1883.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



203 



THE GEE AT POTATO CENTER. 



The counties of Rensselaer, Saratoga, and 

 Washington, in the State of New- York, pro- 

 duced, according to the census of 1880, 

 4,490,825 "bushels of Potatoes. The amount 

 is greater now ; and the surplus of this crop, 

 beyond what may be required in these coun- 

 ties, is shipped to New-York City. Washing- 

 ton County produces more Potatoes than any 

 other in the State, and they are also of as 

 good quality as those produced anywhere. 

 There is enough clay in the soil to furnish 

 the necessary potash to make a good growth, 

 and enough slate and gravel 

 for covering the tubers suf- 

 ficiently to grow to the high- 

 est perfection. The soil of 

 the other counties is also 

 well sprinkled with clay in- 

 terinixed with sand, forniiug 

 to a considerable extent a 

 clay-loam, which prodn<-< s , - 

 the largest crops ; other 

 parts are a sand-loam, which 

 yields Potatoes of the finest 

 quality and perfect smooth- 

 ness. 



The surplus crop is mostly 

 bought up in the autumn, 

 being hauled directly from the field as fast 

 as dug, or from temporary pits in the field, 

 where the Potatoes are put in piles and cov- 

 ered with straw and a light sprinkle of 

 earth. The growing and selling of Potatoes 

 has been a leading business in these coun- 

 ties so long that a class of speculators has 

 sprung up known as " Potato buyers." 

 These are located at every prominent ship- 

 ping point, and either buy on their own 

 account or as agents for dealers in New- 

 York. Where the hauling is not too far, 

 buyers prefer to ship by water, and the 

 Hudson River steam-boats are 

 nightly laden, in the appropriate 

 season, with cargoes of Potatoes. 

 Canal boats are also loaded, and 

 made store-houses and stores for 

 the sale of Potatoes during the /A J| 



winter in the city, the decks be- 

 ing covered with straw to pre- 

 vent freezing. Potatoes are sold 

 by the bushel when delivered in 

 bulk, or by the barrel or sack, 

 rating two bushels and three 

 pecks for a barrel. 



Potatoes are grown after Corn, 

 or upon a clover or other light 

 soil, and the best crops are 

 usually had when they are plant- 

 ed early. Hence, an effort is 

 made by most farmers to get ^ 

 them in as soon as the ground 

 is fit to work, even before frosty 

 weather is over. The seed is 

 dropped by hand in hills which 

 have been designated by a mark- 

 er run both ways, and where grown largely, 

 covered with a double plow, which turns two 

 furrows inward. The custom practiced in 

 New Jersey, of dropping a set in every third 

 furrow, behind the plow, is not followed in 

 this vicinity. The objection to it is that the 

 Potatoes become covered too deep. Small 

 Potatoes are generally planted, those which 

 are below the market size, two being put 

 into a hill. More Potatoes can be raised in 

 drills, but the extra work required for keep- 

 ing them clean is the reason why they are 

 rarely grown in this way. A common corn 



cultivator is run between the rows both ways 

 as soon as the vines appear, and as often as 

 necessary afterward, the work of cultiva- 

 ting being finished with a double mold-board, 

 or "shovel plow." Very little hand hoeing 

 is done. 



A number of machines have been invented 

 for digging Potatoes, but none have so far 

 proven to be a perfect success, although 

 some of them do the work tolerably well. 

 Many farmers run a " shovel plow " under 

 the hills, — the team going astride the row, 

 — and then follow with a harrow, to drag 



WHITE STAR POTATO. 



the Potatoes to the surface, from which 

 they are picked by hand. The principal de- 

 ficiency of all digging machines is that they 

 cannot discriminate between clods, stones, 

 and tubers ; and the assorting, which is the 

 principal part of the work, has to be done 

 by hand in either case. 



The varieties chiefly grown here are the 

 Early and Late Rose, but Beauty of Hebron 

 and Burbank are superseding them rapidly. 

 The latter, especially, is doing remarkably 

 well in Washington County, on the slaty 

 ground and clayey soils which abound in 



TRIUMPH POTATO. 



some of the towns. Snow Flake is also ex- 

 tensively grown, and in some sections the 

 Peach-blow is still a favorite. Several new 

 varieties are growing into favor, as they 

 give promise of superior merit, and doubt- 

 less in a few years will take the place of the 

 staple sorts of the present day. Among 

 these, White Star is prominent. It is an 

 exceedingly handsome Potato, somewhat 

 resembling Burbank, but smoother and of 

 better eating and keeping quality. As an 

 early Potato, the Triumph has given mere 

 satisfactory results than any other new 



variety. Queen of the Valley, Early Vermont 

 Champion, and others have also been tried 

 by various growers. 



Col. F. D. Curtis. 



CONCENTRATED FERTILIZERS. 



The practical conclusions derived from 

 the extensive experiments made at the Ohio 

 Agricultural Station with various fertilizers 

 are summed up by the Station Director, Prof. 

 W. R. Lazenby, as follows : 



1. Under certain conditions of soil the 

 application of concentrated 

 fertilizers may do more 

 harm than good. 

 j_ -"- , 2. The success or failure 



> , of iIm- mm- of' IVrf iliziTs ;i t 



the Station, in one particu- 

 lar instance, should not be 

 conclusive with others, since 

 it cannot be prov ; that the 

 needs of their soi are pre- 

 cisely like those o, the ex- 

 perimental grounds. 



3. The results obtained 

 should incite farmers to ex- 

 periment carefully and ob- 

 serve closely. To a certain 

 extent each farmer must "prove all things " 

 for himself, and should then " hold fast to 

 that which is good.'' 



4. Untried and expensive fertilizers should 

 be tested upon a small scale at first, and so 

 applied that their effect or non-effect maybe 

 at once evident. 



5. If, after a single fair and impartial 

 trial, a certain fertilizer produces no good 

 results, be not too swift to condemn or enter 

 up judgment. If possible, vary the time 

 and method of application, and try again. 

 If the result be still void, it may reasonably 



be concluded that the fertilizer 

 in question is not needed just 

 there; that some peculiarity of 

 soil or climate renders its use 

 ineffective at that point, though 

 under other conditions it may 

 be the best fertilizer known. 



INTRODUCTION OF TOMATOES, 



Tomatoes, as a vegetable, were 

 first grown in western New York 

 in 1S25. They were introduced 

 by Mr. Tousey, who brought To- 

 mato-seed from Virginia, which 

 he planted at Rochester. When 

 his Tomatoes were ready for the 

 table he invited several gentle- 

 men to dine with him. At first 

 the Tomato was found palatable 

 to none of the party. This sur- 

 prised and annoyed our host, 

 who ate them with great gusto ; 

 but subsequently, when Mr. Tou- 

 sey sent fully ripe Tomatoes to his friends, 

 our tastes changed, and before the season 

 was over we became very fond of them. In 

 1830, after I removed to Albany, I inquired 

 for Tomatoes, but was told at the market 

 that they were not produced by the vege- 

 table gardeners, and had never been sold in 

 that market. I induced the market gardener 

 of whom I purchased vegetables to send to 

 New-York for Tomatoes. He did so, but 

 found during that season but two customers, 

 namely, the late Julius Rhoades and myself. 

 — From the "Autobiography" of Thurlow Weed. 



