CONDUCTED BY ISAAC IIII.I,. 



"TboSI! «HU LIBOH H THE r.lItTH »KE THE CMOtE>< PEOPLL OF Gl)D, WJIOSE DBEA^VS ME HIS M 1 1, E HH PECCLI AR U EPOSIT E FOIHV =»T»MTI iL tKB Gr,XVI-.E T I Br L" E."— J>f<rj,t 



VOLUME VI. 



CONCORD, N. If. JUNE 29, 1841. 



NUMBER 6. 



THE E'ARSIEK'S MO!VTJIL,Ti' VISITOK, 

 ri'r.i.isiiED uv 



ISAAC HILL, & SONS, 



msCEU ox Tiii; i-ast day of everv momii. 

 At No. 3, iiiil's Brick Block. 



{ti^GsxKRAi, Ar.iLSTs. — B. CouK, ICcfiie, N H. ; Thomas 

 R. IJ\MPro.v, Waslniiston City, D. C ; John .Marsh, Was>li- 

 ingtoufct. Hufr.Mi. M;i£. j Ckaiu rs WAnncN, Briuloy Row, 

 VVorcesler, ,iiMS-. 



TEK^lIfc'.— 'i'u siiigte subt^cribuis, Fi/hf CaUs. Tr.n P'-V 

 c^'iit. will be fillnwr'd tu the person who shall setitl more Ui;in 

 crii.' siil)scribet. Twelve copies wi!! be sent for the adsauce 

 p:iymtnt of FU-e VuUarsj twenty-five copies for Ten Dollars ; 

 sixty copiCBi tor Txrnty DAlars. The payment in Gvety caaeto 

 be madt^ in advance. 



^f^J^Ioncij and stUticript'oiis, b>ja reguUlion cf the Post Master 

 G^Hcjvi.', -.nay in nil casr^ be rcuiLteti bij Uu Post JUastej-f f,-o€ oj 

 postage. 



■^■"■A.11 ?t-.'iitl -tnon wlio have Iiere(ofore act .-d as Agents ate 

 requested to continue tlifir Apency. OM siibsciildT:^ wliti 

 come under the new luruHj wilJ please iioti/y ui of tlie iianies 

 already on our bnokn. 



IOMIII¥ VISITORS 



F' 1(1111 Uic- ri.-[)orts of [iroceedinijs oC Agriciihii 

 r.il iiieeti(it;t- libit! at the C«|iilol of Xew-Yarl-c 

 <jiiring tlm Killing oftl;e Legislature of that Slate, 

 vii! cMiact tliB liiHoniiig interesting inlbrmution 

 of I'la e\|ii;iiLni<-u of fienileiTicii in ililftrenl parts 

 of that groat !Staie. The increased attention to 

 ihepieat siihject of Agrimilture there, is worthy 

 of all eoiiiriiendalion. 



Potatoe C'l'oiis. 

 ]|Kriini notca reported lor the CuUivntor.] 



Dr. Lkv., of lliu .isseiiihiy, remarked, as a (act 

 connected with sliis sulijeet, thiit severe )ossed 

 were experieticed it) (lorti-onsof Europe for seve- 

 ral > cars ; thnt the luuticT v. as pscitin.^dis'-ijfsioii 

 iiiiiong the Agi ir.iihiirisls of Britain and Germany ; 

 nnd that soiuo of the European writers indulged 

 in fiijipo.^ilions that the defect «asccensionedby 

 the degeneracy of eonie of the varieties of pota- 

 toes conmioidy cultivated, fie hoped to hear, 

 li'oni those «ho had heeii eiigaged in cultivating 

 potatoes last year particidariy, sueh facts as would 

 e.vhiliit the nature of the dilliculty; that gome 

 remedy might lie devised against a reciirieiice of 

 Kiicli losses as the potatoe crop in this State had 

 last year sufierei). lie saw around him many who 

 devote large seciinus of theii' lands to potatoes, 

 for the ?«ew York and Alhany markets: atid he 

 hoped they woutd heelycorniniinicati; their espe- ! 

