856 



THE ILLINOIS FAKMER. 



Dec- 



I we depend on the new implement to 

 [ work this change. 



I We have seen no two horse cultiva- 

 f tor but that is more or less valuable 

 • and much in advance of the old culti- 

 ; vators and shovel plows, but in the 

 I large number now before the public 

 there is no inconsiderable difference. 

 During the past season we had three 

 ■ different patterns on trial and have 

 made our selection for the next season. 

 We do not think that inventive genius 

 has as yet been fully exhausted in this 

 direction. It appears that the princi- 

 pal aim has been to adapt these culti- 

 vators to the culture of corn, and there 

 most of the inventors have stopped, 

 but there is a wide field beyond, into 

 which some of them have boldly leap- 

 ed. With our iron field roller we have 

 dispensed with the use of one out of 

 two harrows formerly used, and now 

 with the two horse cultivator we shall 

 need that one but little if any at all. 

 Of this we shall not fully decide until 

 we finish up the next spring's seeding. 



IN THE NtJESEET. 



All young trees need a slight bank- 

 ing up with the plow preparatory to 

 winter. This we have just completed 

 with our two horse cultivator, which 

 has made a nice ridge of fine earth 

 against the line of trees, grape and 

 currant cuttings. The asparagus bed, 

 twenty by four hundred feet, has been 

 thoroughly forked over with it. 



SWEET POTATO EIDGE8. 



The making of sweet potato ridges 

 have always involved a large amount 

 of muscle, l^ow we can throw these 

 up at the rate of three acres a daywith^ 

 the use of two horses and one man 

 and at the same time the ridges are 

 made of thoroughly pulverised soil, 

 superior to anything that we have seen 



before. A very little hand labor with 

 a steel rake makes a most perfect ridge 

 of the largest dimensions. This will 

 enable every farmer to grow an abund- 

 ance of this fine vegetable at little cost 

 of labor. 



PLANTING AND CULTUEE OF POTATOES. 



All of our prairie soil is better lor 

 autumn plowing, and we will suppose 

 that the potato field has been plowed. 

 At the time of planting, with our cul- 

 tivator arranged for ridging up, we go 

 over the field, making a slight ridge in 

 in the centre and a corresponding de- 

 pression or dead furrow at the outside 

 of the cultivator. Along these minia- 

 ture dead furrows, which, by the way, 

 have been loosened up, we drop the 

 seed potatoes at the rate of two acres a 

 day with one hand. Thus one team 

 with two men to drop and one to drive 

 or the latter hand can be a boy of a 

 dozen years, and we have four acres of 

 potatoes planted, with the surface thor- 

 oughly cultivated at the same time. 

 After the plants are up cultivate them 

 once a week, giving them a slight ridg- 

 ing each time until in bloom. They 

 will then be nicely ridged up, with no 

 weeds in the hills and that without the 

 use of the hoe. 



Let us figure up the cost of four 

 acres : 



Plowing two days $4 00 



Cultivator one day, planting 2 00 



Planting two days, by hand 2 0^ 



Cultivating four times, two days. 4 00 



Preparing seed by cutting, 3 days, one hand. 3 00 



32 bushels seed, 25 cts 8 00 



Cleaning the middle of the rows with double 

 shovel plow to keep down the late weeds, 



two days, man and horse 3 00 



Two days, man cutting weeds out of the rows 2 00 

 Use of land 1 2 00 



Total $40 00 



Being at the rate of ten dollars an 

 acre. If we assume a hundred bush- 

 els to the acre a fair average crop, we 



