1808.1 
AMERICAN AGRIC [ ) LTURIST. 
455 
perntui'G in which llic potato hail been placed. 
As the season advanced slionis in great num- 
bers were thrown oul by the Potato, which in 
turn were submitted lo the same process of root- 
ing. As the first shoots grew to lengths of 7 or 
8 inches the tops were cut from these and used 
as cuttings,— so that by the first of June this 
small potato of 4 oz. had given me nearly ISO 
plants, every one of which was equal to a "set " 
rrom a tuber. These were planted out on 
the first week in June, in land very ill suited 
for the growth of the Potato, and the crop, 
when dug in September, weighed exactly 450 
pounds, or an increase of about 1600 fold. 
It may be questioned if this process is of any 
practical value, or whether it will pay. It is 
not claimed that there is any use in the practice 
if potato''- are being sold at ordinary rates, but 
may be doubted if there is much new in either 
Horticulture or Agriculture; processes that are 
suggested to us by circumstances to-day may 
have been practised by others a century ago, 
ami if published to the world at all, have long 
since been forgotten; but there is little doubt 
that this practice of growing potatoes from cut- 
tings will be new to ten thousands of your 
readers, though the principles involved, and 
perhaps the practice followed, have been long 
known to many experienced Horticulturists. 
Fig. 2.— HOOTED CUTTING. 
when they are sold at the rates even yet paid 
for the Early Rose, there is no doubt whatever 
of its utility. For example, 1 lb. of potatoes so 
grown will easily produce oOO plants, making 
500 hills, which, witll ordinary culture, will give 
B lbs. per hill, or 1500 lbs. Now the process of 
propagation is neither difficult nor costly, and 
can he done just {is well in a common hot-bed 
as in our best-appointed green-houses; the or- 
dinary hot-bed sash, 3 feet by G, will hold 500 
plants, if placed in the soil of the hot-bed ex- 
actly as Lettuce or Cabbage plants are pricked 
out, and treated much in the same way by care- 
ful shading and watering until the cuttings have 
rooted. These in turn, as they grow, make other 
cuttings from the top, as before described. 
If the variety is very scarce the crop may be still 
farther increased by taking cuttir from the 
after they have made a growth in the 
field. Without resorting to the glass propaga- 
tion at all, a potato crop may be doubled or 
trebled in quantity by "slipping" the shoots, 
and planting them out at once, if there is a con- 
tinuance of rainy weather for two or three 
days, at the time il should be done, in June. 
The thinning oat of shoots from tin- 
planting will do no more injury to the plants 
than the thinning out of a hill of cucumbers or 
melons would. It is not claimed that, the grow- 
ing of potatoes from cuttings is new; in fact, it 
Treatment of House Plants. 
In an article on House Plants, in October last, 
it was mentioned that the plants should be 
gradually accustomed to their change, and this 
fact is to be borne in mind. Whenever the ex- 
ternal temperature will al- 
low it, open the window for 
a while during the warm 
part of the day. Watering 
is oftener overdone than 
neglected. But a few plants, 
such as Callas and semi- 
aquatics, will thrive if the 
soil is kept soaked. The 
roots need air as well as 
moisture. The practised eye 
can tell by the looks of the 
soil, or the pot, if a plant 
needs water. Better let it 
get a little too dry occasion- 
ally, and then give it a good 
drenching, than to apply fre- 
quent dribbling?. Dryness 
of the atmosphere is one of 
the great troubles of in-door 
flower-growing, and this 
must be overcome as much 
as possible by evaporating 
water on the stove or fur- 
nace. "Where the room is 
heated by an open fire, there 
is less difficult j'. Another 
plan is to ha've a shallow 
box of the size of the win- 
dow-sill, or the table upon 
which the plants stand ; 
this should have sides about 3 inches high, with 
some 2 inches in depth of clean sand in it. The 
pots arc placed on the sand, which is to be kept 
damp. Dust, the housekeeper's great enemy, 
is another thing the plant-grower has to contend 
with. To be healthy, the plant must have 
clean foliage. Some very careful persons throw 
a sheet, or other light cloth, over the plants, 
while the room is being swept. This must, of 
course, be prevented from resting upon the 
plants, by some contrivance. A stout rod, made 
to fit in to each corner of the plant-table, would 
answer. Give the plants a showering as often 
as necessary to keep them clean. Set them in a 
sitil;. or bath-tub, and shower the foliage with 
water from a pot with a fine rose. If a plant 
gets very dirty, as sometimes will happen, 
sprinkle it to moisten all the leaves, and then 
er it and rub each leaf gently between the 
thumb and finger, to loosen the dirt; after this 
give a plentiful showering. This can only be 
done with smooth-leaved plants. The OUtsides 
of the pots should be kept clean by the occa- 
sional use of a scrubbing-brush and water. 