 rience on the si;ij.;ct, togetiier willi suggestions; 

 for leuiedyiiig tlie evil complained oi; 'i'iie S!ib- 

 jcct was euiii.ently worthy of nttetition. The po- ! 

 tatoH crop for its value to man and heast. is of 

 primary impoiinnce — more than thirty millions 

 of iiusliels hr.ing jinnually raised in tiiis Blate, 

 wliicli, at an average of twenty-five rents, made 

 a pecuniary valuation of more than seven millions 

 of dollars — almost equal io the valuation of our 

 corn crop. As there is no article in greater use 

 for food, so there is none which better repays 

 careful cnliivation. 



.Mr. Abbot, of the Assembly, from Onondaga, 

 reniarked that a primary consi<Ieratioti with hiin 

 was the (pitiliiy of the seed. Some of his neigli- 

 bors, lii<e many fanners elsewhere, thonght ratiier 

 more of "small potatoes" for seed than he <lid. 

 •As well might you expect good wheal li-oni shri- 

 velled seed, as to look for satisfactory returns 

 from the diminutive potatoes which many peo- 

 ple thousht "good enough for planting." liis 

 praclice was to select tli<! Iiesi potatoes (ijr i^eeil; 

 and his aim uas to cnUivate them so ;is to realize 

 large and certain crops, of quality cfpmlling if 

 not surpassing the best he planted. .As for this 

 "disease" or " rottenness" in potatoes — and cer- 

 tainly it proved a formidable difficulty to many 

 f^iiTiers last year— he « onld inereiv ineiiiioi) liio 



results of hi,-: own CKpericnce and observatio:>. 

 lie had raised considerable crops of potatoes fur 

 ni.my years; and declared that the yield was nev- 

 ir liiiier in qiiaiily, seldom greater in ipianiily, 

 tiian on his larm during last season. Me had 

 phmied liie Sft^d sulliL'ientiy early to allow the 

 crop to ri|)en early in the fill: and out of the 

 rpiantities thus timely planted and properly cnki- 

 vateii, and housed in good season, he iuiil not lost 

 a bushel by decay or rotting. Sonic of his neigh- 

 bors, however, had lost considerable ; and wmit 

 he bad observed respecting their jiractice and his 

 own, satisfied liim that with the j)otatoe crop 

 planted early, so as to be fuily ripened ami prop- 

 erly gathered before the frost set.s in, there is lit- 

 tle to fear from disease or failure. \Viiat other 

 conclusion could he draw, when be found that 

 his success was good, as was. that of iieigiiliors 

 around him who concurred witfi him in |)ractice, 

 while other farmers who \\ere less prompt in 

 planting anil gathering their ])otatoes, lost much 

 of their cro[) by rotting.' the land being of sim- 

 ilar (]uality in all tile cases nietitioned. "in repiy 

 to iufpury, Sir. A. stated that bis mode of culti- 

 vation yieldoil tiim tliree htmdred bushels per 



c.sle.nsivo demand, at good prices, for j;ooil pota- 

 toes ; and wijeu it is within ihs poiver of every 

 farmer to raise polatoea of the test tjuaijt5' almost 

 as easily as Ibosc of a j.-ooiur kind lie truMeii tliat 

 the :.ad experiei)<>e ol' lest year and the (lemruid 

 thr bettor varieties wonW sooii taiisly tlii-iners 

 along the Hudson nuti elsewhere tiial tbey great- 

 ly neglect the interesis of their pock/^tb' and tSie 

 cornli>rts of their taltie wben i'eglecting to Jiay 

 more attenljon ibau is roiinijonly [laid totiieciil- 

 tivalion of the poTuioe. 



