94 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



OCTOBER 2, 1S33. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, OCT. 2, 1S33. 



FARMER'S WORK FOR OCTOBER. 



Gathering and Securing Potatoes. It was once 

 the practice in harvesting potatoes to dry them in 

 the sud, as you would grass, intended for hay. 

 This was, formerly; and for aught we know may 

 be still the practice in Great Britain. London 

 says, "Potatoes are stored and preserved in houses, 

 cellars, pits, pies and camps. Whatever mode is 

 adopted, it is essential that the tubers be perfectly 

 dry, otherwise they are certain of rotting, and a 

 few rotten potatoes will contaminate a whole 

 mass."* Ilees' Cyclopedia also says [Art. Potato], 

 " As soon as potatoes are gathered they should be 

 allowed to remain some days to dry, before they cm- 

 stored:' This is precisely wrong. In our climate, 

 an exposure of two or three days to a cloudless 

 sun in September or October would cause pota- 

 toes to turn green, stroug, and become in some 

 degree poisonous. Judge Duel asserts that "the 

 sun never should shine upon potatoes — they should 

 be housed with all the dirt that adheres to them. 

 It is even beneficial to add more dirt to potatoes 

 in the bin or cask, to exclude external air as much 

 as possible : their surface should he kept moist, 

 and the atmosphere as little above the freezing 

 point as possible." It is recommended, however, 

 not to dig and house potatoes immediately after a 

 soaking rain, but to let them remain a few days to 

 throw off their redundant moisture. 



A writer for the N. E. Farmer, whose commu- 

 nication was published, vol. 1, p. 354, gives the 

 following method of securing potatoes : " When 

 the potatoes are ripe in the fall, that is when the 

 vines are dead, 1 dig them, and put them into a 

 pit, dug on a knoll, with a trench two feet deep 

 leading from the pit out, in which I place a com- 

 mon pump log, with the end to the edge of the 

 hole. After placing boards over the hole, I cover 

 the whole with a thickness of earth sufficient to 

 prevent the frost from reaching them. In this 

 way, any quantity can be put together without any 

 danger of their heating. Care should be taken to 

 prevent the mice from getting to the hole through 

 the log, by nailing a piece of tin, with holes 

 punched in it at the outer end." We believe there 

 is an advantage in this mode of preserving pota- 

 toes or other roots, when a large quantity is buried 

 in a heap, arising from the perforated pump log's 

 answering as a ventilator, thus freeing the pit from 

 stagnant air, which often causes roots to rot in the 

 ground. 



Arthur Young mentions a way of storing pota- 

 toes, in what is called potato pies. "A trench, 

 one foot deep and six wide, is dug, and the earth 

 clean shovelled out, and laid on one side, this has 

 a bedding of straw, and the one horse carts shoot 

 down the potatoes into the trench ; women pile 

 them up about three feet high, in the shape of a 

 house roof; straw is then carefully laid on six or 

 ojght iuches thick, and covered with earth a foot 

 thick, neatly smoothed by flat strokes of the spade. 

 In this mode he never lost any by the severest 

 frosts, but in cases of its freezing with uncommon 

 severity, another coat of straw over all gives abso- 

 lute security." 



Dr. Dcane observed that " there is no difficulty 

 in keeping potatoes through the winter hi a cellar 

 that is free from frost. Caves dug in a dry 



soil, preserve them very well. They should In- 

 covered with two feet of earth over them. If 

 they are in danger of frost in a cool cellar, they 

 should he covered with a little suit hay. This 

 any farmer may easily do, who has a maritime sit- 

 uation." Straw will answer where salt hay can- 

 not be procured. 



OWNERSHIP OF A NEWSPAPER-ARTICLE. 



The Northern Farmer of the 21st of September 

 states that " the article on the What insect, re- 

 published in the New England Fanner of the 4th 

 of September ult. page GO, and there credited to 

 the Vermont Chronicle, was originally published in 

 the Northern Farmer, of the 10th of August last, 

 page 298, excepting the two last paragraphs," &c. 



The article in question, was, we believe, ex- 

 tracted verbatim from the Ferment Chronicle, but of 

 what date we cannot recollect. Neither have we, 

 any evidence of its having been originally publish- 

 ed in the Vermont Chronicle, excepting that we 

 find it attributed to that paper on our files. We 

 do not charge our memory with the origin of every 

 article which we republish, but never wittingly 

 (though we may carelessly) omit to note the source 

 from whence we derive every item of consequence 

 to our readers, or indicative of merit in its author. 

 We were, however, about to suppose that the 

 Northern Farmer was the bona fide owner of the 

 estray, and to mark it as his property, when the 

 Genesee Farmer brings forward a claim in the fol- 

 lowing declaration, to wit: 



"The Northern Farmer, in an article on the 

 Wheat Insect, has copied very liberally from an 

 editorial article in the Genesee Farmer, without 

 giving us credit," &c. — Gen. Farmer, Sep.21, p. 298. 



Now as we do not, and never did pretend to 

 own the article, nor any part thereof, we shall 

 leave the question of property to be debated by 

 those who claim an interest in the premises. 



* Encyc. ofAgr. p. 7S3. 



ITEMS OF INTELLIGENCE. 



The Cattle Show at Worcester, will be on the 9th of 

 tliis month. 



