<iri)c lavmcv's iHontl)ln Visitor. 



From the Boston Cultivator. 

 Potato Rot. 



New Hampshire Asyltitii for the Insane, ? 

 Concord, Nov. 22, J847. J. 



'. notice a quoted article from the Cultivator in 

 eral ()( the news)m|,ers, giving tlju e.xperitiioe 

 i»lr. luineo, ot Hanover, upon a inelhod of 

 rung that destructive ugricultnial evil.ilje po- 

 ) rot. ' 



The oliservalion was that potatoes grown in 

 ded localities, suliejed less frotn dec.-.y than 



181 



se planted 



e.\pose;l situations, and this 



gestion, so entirely opposed to the results oh- 

 led upon the Asylum larm, receives, it seems, 

 eiidorsemem of the editor of the Cultivutor. 

 direct have been the experiments upoii the 

 )ect here, and so full, as it would seem the 

 iroor, that J am induced to trespass upon your 

 ntion, l.y submitting' our results to your con- 



»ration. The experiments were made liere, 

 1 the absolute nece.ssity of the case, in order 



*ive tins, to us indispensable esculent from 

 ructjon, and consequently with everv induce- 

 it to make th.: conclusion an honest deduc- 

 Irom reliable (iicts. 



'e plained seven acres with potatoes, in dif- 

 nt localities, and upon soils diffeiing in ele- 



■jd, and chemical and liydroiiietiic coustiiii- 



'.periment ls<.— Upon an acre and a quarter 

 eavy soil, (clayey, with a mixture of gravel 

 loam,) upon a low situation, iuiperfectly 

 tied, and not shaded. We obtained sixty bti- 

 i of sound potatoes and nuecled about thirty 

 state of decay. 



vpenment 2ml.— An acre of ground, shaded 



but twt densely, nnh mammolh oaks, was 



difficulty broken up iu the Autumn pre- 



ing, and after cross plowing and harruwinff 



e S|)riug, planted similarly with the lirst ex" 



nent. lu each case, coarse baru yard ina- 



, applied both to the surface and" the bill, 



imted the dressing. I'his was excellent, 



gland, of suitable moisture, and was well 



ed. Here, with all the advantages of shade, 



live the poiatoes from the extreme heat of 



Sun, anil prevent the dews from falling upon 



», we lost one fourth of the crop at digging, 



Ki.ive rejected as many more from the bni."' 



ien; seemed, in all the potatoes gathered 



)i ilie above named situations, a defective 



i:itii;ion. They were watery, and the rot 



r'l .imong them, when coinmenced, svith 



i'll I :pi(|ity. They had iu fact, no uis yiVae— 



ii-' ivalive principle. 



iient 3f/.— Having a little manure re- 

 alter the labor of the spring was nearly 

 applied it to an acie of exhausted soil, 

 ■ I "I lor years produce<l nolhini; but sorrel 

 uhl.ju rod— land ((jtally unproductive.— 

 tins, we obtained one hundred bushels of 

 sound potatoes, and rejected perhaps 

 / bushels in a state of decay. This land 

 ■y and lotally uuprutecled from the 'sun' 

 e ' I lew.' 



Krimeid 4;/i.— Four acres of dry, elevated, 

 laud, lor many years occupied 'as a pas- 

 vas broken up in the preceeding summer, 

 'anted about the 20lli of May. The land 

 to the south, and was unsheltered, even 

 n-ub. No dressing was applied to it, save 

 e spoonful of plaster thrown upon the 

 n the hill. 



mi this land, we harvested about four 

 ed bushels of good sized, sound poiatoe-* 

 lected not more than ten or fifteen bushels 

 :ite of decay. By this lucky operation we 

 as we hope, our year's supply of the ar- 

 Ihese potatoes seem of good, healllilul 

 iition, and although they have since been 

 assorted, they remain with very sli;rht ex- 

 1 sound. These experiments have'sottled 

 I beyond a question that on this farm our 

 must have a dry, well ventilated situation 

 *r to mature without the attack of the dis- 



Seeds of Fruit Trees. 



Seeds of fruit trees that are intended to be 

 sowed next spring, sboiihl he put into sand ot 

 tolerable moisture and kept in this state duriu" 

 winter. Pear and apple seeds sown dry iu tim 

 sprmg, will not generally vegetate till the next 

 spring. In some cases it is the same with the 

 grape, and so it is with most all fruit seed.s.— 

 beeds kept as wo have named in the cellar dur- 

 ing winter, will vegetite as well as though they 

 were exposed to the frost. This is the case with 

 ilie seed oi the apple, pear, grape, currant, 

 gooseberry, sirawberry, &c. 



