FARMERS' REGISTER— SWEET POTATOES— HARVESTING CORN. 



661 



troy half their value, and prevent their receiving the 

 attention from the public, which thoy would otherwise 

 command. But the evil is actually worse than our 

 correspondent supposes. Some correspondents, not 

 content with withholding their names from the readers 

 of the Farmers' Register, conceal them from the editor. 

 Nay, this disguise has been affected, where it could 

 have no possible effect in concealing the writer where 

 he was known, and only served to lessen the credit 

 and proper value of the communication, where he was 

 not known. Communications which had been pub- 

 licly read before an agricultural society, and approved, 

 have been sent for publication without any clue to the 

 authors' names. We take this occasion, however, to 

 say, that communications of this kind, already made 

 public, will not again be published as anonymous. As 

 to other correspondents, if they choose to take away 

 both credit and interest from their communications, 

 by withholding their names — be it so. But it is at 

 least necessary that their names should be made known 

 to the editor: and unless that is done in future, very 

 little respect will be paid to such pieces, or to writers 

 who require to be so closely concealed. And further 

 — if any name sent is not on our subscription list, or 

 otherwise known, it will be supposed to belong to such 

 a "man of straw" as it seems Peter De Quir is suspect- 

 ed to be. Communications signed by real names, will 

 always receive (as they deserve) much more respect 

 and attention from the editor, as well as from all read- 

 ers, than the same pieces would, \'\ithout that stamp of 

 responsibility and value. 



Since writing the opinions expressed above, a strik- 

 ing illustration of their truth has been received in a 

 private letter from a friend, who is himself one of our 

 most valuable anont/mous correspondents. He asks, 



«' Who is your correspondent from in No. ? 



Are his crops made on land, or on paper? I should 

 guess the latter." Now if the piece referred to had 

 been signed by the writer's proper name, (which in 

 this case we have, though, as in all such cases, canjl- 

 denhally,) probably no such doubt would have existed. 

 Having so stated this inquiry as to give no clue to the 

 true object, we should be very glad if every anony- 

 mous correspondent would make the application to his 

 own communication — and particularly that the friend 

 who has made the inquiry, will profit by the lesson 

 which his words indirectly but forcibly convey to 

 others.] 



Extract from the Southern AgricuIturUt. 

 EXPF-niJIENT, IN KEEPING SWEET POTATOES. 



Charleston S. C, Bee. 2Srd, 1834. 



It became necc.?sary for nie to spend the whole 

 wnnter together witli iiry fkniily in the city. Hav- 

 ing made a fine crop of potatoes, I wished that 

 we should enjoy at least a portion of" then), and at 

 the same time, did not tcel disposed to purchase 

 what was in such abtmdance on the jilantation. 

 As opportiuiities would oiler but seldom to bring 

 them from thence, I deteraiined to pack some up 

 in barrels, and knowing fi-om sad experience, how 

 rapidly they decayed when thus packed alone, 1 

 had a parcel ol' sand got, and placing a small 



(juantity at the bottom, proceeded to place the po- 

 tatoes in, packing them as close as possible, and 

 then filling the interstices with sand, as we ad- 

 vanced. The only care taken Avas that none 

 should be bruised, and that all specked and roKcn 

 potutoes should he excluded. When the barrel 

 was filled, we placed aboiU, an inch of" sand at the 

 fop, having first shaken ihcrn so as to have eveiy 

 part compiclely filled with the sand. In this state 

 they w'ere headed up and sent to the city. I do 

 not believe that I had a potato less in the barrels, 

 than if" I had not used the sand, for they were 

 placed in first and the sand afterwards thrown in 

 and shaken down. I took no care to have dry 

 sand, but used that which happened to be handy 

 at the place where they were packed, and the 

 most of it was naoist. These potatoes lasted us 

 until very late in the spring without sprouting or 

 shrivehng, as is always the case when kept late, 

 nor did I loose many by rotting, perh' /.i not more 

 than half a dozen to the baiTcl, and this I had 

 every reason to expect, for the potatoes had been 

 harvested several weeks, and in selecting them, 

 the heaps were overhauled. Those which rotted, 

 in all probability, had received some injury or had 

 the seeds of decay, though not obvious at the 

 time. 



From the Gciicsce Farmer. 

 HARVESTINC, OF CORN. 



3fr. Editor — Some of my opinions respecting 

 the best and most profiiable mode of harvesting a 

 crop of corn, were considerably shaken by the 

 communications which appeared in the last vol- 

 ume of the Farmer on this subject, fi-om men 

 whose testimony is of the greatest weight. My 

 impression has been, that to secure the greatest 

 quantity of" good sound corn, it was best, as soon 

 as the tops had become somewhat dry, and the 

 ears hard glazed, to lop the corn, and let the ears 

 stand on the stalks till the time of gathering, and 

 such of course has generally been my practice. I 

 did this, because I believed that after the top had 

 performed its office of fecundating the plant, it be- 

 came in a manner useless; and that stalks dry, and 

 leaves withered, however excellent as a fodder for 

 cattle, could do little or nothing towards elabora- 

 ting the juices necessary for the perfection of" the 

 ears. It besides appeared to me that the fresh 

 and green husks which farmers know retain their 

 power of" elaborating sap much longer in general 

 than the leaves, were designed by nature to sup- 

 ply the ears with food; and though opposed to the 

 mutilation of plants generally, as the means of in- 

 creasing their productiveness, topping corn I did 

 not consider as an operation of" that kind. When 

 such men, hoAve\"er, as Buel and Coleman, main- 

 tain a dilicrenf theory, and backed by experiment, 

 contend that top|;ing corn is hurillil, it certain- 

 ly becomes minor agricniturisis to pause, and 

 test the question thoroughly. These fiirmers, and 

 others assert, that topping corn is decidedly inju- 

 rious — thai it materially lessens the actual weight 

 of the crop — and, therefore, that allowing the 

 stalk to remain whole till the time of gathering, 

 or else cutting it up close to the bottom, is the 

 preferable mode of harvesting. 



These experiments, though so far as they u'ere 

 detailed, they appeared to be very fairly conducted, 

 were not altogether satisi"actory "to me, as they did 



