1869. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



171 



hundred and seven potatoes, mostly very small. 

 The tubers themselves are hardly eatable. They 

 are soggy and tasteless. They will bum sooner 

 than bake or boil, and require nearly double the 

 time for either process, of any other potato I ever 

 saw ; and when "done ' you will find a bullet in 

 the middle. This unfortunate result may be ow- 

 ing to the soil, or the manure, or the weather, but 

 this "experience" has quieted my fever for "early 

 potatoes," and I am going back to "first principles." 

 This year I propose to plant the "Jackson White" 

 and the "Jersey Peach Blow," two varieties which 

 have been fully tested and are good. l. c. b. 



Essex, Vt., Jan., 1869. 



SrOAR MAKING. 



I wish to ask you or any of your correspondents, 

 well posted in this branch of business, a few ques- 

 tions on this subject. 



1. Has there been any signs discovered so that 

 we can tell, in advance, whether the season will be 

 good or poor, as we term it ? 



2. What is the proper name of a substance now 

 found in molai-ses and sugar, variously called 

 "sugar grit," "sand," "carbonate of lime," "nitre," 

 &c. 



3. Does this substance come from the soil, by 

 the way of the roots ; or from the air, by the way 

 of the leaves f or is it a chemical product formed 

 in the process of manufacture ? 



4. Why was there more of this sediment last 

 year in a given quantity of molasses than in any 

 previous year ? * 



5. How is it that we have so much of this sub- 

 stance now, and none, or scarcely any, forty years 

 ago ? When was this article first discovered ? 



6. What is the best process for separating the 

 "grit" from molasses .' 



7. Does the sap come mainly from the soil 

 through the roots, or from the atmosphere through 

 the leaves ? 



8. What per cent of sweet passes off in steam, 

 in the manufacture of maple sugar ? 



Timothy Wheelek. 

 Waterbury Centre, Vt., Feb. 8, 1869. 



Remarks. — 1. "In the morning sow thy seed, 

 and in the evening withhold not thy hand: for 

 thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either 

 this or that, or whether they both shall be alike 

 good." Still we have weather-wise and sugar- 

 wise people who are flush with prophecies, but we 

 have not heard from them this season. 



2. The proper name of this "sugar grit" is phos- 

 phate of lime. See an article in Monthly Far- 

 mer page 331, volume for 1867, by I. B. Hartwell, 

 Wilkinsonville, Mass. Why the other ingredients 

 of the ash of maple wood, such as potash, sul- 

 phur, mineral matters, &c., are not precipitated, as 

 well as the lime, is a question for the chemist. 



3. We suppose that this substance comes from 

 the soil. The sugar, we suppose, is elaborated by 

 the leaves and other organs of the tree and de- 

 posited in the tree or its roots, as in case of the 

 beet, the year previous. 



4 and 5. We doubt whether there was ever less 

 of this grit in sugar than now, and suppose that 

 its apparent increase is owing to the greater care 

 in manufacture and the closer observation which 

 has latterly been given to every process. 



6. Mr. W. H. Lyon, of North Craftsbury, Vt., 

 in a communication, Monthly Farmer, 1867, 



page 334, said that by straining the syrup through 

 a flannel strainer all the "grit" will be left in the 

 strainer. 



7. We suppose "the sap comes mainly from the 

 soil," but that it dissolves and takes up the saccha- 

 rine matter in its upward course that was deposited 

 the previous year. 



8. AVe suppose that no part of the "sweet" 

 passes off by evaporation. 



The pleasant weather of the few past weeks in- 

 dicates that the time of the flow of sap is near, 

 and these off-hand "suppositions" are appended 

 for the purpose of bringing the subject at once 

 before the unassembled congregation of Farmer 

 readers, thinkers and writers. 



CULTURE OF CELERY. 



Can you tell me what time West Cambridge 

 market gardeners set out their celery plants, the 

 general course of culture, &Ci, followed by them ? 

 Can it be raised as a second crop ? s. 



Remarks. — Celery is propagated by seed. Our 

 practice is to sow it in a hot bed about the middle 

 of March. It may be sown in the open ground 

 but is a long time in coming up. Sowing it in any 

 old box, or large pot, placed in the kitchen, all the 

 plants would be produced required for a medium 

 sized family. When the plants are three or four 

 inches high, prick them out into a soil that is rich 

 and fine; protect them from the sun for two or 

 three days and keep them moist. From the mid- 

 dle of June to first of July, transplant again into 

 a moderately rich soil. Some persons make 

 trenches a foot deep in which to set the plants, but 

 we have succeed ed just as well by setting them 

 on a level surface. 



When the plants are eight or nine Inches high, 

 draw the soil about them a little at frequent hoe- 

 ings, holding up the leaves at the same time to 

 prevent the earth from getting in between them. 

 This should be continued until the plant has grown 

 large enough, and will blanch the stalks. 



Before severe frosts come, the plants must be 

 taken up, roots and all, and set out in a cool cellar 

 in moist sand. They may be placed quite near 

 each other, but the ends of the leaves left out. 

 Sand is much better than the soil they grew in 

 for packing. 



COLTS GNAWING CRIBS AND BOARDS. 



I have two last spring colts that I am wintering. 

 The youngest was weaned last October. In No- 

 vember, or the first of December, I noticed they 

 had commenced gnawing the edge of their cribs 

 and the wood-work about them. They have 

 gnawed my barnyard fence from one end to the 

 other, and seem to like those parts that are .i little 

 decayed or soft. If you or any of the numerous 

 readers of the New England Farmer can tell 

 me the cause, or what will stop the habit, it will 

 greatly oblige an old subscriber. 



James Walker. 



Manchester, N. H.,Jan. 30, 1869. 



Remarks.— The gnawing of the crib, boards, or 

 any wood-work, is not only a habit of colts, but of 

 many horses who are well-behaved in other re- 



