NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



heifers that descend from him, rather than in the 

 heifers direct from this valuable cow. — Editor. 



THE POTATO ROT. 

 We have been requested to copy the following 

 letter, addressed to his Excellency the Governor : 



Lowell, April 2, 1851. 



The undersigned claims that he has discovered a 

 certain and practical remedy for the disease called 

 the potato rot, and that he is entitled to the reward 

 offered by the Legislature of the State of Massa- 

 chusetts. He says the disease is caused by a small 

 insect, or black bug, which preys upon the leaf un- 

 til it destroys the vine and causes the root to rot. 

 He has made ample investigation to satisfy him of 

 the fact. 



The remedy he proposes, having proved it fully 

 himself, is to dissolve lime in water, and with a 

 sprinkling pot adapted to the purpose, to sprinkle 

 all the vines with the solution, as soon as there is 

 any indications of the presence of the insect, which 

 is always indicated by an appearance of the rust. 

 This rust is merely the perforations made by the 

 bug. Tlie insect commits its ravages near sundown 

 and in the night, and can be best discovered near 

 the close of the day. The solution may be very 

 weak, but must be repeated once a week after the 

 appearance of the insect. 



He thinks that two casks of lime to the acre 

 would be sufficient. Phanuel Flanders. 



To his Excellency, George S. Boutwell, Gov- 

 ernor of Massachusetts. 



WHAT IS THE MOST VALUABLE CROP? 



Mr. Editor: — In the Farmer of May 1st, I no- 

 ticed a communication from a subscriber, desiring 

 information on the subject. If you think the follow- 

 ing lines will be of any benefit to him, or any of 

 the numerous readers of the Farmer, you are at 

 liberty to publish them. 



In regard to what is the most profitable crop, I 

 would say much depends on the season, and the 

 character of the soil which you wish to cultivate. 

 On dry, sandy loams, potatoes or wheat would not 

 be likely to yield a very great profit; but such land 

 under proper management would produce large 

 crops of Indian corn, rye, buckwheat, or clover. — 

 In a hot, dry season, our grass and grain crops 

 would sufl^er from drought, while we might obtain 

 an excellentcrop of corn; but in acold, wet season, 

 this would be reversed. Considering these circum- 

 stances, I believe it is best to raise a variety of 

 crops, selecting such soils as would be most con- 

 genial to the nature of the crops. I believe that 

 in whatever circumstances a farmer may be placed, 

 the grass crop is the most important, if not the 

 most profitable; for we depend on this to keep our 

 stock through our long and cold winters; every in- 

 crease of this adds to the manure heap, and conse- 

 quently to the productiveness of the farm. 



But my main object is to state the few facts I 

 have learned in relation to this subject. For the 

 last two years I have kept a journal of the opera- 

 tions on the farm, in order to ascertain the real and 

 comparative value of each crop. From this I 

 learned that some crops, which before I considered 

 the most profitable, yielded less net profit than 

 some others. Below is a tabular account of the 

 cost and value of the crops, which we raised in the 



years 1819-50; and also the number of loads of 

 manure applied, containing thirty bushels each. — 

 In the cost is included the value of the seed, and la- 

 bor at the price paid, (50 cts. to $1,00 per day,) al- 

 so the use of tools; board is not included. 



1849. 



Crops. Cost. VabiP. Manure per acre 



Hny, $2,18 a ton. $8,00 a ton. 



Wheat, 1,65 a t)U. 1,25 a bu. 20 Ids. yr. before. 



Winter Rye, 75 " 90 " 10 " " " 



Corn, 40 " 85 " 20 loads. 



Potatoes, 23 " 30 " 18 " 



Apples, grafted, 4^ " 00 " 



1850. 



Hay, S2,00 a ton. $9,00 a ton. 



Wheat, 83 a bu. 1,25 a bu. 18 Ids. yr. before. 



Winter Rye, 89 " 90 " 20 " " " 



Corn, 40 " 83 " 27 loads. 



" 96 " 83 " 35 " 



Potatoes, 25 " 40 " 13 " 



Apples, grafted, 4J " 50 



It appears from the above that the apple gives 

 the most net profit. In the table the cost of gath- 

 ering the apples, which was done by hand, is all 

 that is included. If pruning and other labor 

 had been reckoned, it might have doubled the 

 cost. Except the apples, the hay stands high- 

 est in point of profit. Indian corn stands next. 

 It will be seen by the table for 1850, that there 

 were two pieces of corn, one of 40, and the oth- 

 er 76 cents per bushel. The first was plant- 

 ed on old ground, the other on greensward, — the 

 latter was also injured by being planted too thick. 



It will be recollected that we had a severe 

 drought in 1849, which injured the grass and grain 

 very much, while the corn and potatoes suffered 

 less. In 1850 potatoes suffered badly from the rot. 



These are, however, the result of only two 

 years' observation on one small farm. Other sea- 

 sons and places might give different results. I 

 should be happy to hear from others on this sub- 

 ject, and I would advise all to keep a journal, note 

 down their experience and observations, and pub- 

 lish them in the Farmer. — Maine Farmer. 



5^°" You may glean knowledge by reading, but 

 you must separate the chaff" from the wheat by 

 thinkinfj. 



5^" Duty faithfully performed opens the mind tc 

 truth. 



iilccl)anic9' Pipavtmint, ^its, $Ci. 



DR. FARADAY ON CHIMNEYS. 



At the Royal Institution, in a series of lectures 

 on chemistry applied to domestic purposes. Dr. 

 Faraday has thus philosophized on "a chimney." 

 Various illustrations were given to show the im- 

 portance of the functions of the chimney. A parlor 

 fire will consume in twelve hours 40 lbs. of coal, 

 the combustion rendering 42,000 gallons of air 

 unfit to support life. Not only is that large amount 

 of deleterious product carried away and rendered 

 innoxious by the chimney, but five times I hat quan- 

 tity of air is also carried up by the draught, and 

 ventilation thus effectually maintained. The fi)rce 

 of a draught was illustrated by a descending due. 

 A colored flame was held near the end of a tube 

 bent like an inverted syphon. As soon as the tube 

 was heated, the ascent of the air within the longer 

 arm of the tube drew the flame downwards into the 

 shorter arm with considerable Ibrce. .'Sine the as- 