-Mr. SiiAw, of tlio Assembly (raiti AJiaatiy Co,, 

 iiientionod the restihs of hijs exjjeriencf, as con- 

 curring esseiilialiy with lliose of i)rsce(Sii^;^sf!Cak- 

 ers (.Mr. Abbot and Di. ISeekman.) fJreat rate- 

 lessness is nianitesied (jV msny fanners in refer- 

 ence to their jiotatoe ciop. The planijiigisofteis, 

 too (dk-n, deferred till tou laVe a perio<i — uij<i 

 many iieojiie seemingly nvetiook tbefact t^!;U;3r:.- 

 ?ntofS, to be of good «jJ!ality, require to isc j'nlttj 

 ripened. If not matured like other picdticti; of 5l*e 

 esi th iifcfore the frost comes on, how coj! tve ex- 

 pect snccesslld resuUs? — '.vln' -fchoijld we- be fit"- 

 tonisiied at decay and rotti-iir.PK; among tbe im- 

 mature )>ofatoes checked iu ibejr groiviii by ih© 



acre. He added, as Ti fact ot' interest on lliis sub-' severity of early u inter? His ov-n exncnetice 



ject, that one field of potatoes, belicr land than 

 the otiier fields, lostliim nearly ail the crop, owini 



fully .satisfied iiitii that in no jirofcsai'":! iHitiiiore 

 important than in larmiiig, lii.'it eveiy OraiscJi of 



to its having b.-en planted later than the pihcrj business sbonJd be [iioperly .-iUcnded lo fu [iroji- 

 parls of his potatoe croj) last year. er sea.^on ; .-iiul liir that pnrposo, fartiiers should 

 Df. Kef.k.ha.v, of Colnmbla county, tnentioned avoid the couiuion error of atlenipJing to cultivate 

 llie ficis v.ilhin his knowledge rcsnlting from the ] mo<-p than tbey ci-j c-ultivate sccW, )x;t your farm 

 ' ' ' ' be graduatc<l tiy. the ainotint of bilwraiid niaiKtre 



experience of some of his neighbors, as v>eil as 

 from the cuitme of his own farm. He re])tidiat- 

 ed the idea of any "di.-ease" in potatoes other 

 than results from negligence or ignorance in the 

 ctjj.'ivalors. Whatever tiu: tiieories of Ei!rn))ean 

 writer may ije coBeeniio^' tiie diriicultics with the 

 potatoe crop for <jOflte years past, iie liisbeljcvcd 

 tli.at the Josscjs of la.st year in this country were 



.^... ..,.:„,,,. ,1 1., , 1, ^,;„„ ,.i- .1 :..J: i: 



you cau bestow ingood mosois, and ycu ooed nev- 

 er fear a reasonable re«,7rd lor all yoiirtoi!. Tbg 

 bi.^tiry of the potatoii croji «l iast ycarabundaiit- 

 ly ilbistratcs the maiti j>os!tio;) in this iisserlion. 

 Be conchided by dwJiiring t!;?it be knew uo way 

 in Mliich llie interests of llie peojiSe of tbissiaSc 

 can lie more largely pj-oinotc-d iba)) by we!! di- 



oci-asicued by any exhaustion of Ibe vital quali-l rected eflbits for aronsing atijcmioji ul tlie valtui 



lies^ of the seed. For ibis ineretbility, be" h 

 stifficieiii escuiie in tba results of bis own oxpa- 

 rieiicc. He planted last year, as generally every 

 year,several varieties of the potatoe; andtiieoW- 

 est varieties, so far from being exhausted through 

 the ieiigtb of the time tiiat the kind had iieeu enl- 

 livaled, were Me best among his whole crop. He 

 would not be understood, however, jts underval- 

 uing an occasional resort to [lianting the seeds of 

 th-e potatoe-a[4ple as a meansofoiitaining Hew va- 

 rieties, or of sustaining (if not itnproving) the 

 (jualitics of the old kinds. But ibis be \\oiild os- 

 si.rt, i!s Ibe result of experience on his own land 

 and of oiiservation elseu bore, that tlie disasters ; 

