1882 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
523 
Experiments with Potatoes. 
BY PROP. J. W. SANBORN. 
In the November American Agriculturist , Major 
Alvord in opening his report of potato experiments 
.says: “These tests have seldom been repeated by 
the same person; and hence have been of little 
value.” The interest now excited in the question 
regarding cutting potatoes.; the fact that my trials 
have been consecutive for six years, and the results 
contradictory to the commonly received notions, 
warrant me in .condensing facts, and forming the 
table presented below. This table shows the 
.scheme of the trial, excepting that the potato from 
one-eye plantings were cut into one-eye pieces for 
.next year’s seeding; and from two-eyes plantings 
into two-eyes ; whole large seed from lot so’ seeded 
to whole large potatoes the previous year, etc. 
In the same manner the selection went down from 
the second to the sixth year. It was my endeavor 
to And what effect, if any, cuttings or plantings of 
small potatoes had on the constitutional vigor of 
the plant. The results showed from the 6tart, a 
vast difference in the vigor of the tops from the 
various seedings standing in the same order as in 
table of results, but in a marked degree in favor of 
whole large potatoes. The experiments give no 
.evidence that cuttings or small seed is followed by 
degeneracy. The best results were with whole 
large potatoes., in each year and unmistakably. 
The soil devoted to these experiments was an 
alluvial clay, and the seed used was of the Early 
Rose variety. The kind of seed is liable to vary the 
results, as the number of eyes varies in the differ¬ 
ent sorts, and the number of stalks will not be the 
same; and this may affect the comparative results 
of a cut potato against a whole one. 
The first column in each couplet gives the pota¬ 
toes fit for table use, and the second the total crop 
in bushels per acre. 
The average yields for five years, stated in the 
same order as in the table, is as follow's : from whole 
potatoes, large, 257.1 bu.; whole potatoes, small, 
197.7; from one-eye cuttings, 93.2; two-eyes, 
130.7 ; three-eyes, 148.3; from seed end, 177.2; 
stem end, 172 bushels per acre. I might have 
added the cash value of the crops, but the differ¬ 
ences are so heavily in favor of the large whole 
potatoes, that it does not seem at all necessary. 
Climbers in the Window. 
We are asked to state the best climbers for win¬ 
dow culture, without being told of the aspect of 
;the window or the average temperature of the 
:room. There is no climber so generally useful as 
the European Ivy, but it is of slow growth, and 
•.the inquirer -.is probably at a distance from green¬ 
houses, where he could procure a large one, already 
'grown. For immediate effect, a tuber of the Ma¬ 
teria Vine would answer. A Sweet Potato, if once 
started in a warm place, will make a rapid growth 
■of vine. It should have its lower two-thirds in 
water in a jar or vase of some kind. A most rapid 
.•grower is the vine known as German Ivy or Parlor 
Ivy ; it is not an Ivy proper, or related to it, but a 
(Climbing Senecio. It will not bear the least frost, 
•but in a warm room will soon drape the windows 
with a luxuriant growth. If none of these are 
(available, then fall back on the annuals, as seeds 
unay always be procured by mail—indeed, so can 
most plants, if small. The “ Canary Creeper” is 
a good window plant, it is a Tropseolum, and own 
brother to the common Nasturtium of the garden, 
which also will do well in the window, though some 
of the perennial sorts are better. Thunbergia 
alata, for which we know no common name, is also 
raised from seeds, and as well as the Tropseolums, 
is likely to bloom. After all, the Ivy is much bet¬ 
ter than any other house climber, as this has foliage 
which can be washed with a sponge or cloth, and 
be kept in health, while this can not easily be done 
with the others. Wo would advise making a start 
with Ivy, even if small, and regard the others only 
as makeshifts to use until that is large enough. 
Care of Poultry in Winter. 
Poultry-houses should be warm, and yet well 
ventilated, perfectly dry, light, and provided 
with dusting boxes. If the manure heap from a 
stable of cows and horses is under a roof, it is not 
a great task to close in the manure shed, placing 
windows in the south and east-sides, and arranging 
for roosts for fowls, as well as laying boxes. They 
will scratch over the heap, enrich it with their own 
droppings, keep warm, and keep laying. This is 
one of the most economical ways of keeping fowls. 
