358 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Aug. 



For the New Eni^land Farmer. 



EXPERIMENTS WITH POTATOES. 



Mr. Editor : — Having read from time to time 

 in your paper others' experience in potato raising, 

 I w'U send you a short chapter in mine, which 

 you may publish, if you think it wortli a place 

 in your columns. 



In the month of May, 1853, I broke up about 

 half of an acre of moist land, soil a dark loam, 

 with a light marly subsoil, plowed from ten to 

 twelve inches deep, so as to turn up from two to 

 three inches of the sulwoil ; manured the same by 

 putting a small shovel full of compost in the hill. 

 Hoed them the latter part of June, and dug them 

 the first of October, getting but a small crop, it 

 taking from GO to 80 hills to make a bushel. 



In September, 1853, 1 broke up a strip on each 

 side of the above, iu the same manner as in the 

 spring, making a little short of one and three- 

 fourths acres in the whole ; let the whole remain 

 until May, 1854, when I gave the whole piece a 

 thorough harrowing. Then carted and put on 

 and spread 44 cart loads of green stable manure, 

 each load containing from 25 to 30 bushels. Cross 

 plowed the piece, and turned the manure in from 

 eight to ten inches deep. Farrowed the same 

 north and south, as near three feet apart as I 

 could without measuring. I then commenced on 

 the west side of the piece, and put a small shovel 

 full of compost (made of one-half meadow mud 

 and the other lialf stable manure,) in a hill, and 

 put the hills two feet apart. I then commenced 

 next to the meadow, and planted four rows with- 

 out any particular order as to the amount of 

 seed. The next two rows, I put two good sized 

 potatoes in a hill, t'^e smallest being as large as 

 a hen's egg. The next two rows, I put two half 

 potatoes in a hill. I then manured about an 

 acre with manure from the hog-yard, and planted 

 it with corn. I then commenced on the other 

 side of the corn to plant potatoes, the land lying 

 a little higher, and not quite as good soil. I then 

 manured two rows with leaves from the forest 

 that had lain in the calf-pen until they had be- 

 come well-wetted with urine, and thrown out 

 from time to time into a heap ; put as many into 

 a hill as I could make lay on a common iron sho- 

 vel. The two nexc rows, I put from a pint to a 

 quart of wood ashes in the hill. The remainder 

 of the piece 1 manured with compost, as on the 

 other side. I ran a small harrow between the 

 rows three times during the month of June, and 

 hoed the corn three timvs and the potatoes twice, 

 without making much of a hill ; the rows ^vere 

 not far from seventeen rods long, north and south, 

 there being no rows the other way. 



I dug my potatoes the last of September, and 

 from twenty hills from the two rows with two 

 seed potatoes in a liill, I obtained 69 lbs. 10 oz. 

 of good sized potatoes. From twenty hills from 

 the two with one in a hill, 64 lbs. 6 oz. From 

 twenty hills where I cut the seed and put two 

 halves in a hill, 64 lbs. 2 oz. From the acre of 

 corn I had a very large growth of fodder, and 

 obtained 80 iMishels of ears of good sound corn, a 

 part of the piece.' being injured by the drought, 

 so that it did not fill well, not having half as 

 much corn in quantity, and not so good a quali- 

 ty, as on the other part. From twenty hills of 

 the two rows manured with leaves from the calf- 



pen, 1 had 60 lbs. 6 oz. From twenty hills ma- 

 nured with ashes, 43 lbs. 14 oz.,and from twenty 

 hills from tlie two rows adjoining, manured with 

 compost, I obtained 50 lbs. 4 oz.; but it must be 

 remembered that the soil was not so good where 

 these last grew as on the other side of the corn. 



I cut the top stalks fi-om the corn not injured 

 by dry weather, while the other part I cut up 

 and piked about the same time, which was not 

 far from the 20th of September. Upon the whole 

 I think I obtained a good crop, for our hill lands, 

 and I will send you my account of labor, &c., 

 with the amount of crop, which you can publish, 

 if desirable. 



Dr. 

 To 2 clays plowing in the fall, with 2 boys, oxen and horse. $6,50 



1 (lay harrowing ia spring, with boy and oxen 1,50 



•tl loads of green manure to spread 44,00 



3 days labor with oxen to cart manure 6,00 



2 days, with boy and oxen, to cross-plow 4,00 



1 day labor to spread manure 1,50 



14 loads compost manure 10,00 



1 days labor with oxen to layout manure in hills 4,50 



IG loads hog manure 16,00 



4 days with boy planting 6,50 



3 loads other manure for squashes, cabbages, &c 3,00 



\h days labor with boy and horse to harrow among crojis 2,25 

 10 days labor hoeing potatoes twice, corn three times.. .12,50 



8i busliels of potatoes planted 4,25 



Corn and beans to plant 0,50 



1 day labor cutting aud binding top stalks 1,25 



J day labor cutting and piking corn 1,00 



1 day labor cutting corn and drawing to barn with oxen 2,00 



Labor husking corn 3,00 



8 days labor digging potatoes 8,00 



^ day labor digging ruta bagas 0,50 



h day with oxen to draw pumpkins 1,00 



i day with oxen to draw cabbages 0,33 



1 day labor to pull and thresh beans 1,25 



Cutting and carrying corn fodder to cows 1,00 



Total expenses 141,08 



Cr. 

 By 40 bushels of sound corn $40,00 



5 bushels of soft corn 2,00 



1 ton top stalks 10,00 



1 ton fodder cut up at roots 8,00 



1 ton husks 5,00 



4 loads pumpkins 4,00 



l.V bushels white beans 2,25 



1 wagon load of cabbages 2,00 



25 bushels ruta bagas 4,17 



10 square rods corn fodder given green to cows 3,00 



135 bushels potatoes 67,50 



Small lot melons and squashes 1,25 



Total value of crops §149,17 



Deduct expenses 141,10 



Leaving in my favor $8,07 



to pay for use of land, which is left in good or- 

 der for spring grain, which I intend to sow with 

 wheat and barley, (without manure,) as soon as 

 the setison will permit. I will, if spared, send 

 you the result. 



Yours truly, IIexry Barber. 



Warwick, Mass., 1855. 



Facts aeout Milk. — Cream cannot rise through 

 a great depth of milk. If, therefore, milk is de- 

 sired to retain its cream for a time, it should be 

 put into a deep narrow dish ; and if it be desired 

 to free it most completely of cream, it should be 

 poured into a broad, flat dish, not much exceed- 

 ing one inch in depth. The evolution of cream is 

 facilitated by a rise, and retarded by a depression 

 of temperature. At the usual temperature of 

 the dairy, 50 degrees Fahrenlieit, all the cream 

 will probably rise in thirty-six hours ; Imt at 70 

 degrees it will perhaps rise in half that time ; and 

 when the milk is kept near the freezing point, 

 the cream will rise very slowly, because it be- 