 to the potatoe crop in liiis region refiulted from 

 the nt-gbgetice of farmers ; for be had yet to learn 

 that any potatoe crop, planted in proper toii and 

 season, and harvested and secured in due time, 

 had suifert'u aiiniiig ti.e disasters of last year — 

 while he bad imfiirlunataiy aiinndant evidence 

 that tlie bite pbmted j.-otatoes, especial I)' on moist 

 soils, resulted to a great degree in rottenness oc- 

 casioned by unfiivorable weather in tlie fall, fu 

 no braneli of fuming is it more essential, that 

 what is done, should be well done — done in sea- 

 son. — Let those who lost their crop las! year re- 

 member thisin futiiro; and be vcnluredlhe jire- 

 diction thai there would berealicr be little or no 

 cuir.plaint of potatoes rotting when the fanner 

 most needs them for nutriment in his fiiinily or in 

 bis b.irn-yard. Dr. H. added llnil those who Itirii- 

 ed attention to this matter — who cultivated the 

 b'si kinils of potatoes in the best way — now al- 

 ways find realty market for their crops, especially 

 in the valley of the !Ii;dson or on oilier c!iantie!s 

 leading to New Vork and otlnn- large cities. Such 

 [Kitatocs, he knew welj, would always command 

 a good price — from ^0 to oO per cent, more than 

 the potatoes carelessly rultivated. I'roiu orders 

 received by liimself and others in bis ncigldior- 

 imod t'ur supplying shipping merehunts in New 

 York, be had stiflicicnt ineansof deivrmining the 



of scientific trntli in its coiioctiiotj tvitb ordiaary 

 forming. It i.s nntbrJimsteiy SO» ti«je, tliat lliO 

 slang About '• bock Cuiiiiiig" ieatU n:a»y 

 i'armers lo tiegiect the sources fif i!ifort!i<it!o:i 

 wiiich would enable them to n^ndcr liietr Laiior 

 tar more productive to the fiockel ns well as sai- 

 istlictory to the iuteliect ajid feeiiugy. 



Judge CiiEEVEa said thai bis espcricucc iii tlia 

 potatoe crop, during ibe btst ye;;)', liad been very 

 mticb like that of Ibe President of the Bctc'icix, 

 Dr. JJeektnati. He bad plmiled upoii a sutidy 

 loam three vurielicBof potatoes — ibe oiuler, tSse 

 flesh-color, and the oiidi-eyes; bnt be bad eecii 

 iioibing of djseaM; aniongf't Ijieju. He iiiid iievec 

 had finer {lojat.of^s for the tabSe: but otliert about 

 him wbo had jiiantcd tipoii clay soils, asid espe- 

 cially upon levsi lands, where Ilia wafer from tlu'. 

 heavy (jdl rains of the last seaLon did not msjiWy 

 pass oftj bad sn.ffiired from l!ie decay of their j;o- 

 lalocs. He did nvt npptebciid any evi! coiikc- 

 qiiences tiom any thing like a genera) or seatet! 

 disease in onr potatoes ; nothing ijiit wl-at a &vor- 

 abifi season and jnoper cultivation would remove. 

 He bad had exjierience in growing potatoes u|)Ot/ 

 the bottom l;i;id'-i upon the {i!id>;on. upon sandy 

 loams and njion clay and iand iiii.ved. He bnd 

 hail Ibc best success ujioii the last dewriptioii of 

 soil, both in qnantily and quality of she orop. Hfl 

 had from bii3 ex|« rience and oi'servation cfiine to 

 the conclusion that land ibat would produce jjocd 

 wheat would produce good [>o(alois. He preli;r- 

 red planting early, and if in i\ ciny loijin,uj'0ii an 

 nndulating surface ; Tor ia tJiis kind of soil if tiio 

 ground is level, niiless ihorougbly imder-draiiied. 

 the crop is lery likely lo suffer frn.'/i (be early (ill 

 rains while it is coniing to inaturily. TJiis risk ic 

 not eijconnlered in enndy toam.s — ibcre yon oru 

 pretty sore of^m article of goodjquality, bnt ger.- 

 ersilly nincli ic.-^a in quantity. T bei'«! if* great ad- 

 vantiigo in tnaking the ground rieb, ajid iie pr<r- 

 feried pbiming ni^di the top of llie ground rather 

 than biiiyinj^^ in 'Aeey Airrows ; bnt drjer and 



