THE SOUTHERN CULTIVAl'OR. 
®i)e 0outi)cni CultiDatou 
AUGUSTA; GA. 
IV., NO. 3 MAI2CM, 1846. 
P3= We have received articles for ihe Cultivator 
as follows ; 
From Mr. Seaborn, on Subsoil Plowing, &c. 
From Mr. Baker, Recording Secretary of the Liber- 
ty County Agricultural Society, an account of the pro 
ceedings of the Society on 1st January last, and an 
Agricultural Address delivered on that occasion by Dr. 
J. P. Stevens. 
From “Pedro,” en Hopkins’ Allen Plow. 
These all came to hand too late for this number of 
the Cultivator, but shall have due attention in the 
next. 
The Southern Cultivator. 
The publishers of this work, without desiring 
to obtrude upon its friends, deem it due to 
themselves, no less than to all those wholeelan 
interest in the success of the paper, to state that, 
thus far, the patronage extended to it, is wholly 
inadequate to its support— not sufficient to pay 
the actual expenses of publication ! 
The publishers have no appeals to make to 
any; they have entered upon a contract, which 
they intend to, and fulfil to the letter, by the 
publication of the 4th volume. That done, 
their contract ceases, and will not certainly be 
renewed unless a very different feeling be ex- 
hibited in behalf of the work by those to whose 
interests and prosperity it is devoted. 
Papers that exchange with the “Southern 
Cultivator” are requested to give the above 
notice an insertion, and accompany it with such 
comments as they deem proper. 
Efficient Support. 
The Albany Cultivator for February boasts of 
having received niree thousand subscribers in the 
month of January ; being one thousand more 
than were received in January, 1845. There 
subscribers go in by companies of twenties, fif- 
ties and hundreds. To those engaged in trying 
to elevate the character of the great profession 
by which the human race live, such treatment is 
very cheering. We would be greatly pleased to 
see a like spirit prevail here, among Southern 
planters. Then we would have the satisfaction 
of being able to make the Southern Cultivator 
w’hat we wish it to be, both in appearance and 
in the quality and quantity of matter wherewith 
it is filled. 
Cow-ology. 
In the February No. of the Farmer’s Library, 
we have Chap. I, and part of Chap. II, of Mens. 
Guenon’s “Treatise on Milch Cows.” We 
regret that we cannot copy in the Cultivator 
any part of this Treatise, because the copy-riaht 
has been secured to Messrs. Greeley & McEl- 
RATH, proprietors of the Farmer’s Library. The 
preface, .vhich was inserted in the last No. of 
the Cultivator, will give the reader a very dis- 
tinct idea of the character and object of Mens. 
Guenon’s book. Those who want to know more 
about his discovery must go to the Farmer’s Li- 
brary for information. 
Potatoes aiul Ground Nuts. 
A carrespondent writes to us as follows; — “I 
would be glad if you would inform me through 
the columns of the Cultivator, of the best 
manner and time of planting Irish Potatoes, 
Sweet Potatoes and Ground Nuts, together 
with the culture of them.” 
If the time were not so near at hind when 
these crops, to succeed well, ought to be in the 
ground, we would request some of our corres- 
pondents to give the information wanted. As it 
is, we must undertake to do what, we doubt not, 
might be far better done by others, that is, to 
comply with the above stated request. 
IRISH POTATOES. 
Our own practice, which has been very suc- 
cessful, is to prepare the ground well by stirring 
it very deep — new ground is by far the best— to 
make the rows three feet apart — the trenches 9 
inches deep — the manure three inches deep in 
the bottom of the trenches: — the manure must 
be perfectly well rotted, otherwise the quality of 
the potatofi is exceedingly injured. Coarse, un- 
fermented stable manure, hogs’ hair and such 
like is otten used, and the result is waxy pota- 
toes of very bad flaior, in some instances, even 
disgu-ting; and, ivehave no doubt, unwholesome 
as they are disgusting. If we would have the 
Irish Potatoe in perfection, too much care can- 
not be bestowed on the food that is prepared for 
its sustenance. For seed we select large pota- 
toes without knobs on them, cut them into pie- 
ces with one or two eyes at most ; put these in 
the trench on the manure, nine inches apart, 
and fill the trench with rotten leaves from the 
woods, or rotten wood, or chip manure, which is 
better still. Plant from middle of February to 
middle of March, according as the weather may 
be. When the stalks are about 9 or 10 inches 
high, the whole surface of the ground is covered 
with wet leaves from the forest, up even with 
the top of the plant, packing the leaves close 
around the stem, and taking c.ire leave the 
top uncovered. Nothing more is necessary ex- 
cept to puli off all the blossoms as they appear. 