Cherry and plum trees require the action of 

 the frost to open the stones, if they are kept 

 III earth or sand only a short or eveii moderate 

 length of time, and that time be in the cohl 

 season. But if ihey are put into sand soon after 

 taken Irom the meat, the action of the air and 

 earth iii the warm season, will .soon destroy the 

 cement that holds the two parts of the sloue to- 

 gether, and they will open iu season— per- 

 haps too soon. 



The best way to manage r)eacli stones, is to 

 bury them 111 the liill, or early iu the winter, a 

 loot or more deep in the earth, then they will 

 not open and start too early. Or put them in 

 moist sand by the middle of the winter, lu 

 either case they will be in goo.l condition for 

 planting m the spring, either early or late — 

 Crack them, lake out the meals, and plant them 

 about as deeji as corn.— Boston Cult. 



. Profitable Cows. 



1 he lollowiiig are a fii w .imong many instances 

 of pro/ilnble cows, ail account of wliicii is "iveu 

 in th,; Springfield (Mass.) Republican : 



"The ftmoiis Oakes Cow, owned in Danyers, 

 111 this State, m ly be menfioiied as very remark- 

 able; she pro.luoed 191 lbs. of butter in a week, 

 ill I84b her butter was 484^ lbs. She was al- 

 lowed 30 to 35 bushels of Indian meal a year ; 

 she had also potatoes and carrots at times. A 

 cow owned in Andover, 1836, yielderl $r>7.38 

 Irom the market, besides the supply of the fam- 

 ily. The keeping was good pasture, the swill of 

 the house, and three pints of meal a day. A cow 

 owned by Thomas Hodges, in North Adams, 

 produced lu 1840, 425 lbs. of butter. Her feed 

 was one quart of rye meal and half a peck of po- 

 tatoes, besides very good pasturing. A cow 

 owned by .S. Henshaw, formerly of Cuicopee 

 i'alls, gave I/l lbs. of butter a week, and in one 

 case <>4 lbs. This was a native without any 

 mixture. A cow iu West Springfield is recorded 

 as giving IU sixty days,2,i39ai lbs. of milk, which 

 IS equal to 22i quarts daily. A cow owned by 

 U. I, Morris, ot Si)riuj,'lield, some weeks afford- 

 ed 14 lbs. of butter, besiiies milk ami cream for 

 family. Her feeil iu winter was good hay, and 

 from two to four quarts of rye bran at night.— 

 Judge M. remarks, iu an account of this'^cow, 

 that ' many cows which have been considered as 

 quite ordinary, might, by kind and regular treat- 

 ment, -ood and regular feeding, and proper care 

 m imlkmg, rank among the first-rate.' J p 

 Cushing of Watertown, has several native cows 

 which -ave 20 quarts a day. Dr. Shurtleff, of 

 Chelsea, owned a small cow which gave 21 

 quarts daily. The Hobart Clark cow at Ando- 

 ver, gave 14 lbs. ot butter a week." 



Wheat Fields of Virginia. 



The wheat culture of the South, has not been 

 lierh.aps, as often described, or as well under- 

 stood l.y Norihern Agrietilturists us that of the 

 West, and while we may well appreciate the 

 general Agriculinral skill and enterprise of the 

 latter, we should not lose sight of the former.— 

 1 he to lowing, by a writer in the National Stand- 

 ard, will be mteresilhg: 



"We called upon the late Preshlent, Mr. Ty- 

 ler, residing on the north si.le of the James Kiv- 

 «'■, about thirty mile/ below llichnnuul. 'lo say 

 he IS a jiood cultivator would be small praise.— 

 He mtorms ns, that when he moved on his farm, 

 three years since, a field of wheat of 200 acres, 

 which he showed u.s, wouhl not produce more 

 than the seed, but is now waving with a crop of 

 twenty bushels to the acre. The dressing he 

 applied to bis land, was shell marl, loijether with 

 straw and other manure made on the farm. The 

 marl aboniids iu snfiicient quaiitilies to last for 

 inaiiy years. Ten or lifieen miles above the ex- 

 Presideiit's, on the same side of the river, is the 

 family seat of the lamented Harrison, also in a 

 state of cultivation, and perhaps one of tlie most 

 eligible situations on the James River. From 

 Mr Tyler's we proceeded to the estate of Robert 

 B. Boiling, Esq , at a distance often miles. We 

 there foiiuil liuming conducted on a gigantic 

 scale, such as had not entered our imagination. 

