No. 11. 



The Potatoe. — Butter Dairies and Butter. 



339 



little boy in Boston. His father was a poor 

 portrait painter, hardly able to get his daily 

 bread. Now, John is at the head of the no- 

 bility of England ; one of the most distin- 

 guished men in talent and power in the 

 House of liOrds, looked upon with reverence 

 and respect by the whole civilized world. 

 This is the reward of industry. The studi- 

 ous boy becomes the useful and respected 

 man. 



Had John S. Copley spent his school-boy 

 days in idleness, he probably would have 

 passed his manhood in poverty and shame. 

 But he studied in school, when other young 

 men were wasting their time ; he adopted 

 for his motto, " Ultra pergere," (press on- 

 ward,) — and how rich has been his reward. 



You, my young friends, are now laying 

 the foundation for your future life. You are 

 every day at school, deciding the question, 

 whether you will be useful and respected in 

 life, or whether your manhood shall be pass- 

 ed in mourning over the follies of mispent 

 boyhood. — John S. C. Abbott. 



The Potatoe. 



Mr. Editor, — While the rain and hai' 

 are falling without, suspending my farming 

 operations, I seat myself within, with the 

 view of eliciting information concerning the 

 sweet potatoe, from you or some of your cor- 

 respondents. Its cultivation and use, so far 

 as my information extends, were unknown 

 until the discovery of America by Columbus, 

 since which time, the only method known to 

 me of obtaining the seed, has been simply 

 from the cutting of the potatoe itself, or from 

 slips produced from the vine. But as this is 

 nothing more than a continuation of the 

 plant, it is highly probable that it will de- 

 generate, or has degenerated ; for this we 

 observe to be the case with the most ot 

 plants produced in this way. It is well 

 known that the vine has blossoms, and some 

 writers assert that they also have seed ; and 

 if this be correct, it is my opinion that plant- 

 ing these seed would be the better way to 

 continue the potatoe pure and undegene- 

 rated ; and it is upon this point that I desire 

 information, i. e., whether planting the seed 

 obtained as above stated, has ever been tried, 

 and if so, how it succeeded. 



It is said by some, that the only potatoe 

 whose vines produce blossoms is the yam ; 

 but although this is not correct, it may be 

 that the yam does produce more than any 

 other kind ; and it may be accounted for 

 from the fact, that this potatoe is often raised 

 differently from the other kinds; which may 

 have had a tendency to continue it in its 

 pure state. Upon this presumption, it is 



highly important that a different plan be 

 pursued to obtain seed, or in process of time 

 the potatoe may become of little or no use 

 to us. 



Now, it is certain that the Irish potatoe 

 produces small black seed, and it is asserted, 

 that by planting these, very small potatoes 

 are produced, and by again planting them, 

 you obtain a much finer potatoe than by 

 planting in the usual way. If this be cor- 

 rect, with regard to the Irish potatoe, it may 

 be with the sweet potatoe also; hence my 

 inquiry. As information is my sole object 

 in this communication, I forbear saying more, 

 but will leave the subject to others more 

 able to do justice to it than myself. — S. Ca- 

 rolina Advocate. 



From the N. Y. Agricultural Transactions. 

 Butter Dairies and Butter. 



The undersigned, having observed by the 

 proceedings of the executive committee of 

 the New York State Agricultural Society, 

 that they oflfer premiums for the best butter 

 dairies, is indnced (having been engaged in 

 butter making) to offer the following state- 

 ment for the consideration of the committee 

 on butter dairies : 



My farm is located in the valley of New 

 Lebanon, Columbia Co., in about 42^°; con- 

 tains about 180 acres of improved land, which 

 is composed of a variety of soils, viz: an al- 

 luvial clay loam on the flats, — about one- 

 third of the whole, — which are generally 

 kept in meadow. The other portions are 

 gravel loam and slate and gravel, with the 

 exception of some 20 acres, which are wet 

 clay and gravel pastures with a hard subsoil, 

 bearing the variety of grasses usual on wet 

 pastures. The other pastures used, are 

 ploughed and cropped in their rotation, say 

 two years in every five, and are stocked with 

 clover and herds grass. Hay used, clover 

 and herds, with a slight mixture of red top 

 on the low grounds. 



My dairy is composed of 16 cows ; three 

 three-years old heifers, and two two-years 

 old. Cows of native breed, one full blood 

 short horned heifer, the others half bloods; 

 the full blood heifer suckled her own calf 

 and another, a half blood, through the sea- 

 son. One of my best cows lost her udder 

 before the 1st of August, by the kine pox, 

 which disease very much injured the whole 

 dairy for some five weeks. I also parted 

 with one cow the last of September. 



Estimating the four heifers to be equal to 

 three cows, I had no more than 19 cows 

 through the whole season. Add to this the 

 hottest weather ever experienced for the 