Their feeding boxes can be suspended or placed 
upon a movable platform, and if this and the dust¬ 
ing box be occasionally shifted, they may stand on 
the levelled top of the manure heap. There seems 
to be a natural connection between fowls and the 
dung hill, which this plan of keeping them recog¬ 
nizes. This seems at first as contrary to the axiom 
that “ Poultry houses should be kept dry,”—and 
though the manure heap is actually moist, it is for 
poultry, especially for fowls and ducks, a 
healthy moisture. The ventilation how¬ 
ever must be good ; the dusting box near 
by, and the roosts low. I have practised 
this system for some years, and never fail 
to have eggs in winter, but do not advo¬ 
cate it on the score of neatness. I have 
the cow dung thrown under the roosts 
frequently, which prevents active fermen¬ 
tation and loss of ammonia. In case it is 
not deemed best to employ the source of 
warmth above named, artificial heat may 
be introduced into the poultry 
house. Oil stoves offer a means 
of warming a house, which is both 
convenient and safe. If a trench 
be dug through the middle of the 
floor of the house, and a brick 
flue laid under the floor, connect¬ 
ing a shallow pit at one end, with a piece 
of stove-pipe two to four feet high at the 
other—all Inside the house—an oil stove 
having eight inches of wick for every 5C0 
cubic feet of air, will temper the air of the 
house, so that in this latitude water will 
never freeze, provided the walls are rea¬ 
sonably tight. The shallow pit laid with 
bricks and cement, should be covered with 
a smooth flagging stone, and this with a 
board in case the stove gets very hot. The 
edge of the pit must be framed to protect 
it, and at one side of the stove a brick or 
two must be left out for air. This ar¬ 
rangement will warm the earth floor over 
a space a yard wide, and besides the warm 
air will issue freely from the pipe. Care 
is needed not to have the wick so low 
that imperfect combustion takes place, 
giving off bad odors. This plan of placing 
the oil stove under ground, is much better 
than having it exposed. The whole ex¬ 
pense of this way of warming is very lit¬ 
tle; if the stove be lit at 9 to 10 o’clock, it 
will be necessary only to burn it until 
sunrise, and a quart or so of kerosene 
will be all that need be consumed each 
twenty-four hours for warming a small 
house. It is desirable that the tempera¬ 
ture of a poultry house should not fall 
much below freezing. A warm house 
breeds vermin even in winter. The pre¬ 
ventive and remedy for all kinds of lice 
upon fowls is dust. Into this a little ashes, 
dry-slaked lime, and now and then a handful of 
flowers of sulphur, may occasionally be thrown 
into the dusting box, and if the dust is kept clean 
and dry, and is fine enough,, the whole house, 
roosts, nests, and all will be covered with it. Double 
glazing of the windows,, or greenhouse sashes used 
in poultry houses, is a great advantage; by this, a 
disagreeable dripping is prevented in cold weather. 
American Woods. 
Fuel Value, Weight per Cubic Foot, Asli, and 
Specific Gravity.—Important Experiments. 
Among the many valuable series of observations, 
collection of facts, statistics, etc., undertaken in the 
recent Census, was an effort to obtain a complete 
i examination of no less than 419 varieties of woods 
growing in the United States. Herewith will be 
found a condensation of four items, for each of 75 
kinds of wood most abundant in our country. At 
least two specimens of each species were used, and 
of woods of commercial importance, specimens were 
takeu from many trees growing in widely different 
localities, and under a variety of conditions as to 
soil and climate, and the average result is stated in 
the annexed table. Blocks of exactly uniform size 
were prepared, and these were entirely freed from 
sap and moisture by thoroughly heating them at a 
temperature of 212“ (100° centigrade). The figures 
in .the table therefore refer in every case to the ab¬ 
solutely dry wood. For convenience of reference, 
the country is divided into the Atlantic and Pacific 
Regions, the dividing line following the eastern 
base of the Rocky Mountains. 
The Fuel Value, in last column, is important. 
The value of any wood for heating purposes will 
be seen by comparing its figures with those of some 
wood the reader is accustomed to use. Thus 
Beech is 685, Chestnut 450, Cotton-wood 388, Hick¬ 
ory 831, Maple 679, each taken thoroughly dry. 
cv 
a 
Whole 
Potatoes, 
Large. 
Whole 
Potatoes, 
Small. 
One 
Eye to 
Hill. 
Two 
Eyes to 
Hill. 
Three 
Eyes to 
Hill. 
