174 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[June. 
this is one reason why irrigation improves it 
so'much, for by flowing over it water load¬ 
ed with fine particles of soil, animal and veg¬ 
etable substances, the nature of the top soil 
is entirely changed. The gravely soil separates 
all the sediment by filtration, and the water 
passes through it clarified. The poor worthless 
sand is entirely changed to a beautiful loam, 
with the best underdraining that can be made, 
for the gravel remains a few inches below the 
surface open and porous as it was before. It is 
true it takes time to bring about this change, for 
the soil is so open you can not get the water to 
flow over it until it has tightened the soil. This 
is accomplished by degrees; every shower that 
raises the stream does something towards en¬ 
riching the soil and filling it up, until it gradual¬ 
ly extends over the field or meadow, when it 
will not require half the water needed at first. 
A large portion of the land on mountainous 
districts, or rather what is called rolling land, is 
capable of great improvement by irrigation at 
a trifling expense. How often do we see our 
neighbors up the stream laboring, toiling, and 
hauling lime and manures of various kinds to 
prepare their land for a crop; and when they get 
it well pulverized, and the fertilizers well mixed 
with the soil, then comes a heavy dash of rain, 
often washing away a large part of the manure; 
and it comes rushing over our property, carry¬ 
ing away a portion of our labor with the rest. 
Now this is unavoidable, but if we could flow 
this water over a field laid down to grass, our 
land would become a kind of filter, and catch 
a good portion of this rich treasure as it passes 
by. Chemists tell us that common spring water 
contains in considerable quantity the ingredients 
needed by all growing crops—just what our 
land needs. If clear water contains so much 
nourishment for vegetation, what a large amount 
must the surface water from cultivated fields 
contain ? Is it wise in us to let it pass by when 
we might at so small an expense enrich our soils 
with it ? These little mountain streams are often 
loaded with matter from decaying leaves, etc., 
and thus prepared to invigorate vegetation; and 
as these streams start at a great elevation, they 
may be conveniently made to flow over a good 
portion of the farms below. J. C. 
Frenchtown, N. J. 
The Potato Disease. 
A writer in the Mark Lane (Eng.) Express, 
who has made the potato a study for years, ar¬ 
rives at the following conclusions respecting 
their diseased condition: The fungus which 
causes their decay is always perceptible with 
the microscope, and usually to the naked eye. 
It generally attacks the stems first, and then de¬ 
scends to the tubers. The same fungus is dis¬ 
coverable in the diseased tubers, and in the soil 
contiguous to them; and a like fungus has never 
been found on healthy haulm or tubers. 
This fungus, when carefully removed from 
the diseased leaf and transferred to the sub¬ 
stance of the healthy tuber, will originate the 
specific disease at the points of inoculation in 
from 4 to 8 days. Every sort of potato will, un¬ 
der favorable conditions, suffer; but, as a rule 
the thicker the skin the less prone is the tuber 
to offer a timely nidus to the spores. All reme¬ 
dies of any practical value in checking the dis¬ 
ease, are reconcilable with its fungoid charac¬ 
ter ; and as a safeguard diseased stems and tu¬ 
bers should always be burned or deeply buried. 
"Warm, humid weather, with a gentle breeze 
blowing from a variable point, is favorable to 
the invasion and rapid progress of the disease; 
whilst cold, dry weather temporarily checks its 
advance. The writer’s practice for the stay of 
the disease consists in cutting off and removing 
the haulm close to the ground when diseased 
about half way down. Rake the soil over the 
lower portions of the stems, and leave them for 
a month. This plan is inexpensive, and usual¬ 
ly gives a fair result, in some seasons there be¬ 
ing only three, and in others as high as ten 
per cent of diseased tubers. Those not in¬ 
fected were of good size, mealy, and kept well. 
