1855. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



293 



For the New England Farmer, small seed, that thcy would soon run out, if 

 01WATT pnTATrtTC I planted again. But who knows that? Are there 



bJllAlil. rUiiliUJia. .^^^^ experiments to prove it? If not, let us 



Mr. Editor :— As it is now becoming neces-jjigcard Meory, and determine the facts, s. p. 



ary to put potatoes into the ground, if a cropj 



would be secured for the next season, it is an im- Remarks. — AYe have experimented ourself and 

 portant question at present prices, whether small collected the opinions of a great many excellent 



potatoes will be fit for seed." On this, much has 

 been written, as you know, and I presume much 

 will be, before it is settled, for every man will 

 continue to act on his views, and consider that 

 the only right way. 



^lany years ago my father began to carry on a 

 form. lie was told he must plant large pota- 

 toes, so the best were selected for the field and sec- 

 ond quality for the table. lie dug the next fall, 

 about 100 bushels of potatoes, not one of which 

 was large enough for the table.' The next year 

 these little potatoes, on the same land, produced 

 an excellent crop of good potatoes. xVfter that 

 he kept the large ones lor the table and the 

 smaller for the field. Nur can I allow that our 



farmers on this question, and a large majority of 

 the opinions are in favor of small seed. 



For the New England Farmer. 



PLOWING. 



Mr. Editor : — From my boyhood up, I have 

 heard that "faith" is essential to salvation, and 

 no serious farmer doubts it. But very few seem 

 to be aware how necessary faith is to good farm- 

 j ing. It is only through faith that most of us 

 I avail ourselves of the teachings of modern science 

 ' in regard to agriculture. Not one in a hundred 



. „ . ^ - „ , ... j of lis can test the truth of the chemical doctrines 



crops were inferior to tliose of others on similar] j^j^ ^^^^ ^j^j^ ^^,^j^^^_ ^y^ .^^.^ compelled 



land. We once planted on a bog meadow we|^^ ^^jj^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^_ ^(. ^^^^ ^^ ,,^^^ J^^^^,„ 

 were reclaiming, some small potatoes left of the , j^,^^.^ ^^^^ ^^^ ready to believe, their disappoint- 

 previous year s produce, and some assorted pota- ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^.^ ^^. ^^^ ^^,^^^^ ^^^J^ ^..j 

 toes purchased in Boston. >\ c could see no clii- 

 ference in the result. 



Some four years since, I took possession of a 

 house in Connecticut. I found m tlie cellar 

 about a peck of potatoes, not larger then robins" 

 eggs, literally. I took them into my garden to 



plant, and a neighbor to whom I had let a por- 

 tion of the garden, fairly ridiculed me lor it. 

 He planted only large potatoes without cutting 

 in the row next my small ones, Jiis having the 



lingness to be directed, but from their failing to 

 follow carefully the directions which they re- 

 ceived. We must remember that chemical pro- 

 cesses are generally very Jiice ones. A single step 

 omitted, or a superfluous one taken, will some- 

 times spoil the whole experiment. It is just so, 

 whether we undertake to make a compost-heap or 

 a custard. 



But to plowing. Farmer? would perform this 

 important part of their work to much greater 



best cultivation AVlien we dug them, my small! ppyfi^^ if th^y would only settle it in their own 

 potatoes showed full as many and as large as his. ! minds what 'plowing is for. From what I have 

 Last year I planted some assorted, and some so?/- Leen, I should judge that some farmers regarded 

 ed out ; yield so nearly the same as not to be per- the process of plowing as being to the earth what 

 ceptibly different. Now I have never made any currying is to the horse. They scratch the sur- 

 experiment by weight, but I think these not with- f^ce a little, and expect that the crop will l3e 

 out value. I have to-day spoken with a farmer on tickled into smiles, 

 this sul)ject. He was rather in f\ivor of large po- with your leave, I will specify two important 



tatoes, but said he often used small ones, and for 

 aught he could see, with as good results. He 

 thought they miglit run out. as the seed was less 

 perfect, — a point which we will consider present- 

 ly. He mentioned a farmer noted for his pota- 

 toes, who cut his potatoes so as to put but six or 

 seven bushels seed to the acre, and thought the 

 crops better for it. 



So far as I have seen, the argument for large 

 seed seems rather theoretical than practical. 

 There are certainly too few well conducted ex- 

 periments to demonstrate the principle. We 

 constantlj' hear men appeal to the im])erfectness 

 of the small seed. To this the rot has also been 

 attributed. 



If we recur to tlio native growth of the pota- 

 to, we shall find the tubers very small, and 



results produced by ployving ; and, if my con- 

 jectures are right, your readers will perhaps be 

 induced to "speed the plow" with new zeal. In 

 the first place, one cause of sterility in our New 

 England soil is the exhaustion of the vegetable 

 element from the land by the removal of crops. 

 This must lie replaced ; and how? We go into 

 our meadows, and, at great expense, procure and 

 prepare meadow-mud. But cannot we do this 

 more easily ? AVhen we stir the earth,, fermenta- 

 tion ensues, vegetation in its lowest forms ))egins, 

 myriads of plants (cryptogamia) spring into life 

 and become developed. We plow again ; they 

 perish, and upon their remains a higher order 

 succeeds, and so on. Do you Si\y this requires 

 time? Not at all. Have ycui never seen those 

 broad-brimmed toad-stools, liig enough, if they 



this is the natural and liealthy growth of the were only l)eef-steaks, for an alderman's brexk- 

 plant. Large potatoes are an artificial growtli,i fast, which spring up in a single night? The 

 and are certainly no less in an unnatural condi-jLord knows whenrr they come; but they come, 

 tiun tlian the smaller ones on the same stem. If | and they serve to show how rapidly, under cer- 

 anytliing the smaller potatoes are more nearly a tain circumstances, vegetable material is pro- 

 natural growth than the larger ones, and I canjduced in the earth. If plowing stimulates the 

 see no reason why these should not be planted j earth to tiiis kind of productiveness, is it not 

 rather than tiie larger ones l)y the sticklers fori mucli cheaper to restore tlie vegetable element in 

 the "depreciation" theory. tliis way, tlian in the common one of digging and 



It is urged when good crops are raised fromj hauling mud? I think so; and therefore feel that, 