Seed 
End. 
Stem 
End. 
1st. 
89.21189.4 
52 
104 
36.6 
56.3 
65 
102 
68,8 
111.8 
2d. 
221.6 403 
230 
344 
133 
176 
127 
191 
136 
200 
ISO 
214 
129 
220 
3rd. 
176 253 
144 
189 
44 
73 
70 
92.6 
140 
181 
143 
2 4.5 
94 
140 
4th. 
110 174.6 
84 
135.4 
26 
54.6 
72 
109.9 
78 
123.7 
48 
100.3 
68 
133 
5th. 
159 1265.3 
140.7 
216.4 
73.9 
106 
126 
158 
125 
125 
179 
193 
13. 
195.7 
Common Name. 
Botanical Name.—Region. 
s.? 
; a ,® 1 
° ^ r; 
Cucumber Tree. 
White Wood. 
Basswood . 
Lignum Vitas. 
Prickly Ash. 
Hop Tree. 
Mahogany. 
Holly. 
Holly. 
Ohio Buckeye.... 
Sugar Maple. 
Silver Maple. 
Red Maple .... 
Box Elder. 
Locust. 
Boxwood. 
Coffee Tree. 
Honey Locust.... 
Wild Plum. 
Wild Cherry. 
Crab Apple. 
Mountain Ash.... 
Scarlet Thorn. 
Sweet Gum. 
Mangrove. 
Flower’s Dogw’d. 
Sour Glim. 
Sorrel Tree. 
Satin Wood. 
Persimmon. 
W’hite Ash. 
Black Ash. 
Catalpa. 
Western Catalpa. 
Red Bay. 
Sassafras. 
Slippery Elm. 
White Elm. 
Rock Elm. 
Mulberry. 
Osage Orange. 
Sycamore. 
Butternut. 
Black W’alnut.... 
Shell Bark. 
Pig Nut Hickory. 
White Oak. 
Red Oak. 
Pin Oak. 
Chestnut Oak. 
Live Oak. 
Chestnut. 
Beech. 
Hop Hornbeam... 
Hornbeam. 
White Birch. 
Cottonwood. 
Cottonwood. 
West. Arbor Vitae 
Cedar. 
Red Cedar.... 
Redwood. 
Yew. 
White Pine. 
Sugar Pine. 
Giant Yellow Pine 
Pitch Pine. 
Yellow Pine. 
Black Spruce. 
White Spruce. 
Hemlock Spruce. 
Balsam Fir. 
Tamarack. 
Palmetto. 
Magnolia acuminata.—At_ 
Liriodendrontulipifera.— At. 
Tilia Americana.—At. 
Guiacum sanctum.— S.-tr. FI. 1 
Xanthroxylum Ame’num.it 0 
Ptelea trifoliata .—At . 
Swietenia MahagonbS.fr. FI. 
Ilex opaca .—At . 
Ilex cassine.— So. At .0 
Ai6culus glabra.—At. 
Acer saccharinum .—At . 
Acer (lasycarpum .—At . 
Acer rubrum .—At . 
Negundo aceroides. At. CkPac. 
Roblnia pseudacacia .—At _ 
Sophora secunaillora. IF. Tex. 
Gymnocladus Canadensis.At 
Gleditschia triacauthos.— At. 
Piunus Americana.—At. 
Prunus eerotina .—At . 
Pyrus coronaria .—At . 
Pyrua sambucifolla.At.APac 
Crataegus c ccinea .—At . 
Liquidainbar styraciflua— At. 
Rhozopbora mangle.G'Mt/’ Co. 
Cornus florida .—At . 
Nyssa syivatica .—At . 
Oxydendrum arboreum.So.A 
Chrysophyllum o'iviformeFt 
Diospyros Virginiana.— At.. 
Fraxinus Americana.— At... 
Fraxinus sambucifolia.XoAt 
Catalpa bignonnddes.,—At... 
Catalpa speciosa .—At . 
Persea Carolinus.— So. At ... 
Sassafras officinale.—At. 
Ulrnus fulva.—At. 
Ulinus Americana—At. 
Ulmus raccmosa.—At. 
Morus rubra.— 3/x. b . 
Maelura aurantiaca.So. W.At. 
Platanus occidentalis.— At... 
Juglans cinerea .—At . 
Juglans nigra .—At . 
Carya alba .—At . 
Carya porcina .—At . 