 He went with us Ihrough his fields of wheat, 

 which contained nine hundred acres ! The pros- 

 pect for a crop was very tine, and we sujipose 

 he would have thirty bushels to the acre. He 

 next showeil ns his grass field, which contained 

 one thousand acres. Owing to the drought, it 

 was not as good as expected, but we thought as 

 good as any of curs. His corn, which looked 

 well, though small, in consequence of the cold, 

 amounted to near seven hundred acres. The 

 oats, owing to the drought, were backward.— 

 The number of acres in oats, I think he said, 

 was three hundred. The enure plantation con- 

 tained seven thousand acres of land ! The timber 

 consisting of white and black oak, and pine is 

 very large except the second growth. He uses 

 lime from the North River, which costs him six 

 cents per bushel, together with straw, which he 

 spreads over his laud iu the fldl and winter- 

 plows under and then dresses with lime. This 

 mode has brought his laud to a high stale of cnlti- 

 vatioii. His land, a few years back, was very 

 poor." 



Votirs, very'truly, 



Andrew McFarland, 

 rmtendent &c., N. H. Asylum for ihe lu- 



liest cough drops for young liidies are to 

 5 practice of dressing thin when they go 

 ) Ilie night air. 



A Female Farmer.— The seconrl premium 

 for the best cultivated farm in Litchfield en., Ct 

 was awarded the past season to Mrs. VESTi 

 Hawkins, of Watertown. The larm contains 

 100 acres. It has been under Mrs. H's mana.'e- 

 ment for the last ten years. The committee''of 

 exammaliou say: 'It is divided the present seas- 

 on into twenty-two acres of meadow, three and 

 a hull ot corn, six of oats, one and a half of 

 rye, two of buckwheat, a half acre of pot.-itoes 

 seven acres of wooilland, and the residue of pas- 

 lure land. The produce of the firm for the 

 present season is estimated as follows: fifty tons 

 of hay, twohumlred bushels of corn, one hun- 

 dred and thirty-three shocks of oats, and one 

 liimdred and fifty bushels of potatoes. The 

 stock kept on it this season consists of twenty- 

 six head, including six calves raised this season, 

 two horses and fifty six sheep. This farm is 

 conveniently laid out into small fields, the fences 

 mostly of rails, all in good repair, and together 

 with the buildings, presents a neat and lidv ap- 

 pearance.' " ' 



Ll^•coL!v Pippi.N.— This is the name of a first 

 class apple which originated iu Hallowell, where 

 the orijiinal tree is now standing on the farm of 

 R. G. Lincoln, Esq. We had heard of its fame 

 and wiihiii a few days we received a speci- 

 men of the fruit, and in company with Col. 

 Henry Little, and other judges of fniit have test- 

 ed the quality. It well deserves lo be classed 

 among the first of apples lor table use. It is a 

 large fiiiit of a golilen yellow witii a slight rnsset 

 coat and redilisb tinge upon t!ie sunny side, and 

 the whole surface showing minute green spots. 

 The flesh is slightly cris|i, tender, s|!arkling, very 

 juicy, mildly tart, lively and delicious. 



The Lincoln Pippin is a constant bearer. No- 

 vember is its ripenina season but the liiiit keeps 

 well till January. We feel no little pleasure in 

 the Oict that so good an apple has originated in 

 our State, and that its merits have caused itd 

 owner lo make the necessary preparations tor 

 propagating it. He has several thousand trees 

 ready for the market. — Bangor hf'hig. 



Surface Farming and Thorough Draining. 



There are two neighbors living in a certain 

 township in a certain county of New York, one 

 a European and the other a Vankee. These two 

 men present each an example of the two kinds 

 of larming named above. The thorough man of 

 course, makes a great many times the largest 

 number of dollars. He has raised over $2000 

 worth in a year from his 130 acres. His rule is 

 to raise heavy crops or none. His f^irm is a per- 

 fect pink of neatness, and as good as it appears. 

 It was in a wretched condition when lie took it 

 a few years ago. The other fiuiner is very in- 

 dustrious, but he is super.ficial. And be says, ' It 

 takes mo and my hired man, all the year round, 

 at hard work, to get enough to pay my hired 

 man.' 



