THE GENESEE FARMER. 



151 



Culivate them the same as ordinary potatoes in 

 hulls; being particular to lift up the vines and lay 

 ;hem along the sides of the ridge every other week. 

 [f this is neglected, the vines will take root from 

 lie joints and draw off the sustenance from the 

 ;ubers. 



During the latter part of August, the hills may 

 >e opened carefully and the largest taken out for 

 lse. Fill the hole up and the smaller ones will 

 soon be ready for the same operation. 



For winter keeping, they should be dug on a 

 warm, dry day in the first of October. Dry them 

 ;wo or three hours in the sun, and pack them in 

 barrels or boxes in dry sand, chopped straw, or, 

 what is still better, oat chaff. Store them in a 

 warm, dry place. a. m. n. 



Rye, N. E, April 2, 1862. 



HIRED HELP ON A FARM. 



In these times, when the farmer has to pay a 

 »ood share of his profits to the Government in the 

 shape of taxes, it will not do to be over easy with 

 5iir hired help. "When I hear it said. of a farmer, 

 'he is a nice man to work for," I conclude that he 

 s rather too easy with his men in some respects. 

 For instance, hands who have no interest in the re- 

 sult of their labors, beyond receiving their wages, 

 3an and often do fritter away a great deal of valu- 

 ible time in useless conversation. One begins a 

 ; 'yarn," and the rest have to stop and listen, then 

 work a little and stop to get the " hang " of the 

 story ; and the day passes, and about three-quarters 

 sf a fair day's work is done by each man. 



Now, if the farmer who employs these men al- 

 lows such a waste of time, he is called " a nice 

 man to work for," but he pays very dear for the 

 empty honor of such a name. A little sternness 

 and determination on the part of the employer is 

 not amiss. When you hire a man, let him under- 

 stand at first that his labor and time belong to 

 you. You can tell him very properly, in plain 

 English, that if he is accustomed to keeping his 

 tongue on the wag when at work, you don't want 

 him ; that if he works for you, in a gang of men, 

 he has got to keep a close mouth, or his name is 

 "walker." 



Nor should a farmer be absent from his hired 

 hands a minute more than is absolutely necessary. 

 Some farmer has observed that '• his old hat stuck 

 up in the field was worth a dollar a day to him, in 

 causing his hands to keep steadily at work." 



"Gentlemen farmers," who have retired from 

 cities to the country, are subject to a severe tax in 

 not being present with their hired men, and they 

 often sigh over the results, "Ail I have grown cost 

 me fifty per cent more than to buy my provisions 

 in the market." t. b. miner. 



Clinton, N. Y. 



How to Grow Melons, Cucumbers, Squashes, 

 etc. — As soon as the seeds begin to crack the 

 ground in upward vegetation, lay over each hill a 

 half a newspaper or other sheet, a little raised in 

 the centre, and place a hoeful of dust at each cor- 

 ner, so that the winds can not blow the papers 

 away. Keep them on till the third leaf grows, 

 and no bugs will trouble the vines, and they will 

 grow as fast as in a hot-bed. — t. b. m. 



AN INQUIRY-SAWDUST AS MANURE. 



Eds. Genesee Farmer : — I have often seen saw- 

 dust recommended in agricultural papers and books, 

 but have never seen any article in which there was 

 any distinction made between the dust from differ- 

 ent kinds of wood. Now, I am well convinced 

 that decayed wood is a very valuable manure, but 

 I can easily perceive that the soil around a decayed 

 oak stump is at first more fertile than that around 

 a pine stump. Is it on account of the difference in 

 timber, or because one decays faster than the other? 



We have here a very large tract of sandy plains, 

 with a rich, deep soil for the kind, originally cov- 

 ered with oak and pine, with a large predominance 

 of the latter, but now covered with logs and 

 stumps, the debris of lumbering establishments, 

 and oak grubs. Our soil lacks in organic matter, 

 on account of the fires that have run over it, and 

 consequently it lacks in the capability of retaining 

 moisture. We have around our lake (Muskegon, 

 six miles long and two broad), fifteen steam saw- 

 mills, cutting in the aggregate some 50,000,000 feet 

 of pine lumber per annum. The sawdust (except 

 the small quantity used to support the steam) is 

 carried off in carts, and either burned or used in 

 filling up docks, wharves, gullies and sloughs, or in 

 paving the roads ; but at the rate it accumulates, 

 these places will all soon be filled up, and it is a 

 question of real importance whether this article 

 can be used to any benefit on our land. 



Pine is a good timber to last where it is kept 

 from the ground, but when used for stakes or posts 

 it rots off at the surface of the ground very quick, 

 especially in a sandy soil. The power of the dust 

 to retain moisture seems very great, for where it 

 lies in any depth it is always moist an inch or two 

 below the surface, and where it is kept constantly 

 moist it does not seem to decay. The inference 

 that 1 draw from these facts is, that if spread upon 

 our soil to the depth of one or two inches, and 

 worked into the surface soil, it will assist in retain- 

 ing moisture even when green, and that it will 

 there decay very fast, and that when so decayed it 

 will enrich the soil. Am I correct? I ask you, 

 Mesrss. Editors, or any of your readers or corres- 

 pondents who have had any knowledge of the mat- 

 ter, either by theory or experience. 



Of one thing I am sure, from my own observa- 

 tion — that in the absence of straw, as with us, it 

 makes a good litter for horses and cattle, and that 

 when mixed with the droppings of horses, it pre- 

 vents entirely that rapid fermentation so destruc- 

 tive to this kind of manure. Does it not also fix 

 and retain the ammonia from their liquid evacua- 

 tions? s- B. p. 



Muskegon, Mich. 



Berkshire Hogs. — The pure Berkshire hog is 

 black, with streaks of white on the face and some- 

 times white spots on the legs. They grow to about 

 the same size and weight as the Suftblks — usually 

 dress about 200 lbs. at eight months old, and at 

 one year reach from S00 to 350 lbs. It is almost 

 impossible to get this breed in a lean condition. I 

 sold a pair last season to a neighbor, who tried to 

 reduce the sow in flesh, for breeding, and almost 

 starved her, and yet she remained as fat and plump 

 as ever. I have none for sale, so don't consider 

 this a '? puff." — t. b. m. 