Forcing Rhubarb. — Those who have an 
abundance of rhubarb roots may have the leaf 
stalks during the winter with but little trouble. 
Take up some strong roots and place them in a 
barrel with a little earth. Cover the barrel and 
set it in a warm place, and the leaves will soon 
push. Grown in this way rhubarb is crisp, ten- 
der, and well blanched. Roots that have been 
thus treated, are not worth planting out again. 
Fungi as Food. — In another column is an 
account of a minute and troublesome fungus. 
Some of the fungi, such as the mushroom and 
morel, are prized as delicacies, but the edible 
ones are not confined to these. Unfortunately, 
it is difficult for most persons to go beyond the 
mushroom for fear, of eating some of the poison- 
ons ones. As a step towards increasing the 
knowledge of these plants, and to enable people 
to know the good from the bad, the Royal Hor- 
ticultural Society (Eng.) held an exhibition of 
fungi, and it was found that the number of 
edible ones was much larger than was supposed. 
The Rev. M. A. Curtis, of S. G, has investigated 
the subject more thoroughly than any one else 
in this country, and has promised a work on 
American Edible Fungi, the appearance of 
which we look for with no little interest. 
Look Out for Your Seeds. 
After all possible care has been expended in 
collecting seeds, they are often lost, through in- 
attention. Mice are exceedingly fond of some 
kinds of flower and garden seeds, and their 
access to them should be guarded against. In 
keeping the mice Out, it will not do to have the 
box thoroughly air-tight. Seeds must, of neces- 
sity, contain more or less moisture, and if kept 
in considerable quantities in a close vessel, they 
will mould. The temperature at which seeds 
are kept is of but little consequence with marry 
kinds, while others are injured by too great 
cold. A place in which the temperature ranges 
uniformly between 32 and 40 degrees is, per- 
haps, best. Peas and beans are apt to be in- 
fested by the weevil. Placing these in a close 
bottle, with a few drops of turpentine, is said 
to be the best method "of treating the seeds. 
A Chapter on Honey Locust. 
'•E. S.," Highland, Kansas, writes : ' L Give us a 
chapter on Honey Locust. At present it bids 
fair to become the most valuable tree for this 
country. It grows here anywhere, and under 
all circumstances where any other tree lives, is 
good for hedges, or groves ; as yet, it is free from 
insects or diseases of any kind, does not sprout 
from the roots, never winter-kills, is easily 
transplanted, and is a very beautiful and grace- 
ful looking tree. Even grasshoppers do not in- 
jure the 3 T oung seedlings. There tire two kinds 
here, one with thorns, and one without. Xow, 
will seeds from a thornless tree produce thorny 
seedlings, or will seeds from thorny trees pro- 
duce thornless seedlings? We want the thorny 
ones for hedges and the other for groves. There 
are some good specimens of Osage hedges here, 
but the plant is objectionable. It kills out in 
wet places, much of the wood freezes down in 
winter, it sprouts from the roots in plowing 
close, and various kinds of insects, especially 
grasshoppers, are very destructive to il." 
It is not often that a correspondent does so 
cleverly for himself that which he asks us lo do 
for him. He has given so complete a " chapter 
on the Honey Locust," that there is but little to 
say in regard to its availability as a hedge plant. 
We have frequently advocated its merits as 
the plant best suited lo form a barrier in our 
northern climates. The thornless forms aro 
