1882.] 
AMEBIC AA AGBIOULTUBIST. 
481 
other results equally so ! At the State Station, the 
ordinary method produced the largest gross yield, 
but considering the size of the potatoes, the seed 
cut deep, single eyes, gave the best result. At 
Houghton Farm, the ordinary method stood well 
ahead, on the unmanured land ; on the manured 
plots, the whole potatoes as seed gave the greatest 
weight, but considering the size, the ordinary cut¬ 
ting gave the best result there also. At the State 
Station, single eyes, cut deep, did very much better 
than whole potatoes ; at Houghton Farm, exactly 
the reverse appears, the product of whole seed, in 
number and in weight, on both manured and un¬ 
manured land, being double that of the deep cut, 
single eyes. There is nothing to reconcile or ex¬ 
plain this great difference. 
In Bulletin VII, from Geneva, the following com¬ 
ment is made upon the facts reported : “Further 
trials are required before we can eliminate the 
effect of the soil in order to determine the influence 
■of the cutting of the seed as a factor of determi¬ 
nate value. We can but claim at present that we 
have obtained strong indications of the value of a 
method, easy of application, and seems potent for 
influencing quality and yield.” This view was justi¬ 
fied by the record, provided the average size of the 
tubers was regarded as more important than gross 
product. At Houghton Farm, the potatoes were 
not classified as “ merchantable ” and “ small,” be¬ 
cause the question, What is a merchantable potato ? 
at once arose ; it seemed better to rely upon record¬ 
ed facts than permit opinion to modify them. 
The only comment possible on the Houghton 
Farm results, is that nothing has been found better 
than “ordinary cutting and planting ” ; a medium¬ 
sized whole potato being the next best seed. 
These combined trials, with their contradictious, 
serve mainly to show that no conclusion is admis¬ 
sible from one year’s work in agricultural experi¬ 
ments. Those who are waiting and watching must 
be patient with the experimenters. Trials like these 
must be repeated, and results compared and veri¬ 
fied, until the elements of error can be overcome. 
A preliminary report like this merely exhibits its 
own weakness, and serves to emphasize these 
truths. All the labor and cost of a season’s work 
may bring no result, except forming a part of the 
final record. No single year of field experimenta¬ 
tion can be depended upon to establish a single 
Tact. One swallow does not make a summer. 
Rose Growing in the Window. 
Probably the majority of those who have had no 
experience, if asked which flower they would select 
for window culture would answer, “The Rose.” 
Hardly another can be selected that will ordinarily 
cause so much disappointment, and as a rule we 
rarely see a good specimen in a window, even where 
geraniums and other plants are flourishing. The 
chief causes of these failures are : Starting with 
the wrong varieties and expecting too much of 
them. Those best suited for windows are those 
known as Bengal or China roses. They bloom more 
frequently than any others, and are often called 
“ Monthly ” or “ Daily ” Roses. With fairly good 
treatment, they will produce flowers, not very large, 
nor as a rule fragrant, but they are roses. For 
fragrance, we must take some of the more easily 
managed Tea Roses, those which will succeed with 
proper care. In saying that one cause of failure 
is expecting too much from the rose, we have ref¬ 
erence to the too common treatment they receive. 
When planted out in the garden, they bloom more 
or less all summer, and especially during the early 
autumn. They are taken up at the approach of 
frost, potted, taken to the house, and expected to 
bloom all winter. They will not do it. They must 
have a season of rest after being disturbed, and if 
they recover and produce flowers by spring it is all 
that can be expected. Those who wish roses for 
the window should keep them in pots all sum¬ 
mer, plunging them in the soil up to the edge of 
the pot. In September, they may be repotted, 
pruned quite severely, and kept in a partially shaded 
place until they have become established. When 
taken in, place them first in a room where the win¬ 
dows can be opened every mild day, and thus grad¬ 
ually accustom them to the change. But many 
would like to cultivate roses who have none in the 
garden, and must begin anew. Such should pro¬ 
cure of the florist plants he has prepared for winter 
blooming, and which have not been at all forced. 
Prefer plants that have not yet bloomed, and all the 
better if they have no buds. 
Of the Bengal Roses, probably Agrippina is the 
best; it is one of the most generally grown, and 
produces its dark-crimson flowers very freely. 
Louis Philippe is another good crimson. Of the 
blush sorts, Mrs. Bosanquet, and Daily Blush; Daily 
White is a good white variety. 
Among the Tea Roses, Clara Sylvain (a cross be¬ 
tween a Tea and Bengal) is a fine white ; Safrano, 
fine apricot yellow ; Le Pactole, canary yellow ; Bon 
Silene, rich salmon pink. The Tea Roses as a rule 
are more beautiful in the bud than when open. 
Good loam mixed with old cow manure makes a 
good soil for roses, but any soil that is not too stiff 
will do, as manure can be supplied in the form of 
liquid. Do not over water ; better let the leaves 
flag once in a while than to keep the soil too wet. 
Give liquid manure (made from cow dung), as 
weak as tea in color, only when the plants are 
growing. Shower now and then to remove dust. 
The Green Fly is the most common insect in the 
house ; for those, shower or dip the plant in tobac¬ 
co-water. When a shoot has bloomed, cut it back 
to a strong bud, and another will soon appear. 
A Convenient Grape Trellis. 
