trees at one edge of our garden. 

 We noticed in June that many very large frogs were frequenting 

 this part of the garden and concluded to have a mess of frog's 

 legs for a breakfast delicacy. The first monster captured showed 

 such a full stomach that we concluded to hold a post mortem, 

 when to our surprise we found more than twenty large potato 

 beetles safely stowed away. We immediately reported the in- 

 cident to the gathered household and warned them that no more 

 frogs were to be killed in the vicinity of our potatoes. Later 

 observations convinced us that these nimble hunters did us a vast 

 amount of good in the next thirty days. 



In experimenting to protect our tomatoes from cut worms 

 we made cones of tarred paper and put about the stems of some 

 of them after they were set out, the paper reaching two inches 

 above the ground and perhaps four inches in depth below the 

 surface. We felt a great deal of satisfaction over this work when 

 completed but regretted the experiment later. We found this 

 plan did not give absolute protection, for the cut worms some- 

 times got inside the cone, though we know not how. But as the 

 plants grew larger, they became considerably damaged at the 

 lower end of the cone, probably through the action of the wind, 

 causing the stalks to rub against the heavy paper. The plants 

 would appear sickly and some of them actually died, but we saved 

 many of them by unwinding the cones and putting fresh dirt in 

 their places. 



In general, we have learned two or three lessons of broader 

 application. We remember an old lady at a poultry show asking 

 how long it took to hatch chickens in an incubator, supposing 

 evidently that the modern machine must beat the old hen as to 

 time. She seemed disappointed when informed to the contrary. 

 But we have found that the same varieties of garden crops if 

 sown in rich land will not only grow larger but reach maturity 

 quicker than if sown in poor land. We have also found the great 

 wisdom of so arranging our different varieties of vegetables that 

 the rows are equidistant for a considerable length so that cul- 

 tivation either with the horse or hand machine can be the more 

 easily done. A great deal of time is saved by arranging those 