Quercus alba.—At. 
Quercus rubra.—At. 
Quercus palustris.—At... . 
Quercus Muhlenbergii— At.. 
Quercus Virens.— So. At . 
Castanca vesca.—At. 
Fagus ferruginea.—At. 
iOstrya Yirginica.—At. 
Carpinu9 Caioliniana.— At. 
Betula alba.—A 7 o. At . 
Populus angustifolia.Int.Pa. 
Populus monilifera. At&Pac 
Thuja occidentalis.— No. At. 
Jumperus Californica. So.Pa 
Juniperus Virginiana.A.&P. 
Sequoia sempervirens.. C.C. 
Taxus brevifolia.— No. Pac.. 
Pinus Strobus.— No. At . 
Pinus Lambertiana.A’o. Pac. 
Pinus ponderosa.— So. Pac.. 
Pinus rigida.—At. Coast. 
Pinus mitis .—At . 
Picea nigra.— No. At . 
Picea alba.— No. At. <f- Pac.. 
Tsuga Canadensis.— No. At.. 
Abies balsamea.— No. At _ 
Larix Americana.— No. At... 
Sabal Palmetto.—So. At. C. J 
.4815 
,4e08 
.4525 
.1432 
.5652 
.8319 
.9196 
.5818 
.1270 
.4542 
.6827 
.5.69 
.6245 
.4828 
.7333 
.9842 
.6934 
.6707 
.7215 
.5822 
.7049 
.5828 
.8618 
.5946 
.1617 
.8 53 
.6399 
.7458 
.9360 
.7908 
.6530 
.6317 
.4474 
.4155 
.6429 
.5062 
.7035 
.6516 
.7263 
.7715 
.7668 
.6005 
.4086 
.6143 
.8372 
.8417 
.7438 
.6612 
.6938 
.8395 
.9604 
.4504 
.6683 
.8283 
.7258 
.5760 
.3912 
.3889 
.3164 
.6282 
.4296 
.4208 
.6391 
.3842 
.3684 
.4771 
.4957 
.6104 
.4584 
.4051 ! 
.4202 
.3819 
.6236 
.4404 
.30 
.24 
.55 
.82 
.57 
.30 
.73 
.76 
.87 
.86 
0.58 
0.33 
.87 
1.07 
.50 
1.59 
0.67 
.81 
.18 
.15 
.52 
.35 
.38 
.61 
1.82 
.67 
.52 
.37 
1.24 
.96 
.42 
.72 
.38 
.89 
.76 
.08 
.83 
.80 
.50 
.53 
.88 
.46 
.51 
.70 
.73 
.87 
.41 
.26 
.81 
1.21 
1.14 
.20 
.51 
.50 
.83 
.29 
.79 
.96 
.37 
.85 
.13 
.14 
.22 
.19 
.22 
.33 
.24 
.29 
.28 
.32 
.46 
.45 
.33 
1.66 
30.00 
26 22 
28.30 
71.24 
85.22 
51.84 
57.31 
35.26 
43.30 
28.30 
42.54 
82.83 
38.92 
26.97 
45.70 
61.33 
43.21 
41.80 
44.96 
36.2s 
43.93 
36.22 
53.69 
37.05 
72.40 
50.81 
39.88 
40.48 
58.33 
49.28 
40.70 
39.36 
27.(-8 
25.58 
40.07 
31.50 
43.85 
40.61 
45.26 
48.08 
47.79 
37.42 
25.46 
88.28 
52.17 
52.45 
46.36 
41.21 
43.23 
52.32 
59.23 
28.07 
42.89 
51 61 
45.23 
35.90 
24.32 
24.24 
19.72 
39.15 
30 70 
26.22 
39.83 
23.94 
22.96 
29.73 
30.89 
38 26 
28.57 
25.24 
26.18 
23.80 
38.86 
27.44 
480 
420 
450 
1134 
562 
829 
913 
577 
737 
450 
679 
525 
322 
428 
The Abbreviations are: At., the Atlantic Region. Tac., the 
Pacific Region. No. At., Northern Atlantic. At. C., Atlantic Coast. 
So. At... Southern Atlantic. S.-tr. FI., Semi-tropical Florida. IF. 
Tex.. Western Texas. No. Pac.. Northern Pacific coast, hit. Pac., 
Interior Pacific Region. Mx. b., Mexican border. 