The Annual Exhibition of the Essex Agricultural So- 

 ciety, was at New R.owley on the 19th inst. Proceed- 

 ings in our next. 



The Merrimack Agricultural Society, will hold its Cat- 

 tle Show and Fair at Concord, N. H. on the lGth and 

 17th inst. 



The Cattle Show of the Rhode Island Society for the 

 Encouragement of Domestic Industry was at Pawtuxet, 

 on the 11 th September. 



The Berkshire Cattle Show, on the 2d and 3d Oct. 



The Hampshire, Hampden, and Franklin Cattle Show 

 at Greenfield, on the 23d Oct. 



Lari/e Outs. Mr. Jacob Nelson left at our office the 

 other day a bunch of oats, consisting of one hundred and 

 thirty-six stalks, all from one oat. The stalks were large, 

 one of the joints measured an inch in circumference. — 

 Maine Farmer. 



Dr. Drake, an eminent physician of Cincinnati, advi- 

 ses that the bodies of persons supposed to have died of 

 Cholera shall be kept as long as possible. — Instances are 

 on record of persons being merely in a state of suspen- 

 ded animation who were thought to be dead. There is 

 no danger of contagion, he says, either before or after 

 death. 



On the 13th ult. the bridge across the river Schuylkill 

 at Flat Rock, fell, with two empty marble teams and 

 thirteen horses, which were crossing at the time. Six 

 of the horses were killed or drowned, and one of the 

 drivers was so much injured that he is not expected to 

 recover. 



The South District Temperance Society, of Worces- 

 ter County comprised in 1>31. 1.-95 mi-mbers ; in 1-32, 

 2093 ; while the present number is 7540. The number 

 of stores within the district which still retail ardent spir- 

 its is 40, while the number that exclude it is 62. In 55 

 taverns ardent spirits are sold ; in 285, none ! In !) 

 townships 30 factories are conducted without ardent 

 spirits; and in an equal number of townships. 59 me- 

 chanic's shops. Many individuals who were formerly 

 drunkards, have become temperate. — JV. Y. Jour. Cum. 

 Accident. The wife of Mr. Solomon Crane, of South 

 Middleton, N. Y. died lately from the effects of arsenic. 

 She was somewhat indisposed, and having some cream 

 of tartar in the house, searched for it, and found when 

 too late that she had taken a dose of arsenic. — \rjT Every 

 medicine for family use should be carefully labelled. A 

 neglect of this has cost many lives. — Greenfield Qaz. 



Horrid Death. We understand an old lady, the wife 

 of Mr. Levi Kelly of this town, was burnt to death on 

 Monday hist. She had been left alone in the house, 

 and it is supposed her clothes caught while at work over 

 the fire. Her dead body was soon after found horribly 

 burnt upon the bed, which was likewise nearly consum- 

 ed. She had probably sought this place to smother the 

 flames. — Barnstable Jour. 



Great Turnip. Capt. J. Robertson, has shown us a 

 Turnip, now hanging in his well stored cuphmrnl. which 

 wein-bed 12 pounds, and measured three feet in diameter. 

 It grew on the farm of Timothy Lovell, of Rockingham. 

 — Bellows' Falls Int. 



The Resrimental Musters in Brentwood, Hampton 

 Falls, and Hawke, were well attended. A number of 

 o-entlemen from abroad honored the fields with their 

 presence, and were inclined to enliven the dulness of 

 the scene with the wheel-of-fortunc and other apparatus 

 of iraming. A modest hint, that their absence would be 

 more acceptable than their company, not being kindly 

 taken, we understand that some accidents happened to 

 their wheels and dice boards, and that a few kicks being 

 vigorously applied to their rear ranks, they " took the 

 idea," and marched off in high dudgeon — very much 

 shocked at the lack of hospitality in New Hampshire. — 

 Exeter Ncics Letter. 



Caution to Apprentices. A young man was yesterday 

 committed to prison for refusing to remain with his 

 master. He had already served him seven ye:irs. and 

 considered he had now a right to leave him. He was, 

 however, bound to remain with him until be attained 

 the arre of twenty-one, of which he yet wants 18 months. 

 The law allows a Magistrate to confine him two days in 

 prison for every day he refuses to remain with his mas- 

 ter until the expiration of that period. — .V. Y. Jour. Com. 

 The Horticultural Exhibition was brilliantly attended 

 yesterday afternoon. The crowd in the evening was 

 immense, consisting chiefly of females— among them 

 many of the most beautiful and fashionable of our city. 

 We learn that there is a great desire on the part of the 

 bachelors who are members of the Horticultural Society, 

 to be placed on the next committee of arrangement.— 

 Philad. Inrpiircr. 



The late Dr. Aylett Hawes of Virginia, bequeathed 

 freedom to about 100 slaves, and $20 for each to assist 

 the Colonization Society to convey them to Liberia. 



Out of season. There is in a garden in Bernardston, 

 a cherry tree which has on it at this time, both blossoms 

 and half grown unripe cherries. The tree has produced 

 one bountiful crop of fruit this season, and seems to be 

 dancing defiance to nature and preparing to scatter a 

 continuous supply of its crimson treasures. Gruff old 

 winter, however, will pay it a visit erelong, to strip it of 

 its finery and freeze up the sluices of its generosity.— 

 Greenfield Gaz. 



