Potatoes—Fruit Trees—Insects on Cattle—Artichokes- 
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iaio-~a larger yield and an earlier harvest by two or 
three weeks; the quality also being very superior. 
From an experiment which I made with the thin 
cuttings from the eye-end of the potato, taken on 
while preparing for cooking, (the pieces often not 
larger or much thicker than a twenty-five cent piece,) 
I have raised the best crop that I ever grew, uniform 
in size and early in growth; the slices weighing at 
the time of planting 100 pounds, the crop on taking 
up weighing 2240 pounds.— Far. Cab. 
Seed Potatoes. —Our own observation and expe¬ 
rience justify us in saying, that, in equality of soil, 
manure, and culture, the product of large potatoes 
will always greatly exceed that of small imperfect 
ones, though of the same variety. We recollect, 
upon one occasion, to have bought a lot of thirty 
bushels of refuse potatoes, because of their cheapness, 
for planting, which we treated with every possible 
care, so far as manure, preparation of the soil, and 
after-culture were concerned. The product of this 
lot were like their parents, perfect dwarfs, small alike 
in vines and tubers, and appearing from the beginning 
not to possess the requisite vigor to insure healthful 
vegetation. We made, from a planting of ten bush¬ 
els of the same variety of the potato,_ which we se¬ 
lected in consequence of their great size, planted in 
similar ground, and treated in all respects alike as to 
manure and culture, the same season, six times as 
many roots as from the first parcel. And while the 
first were, from their diminutive size, too small for 
anything but to feed stock, the latter were as large 
roots as any farmer need desire to raise; many of 
them weighing one and three-fourth pounds, and the 
greater portion from six ounces to a pound.— Amer. 
Far. 
Sweet Potatoes. —Make a bed of long manure 
from eight to twelve inches thick, surrounding it with 
a rough frame of boards. Put three or four inches of 
mould over the manure; split the potatoes and lay 
them thick on the mould, and cover with four inches 
of mould. As soon as the sprouts begin to come 
above the ground, draw them, laying one hand on the 
potato to keep it in place. The sprouts must be 
drawn as they come up, as long as the planting season 
remains. They are to be set out in the hills after a 
rain, two sprouts in a hill, or in rows fourteen inches 
apart. By commencing early, a bushel of seed pota¬ 
toes will plant an acre. This plan is decidedly pre¬ 
ferable to planting the potato itself. When nights are 
cold, boards must be laid across the bed. In making 
the bed, the manure may be omitted by those who do 
not like the trouble, but the sprouts will come forward 
much later. The bed, in dry weather, must be fre¬ 
quently watered.— Lou. Journal. 
Fruit Trees.— Be careful in planting to give the 
trees a fair chance for life and health, by digging the 
holes in which they are set, wide and large, so that 
they may be surrounded by loose earth, that can be 
easily penetrated by the tender fibres of the roots 
which are to convey nourishment for their sustenance 
and growth. A tree properly planted will grow as 
much in five years as one carelessly and badly set in 
will in ten; and often the chance of survivorship is 
dependent on slight circumstances. 
An excellent plan for preventing young fruit trees 
from becoming hide-bound and mossy, and for pro¬ 
moting their health and growth, is to take a bucket 
of soft soap, and to apply it with a brush to the stem 
or trunk, from top to bottom; this cleanses the bark, 
destroys worms or the eggs of insects; and the soap, 
becoming dissolved by rains, descends to the roots, 
and causes the tree to grow vigorously. A boy can 
make this wholesome application to several hundred 
trees in a few hours. If soft soap was applied to 
peach trees in the early part of April, to remove or 
destroy any eggs or worms that might have been de¬ 
posited in the autumn, and again in the early part of 
June, when the insect is supposed to begin its summer 
aeposites of eggs, it is believed we should hear less 
of the destruction of peach trees by worms. But the 
application should not be suspended for a single season, 
on the supposition that the enemy had relaxed in his 
hostility.— Far. Cab. 
Lice on Cattle. —1. Mercurial ointment, rubbed on 
the animal from the crown of the head to the root of 
the tail, down the back bone, will effectually kill lice 
in a day or two. This, however, is a dangerous reme¬ 
dy to use, unless the animal is kept in the stable, and 
requires great care to preserve him from the effects of 
cold and wet. 
2. Corrosive sublimate is another effectual remedy. 
This is to be applied, as before prescribed, but, like 
number 1, is dangerous. 
3. A strong decoction of larkspur is also a sure and 
safe remedy. This should be applied as recommend¬ 
ed for number 1. 
4. Spiiits of turpentine is also a sure remedy. It 
should be applied as number 1. 
5. A decoction of tobacco , applied as number 1, will 
destroy the lice. 
6. A mixture of Scotch snuff and fish oil, rubbed on 
the affected parts, will destroy the lice. 
7. A mixture of soft soap and Scotch snuff,, well rub¬ 
bed on the parts, will also eradicate them. 
As an auxiliary to whatever remedy may be used, 
the currycomb and brush should be freely applied, 
after a day or two, in order that the hide and hair of 
the animal may be kept clean. No animal which is 
well fed, and daily curried and brushed, will either 
breed or retain lice; the latter operation, however, 
few who have much stock can regularly attend to — 
Am. Far. 
A small quantity of green sage , placed in the closet, 
will cause red ants to disappear. 
Candles. —Prepare your wicks about half 
the usual size, wet with spirits of turpentine, put 
them in the sun until dry, then mould or dip 
your candles. 
Candles thus made last longer, and give a 
much clearer light. In fact they are nearly or 
quite equal to sperm, in clearness of light. 
Panes of Glass may easily be removed by 
the application of soft soap for a few hours, 
however hard the putty has become. 
Jerusalem Artichoke. ( Helianthus tube * 
rosus.) —It flourishes most in a rich light soil, 
with an open enclosure. The only mode of 
propagation is by planting the middle-sized tu¬ 
bers or cuttings of the large ones, one or two 
eyes being preserved in each. These are best 
planted towards the end of March, though it 
maybe performed as early as February, or even 
in October, and continued as late as the begin¬ 
ning of April. 
They are planted by the dibble, in rows, 
three feet by two feet apart, and four inches 