To ensure good crops of good mealy potatoes, 
according to our expeiience, too much care can- 
not be bestowed on the following particulars: 
1. The selection of kinds to be planted. We 
prefer the Mercers for an early, and the Blueno- 
ses for a late crop. 
2. The kind of ground they are to be planted 
in, the preparation of it, and the kind of manure 
used. Nothing mors readily takes a tincture 
from coarse, filthy, unferraented manure. Even 
chip manure is improved foi the use of the pota- 
toe, by being mixed pretty liberally with the car- 
bonate of lime. 
3. The moisturo of the ground. — Hence in 
part the excellence of the potatoe in Ireland and 
Nova Scotia. In our hot, dry climate, by cover- 
ing the ground with leaves the same end is at- 
tained in some degree. 
This is a brief account of our practice. Others 
have their own plans which tbev prefer. Mr. 
McCoy, of Pendleton county, Virginia, makes 
800 bushels to the acre in favorable seasons. 
He prefers a soil composed of sand and clay in 
about equal proportions, resting on a clay sub- 
soil, “ On such a piece of land, which h.as been 
in grass for a few years, I haul out (to use his 
own vvords as we find them on page 59, Februa- 
ry No. of Albany Cultivator.) in February or 
March, six four-horse loads of good stable ma- 
nure to the acre, (about 60 bushels to the load.) 
The manure is immediately spread and turned 
under ay inverting the sod to the depth of ten 
inches at least. About the last of April spread 
on the inverted sod about three additional wagon 
loads of manure to the acre. Harrow the ground 
well lengthwise with the furrow. Cross-plow to 
the depth of four or five inches and harrow again. 
By this time the last manure applied is well mix- 
ed with the soil, and the laud is .in a fine state 
of tilth. The first of May mark out the ground 
in rows three feet apart each way with a large 
two-horse nlow, to run as deep as the first plow- 
ing. A good plan is also to let thebull-tongue 
plow follow in the furrows after the barshear 
plow. This breaks up and loosens the subsoil 
under the rows. A subsoil plow would, I sup 
pose, do the work belter, but we have none, and 
the bull tongue answers very well, as it loosens 
the soil and does not throw it up. We plant the 
‘ long reefs,’ using large potatoes for seed, cut into 
pieces, with about four eyes each, and put four 
pieces in a hill, which takes about 20 bushels of 
seed to the acre. The seed is thus planted deep 
on a loose mellow bed, and the ground after plant- 
ing has a perfectly level appearance. The after 
culture is quite easy andsimple. As soon as the 
plants are two inches above the ground, plow 
w’ith abull-tongae, as near to the hills as possi- 
ble; if most of the plants are covered up, so 
much the better. In two or three weeks plow 
again both ways ; by this cross-plowing the 
earth is well loosened, and thrown up around 
the hills in a sort of hollow square, a little de- 
pressed in the centre, presenting a broad surface 
to receive the rains, and convey the moisture to 
the roots of the plants. The hoe is used to de- 
stroy such weeds as have escaped the plow, and 
to give the hills the proper form. Care is taken 
not to make those conical shaped hills, which 
used to be the fashion, so adm.irably calculated 
to carry off all moisture from the roots of the 
plants. * * * * I have nevtri' tried planting 
in drills, and prefer hills on account of cross- 
plowing, which I consider very important. I 
know that 800 bushels per acre can be raised by 
myp'an, fori have done it three years in suc- 
cession, in 1842, ’3 and ’4.” 
Next, we have in the Southern Planter for 
February, a statement of Dr. Camm, of York 
county. La., of a “ new mode of planting Irish 
Potatoes,” which he has tried and prefers to all 
others. The novelty of his mode consists in the 
use of a hot bed to start the shoots, and then 
taking the shoots off and setting them out in 
ground properly prepared, just as sweet potatoe 
vines are set out. He says he has tested it for 
three years, and last year set out his whole crop 
in this way, and had six crops to succeed well, all 
of which were drawn from the same bed. It is 
very easy to try this new mode. We intend to 
try it carefully, and hope others will do so too, 
and report the result. 
SWEET POTATOES. 
This crop, according to our expeiience, re- 
quires light, sandy soil, a long, warm summer, 
and plenty of rain in July, August and Septem- 