E. E. REXFOISD, WIS. 
One who has grown grapes, or any other vine 
which has to be laid dowm in fall, and covered, to 
enable it to stand our winters at the North, knows 
what a task it is to do the work properly. The 
summer’s growth has to be untangled from about 
the pillars or wires over which it has clambered, 
and very often a large share of the vine is cut off, 
as the quickest and easiest way out of the difficulty. 
For some three years past, I have used the trellis 
described below, and have found it to be “just the 
thing.” When the time comes to cover the vines, I 
remove the support of the trellis, and lay it flat on 
the ground. The vines do not have to be disturbed 
at all. In spring, when the covering is removed, 
the trellis is raised, and the supports put in place. 
There is no tying up of vines or branches with this 
trellis, consequently a saving of time, labor, and 
vexation. This trellis can be made to stand per¬ 
pendicular or slanting, by changing the position 
of the posts supporting it. Take two pieces of 
plank, and bore holes through the upper part of 
them, to receive the bolts which are to hold the 
A HINGED GRAPE TRELLIS. 
trellis in place. Drive these pieces into the ground, 
as far apart as the trellis is long. The trellis can 
be made of any convenient size, and consists sim¬ 
ply of five stout pieces of wood, nailed firmly 
together with long cross-strips, to furnish support 
for the vines. At the bottom of the end pieces, bore 
tvvo holes to correspond with those in the pieces 
of plank, and put an iron bolt, fastening with a 
nut, through these end pieces and the planks, thus 
making a hinge upon which the trellis can be made 
to move easily. This trellis is so simple, that any 
man can make one in a short time. 
[Of course a trellis of this kind can only be use¬ 
ful while the vine is young and flexible. As it be¬ 
comes older, it will be more difficult to bend it 
dowu, but as the vine gets age the necessity for 
protecting it will diminish, as it will either become 
acclimated or prove to be too tender for the lo¬ 
cality in which it has been growing.—E d.] 
Fifty Thousand More. 
At no period since the flush times immediately 
following the war, have the additions to our Sub¬ 
scription List been so large as at the present time. 
Every mail which now reaches us brings new 
names from all quarters of the country, and our 
most sanguine expectations are being realized. 
During the next few months we shall certainly add 
no less than Fifty Thousand recruits to our army 
of subscribers. We hope every one of our old 
friends will enlist for another year, and bring fresh 
accessions with them. Renew your subscription 
now, without waiting until the end of the year, so 
that your name may be immediately entered on 
our books. Forward your subscription To-day. 
Study the Farm Animals. 
When a Menagerie or Show of wild animals 
come6 into a neighborhood, the boys are all wide 
awake over the matter; even the “older boys” 
find an excuse for goiDg to the show, in the fact 
that it is instructive and allows them to see the 
animals belonging to Asia, Africa, and other parts 
of the world. A collection of wild beasts is in¬ 
teresting and instructive, but not more so than 
those that are to be daily seen at home. Every 
farm has a greater or less number of animals, which 
are quite as interesting as those in the menagerie. 
It is well to see and learn the difference between 
the Elephant of Asia and the African Elephant, 
and to see the Tapir, a sort of small edition of the 
Elephant, which looks as if it were waiting for its 
long snout to grow into a trunk. It is interesting 
to know that these animals, the Elephant and the 
Tapir, are related and belong to the order of 
Pachyderms, or thick-skinned creatures, and to com¬ 
pare these with the Rhinoceros. But how about 
those pachyderms at home in the pen ? The Pigs 
that one daily feeds are quite as interesting as the 
Tapir or Peccary. Where did they come from, 
and how have they changed from the wild form ? 
It is interesting to see the Sacred or Brahmin Bull, 
with a big lump on its back. But how about the 
old Cows at home ? Did they originally have 
bumps ? or did they come from some other race of 
wild cattle ? The Zebras are like small horses, 
and beautifully striped. Are they related to old 
“Jack” and “Charlie,” that are worked every 
day ? It is well to improve the opportunity that 
the menagerie affords us for adding to our know¬ 
ledge of the animals of far-off countries, but do 
not let the interest in them stop with these. 
Every Fair held thi6 autumn presented a collection 
of brutes quite as worthy of study as those in 
any menagerie. Farm-life affords a vast number 
of interesting subjects for study, among which 
none are more attractive than the tracing out of 
the life history of our domestic animals, to learn 
where they originated, and how they differ from 
the animals in the wild state. If the studies of 
young men could be in some manner directed to 
the things common to their daily lives, we should 
have much less upon that important subject, 
“How to Keep Boys on the Farm.” 
Bo the Fairs Fay ?—The new ideas gathered 
—we might say harvested—at the annual exhibitions 
are good seeds that often fall on rich ground, and 
spring up to the honor of all who have aided in 
making the fair a success. The Agricultural Exhi¬ 
bitions have laid the foundations of social and 
esthetic improvement, which are manifest in every 
home whose inmates are leaders in the various de¬ 
partments of the town or county fair. It is hoped 
that no opportunity has been lost to profit by a day 
of sight-seeing, social intercourse, and study of 
the various new and improved implements, fruits, 
farm animals, etc., that should be found on the 
grounds of every well conducted agricultural fair. 
If not too late, go once more to some exhibition 
before the season of fairs closes for the year. 