Another good plan is to plant on ridges, and 
when the disease appears in the haulm, turn it 
down right and left, and place a little earth over 
the roots. The fungus is thus washed away 
from the tubers during a rain. [We give the 
above not to endorse them, but only as the 
views of one who speaks somewhat positively, 
and apparently from intelligent experience.— 
Ed. American Agriculturist.'] 
Haying Time. 
In the present month, begins the great hay 
harvest. This is, in many respects, the most 
important in the whole year. Although the 
crop does not fill the space in the public eye, as 
an article of foreign commerce, which cotton 
does, it is yet of greater money value. Think 
of its fundamental use, the support of all kinds 
of farm-stock for six or seven months of the 
whole year. As one says : “ It is, in fact, the 
basis of all our farm operations, the keystone 
which sustains them and gives them all their 
success. The test of a farm is the number of cat¬ 
tle it feeds, and the cattle in turn feed the soil.” 
Let us, then, see to it that our crop this year is 
well and seasonably made and properly stored. 
In preparing for this annual campaign, be sure 
that all other pressing labor is out of the way. 
This work is enough of itself to occupy one’s 
time and thoughts while it lasts; to have 
other cares superadded, harrasses and perplexes 
one so much as to make his true and proper 
work very disagreeable. Get all other matters 
well ahead, so as to feel at ease about them. 
Then, see that the tools and implements are in 
complete order—scythes, grindstones, mowing- 
machines, hand-rakes, horse-rakes, pitch-forks, 
wagons, racks, and hay-caps. The extra hired 
help—is that engaged ?—enough of it ?—and of 
such a sort as to be reliable ? 
The best time to cut hay, is an important mat¬ 
ter to determine. The end sought in gathering 
hay is, obviously, to cut it when it contains its 
most nutritive properties, viz., mucilage, starch, 
gluten and sugar, in the best state for their 
preservation. Experience shows that that pe¬ 
riod is when the grass is just in full flower. 
After this time, the fiber becomes woody and 
indigestible. The Cyclopaedia of Agriculture 
says: “It has been proved that plants of nearly 
all sorts, if cut when in full vigor , afterwards care¬ 
fully dried, without any waste of their nutritive 
juices, contain nearly double the quantity of 
nourishing matter which they do when allowed 
to attain their full growth, and make some pro¬ 
gress towards decay.” Yet, some good farmers 
hold that Timothy should not be cut until it 
passes this stage, and has nearly ripened its 
seed; and this chiefly for the reason that, if 
cut^ earlier, the roots are weakened and the 
meadows gradually destroyed. Still, as a gen¬ 
eral rule, the prevalent method of cutting grass 
“when in the milk,” is the right one. 
When hay is to be cut with scythes, the work 
should begin early in the day: the morning dew 
is a great help to the mower. There should be 
a liberal resting time at mid-day, and then the 
work resumed and carried on briskly until even¬ 
ing. A lunch of plain food, moistened with cold 
coffee or home-brewed beer, may be brought 
into the meadow in the middle of each forenoon 
and afternoon, if the hands will be discontented 
without it, but it is poor policy to keep the 
hands and the stomach both at work all the 
time, and three good meals are best for any 
man, however hard his work. There is enough 
heat in haying time without the addition of “ fire¬ 
water.” As to the expediency of using mowing- 
machines, we declare decidedly in their favor, 
especially on farms of considerable extent. They 
save time, labor, a great "deal of anxiety, and in 
the long run, money. When the mowing ma¬ 
chine is used, do not cut a rod before the dew is 
entirely off, for when the hay is cut by the ma¬ 
chine, unless very heavy, it will need no Stirling. 
“ Make hay while the sun shines,” is a good 
rule, but it may be carried" too far in haying 
time. We want the bright sunshine first to wilt 
the hay thoroughly; then let the drying process 
stop. Rake up the grass in high cocks while 
still hot. If rain threatens, put on the hay caps; 
put them on by 4 o’clock to keep off heavy dews. 
The grass may lie in cocks two days or less, as 
convenient for the farmer. On a clear day, 
open the cocks, about the middle of the fore¬ 
noon after the ground is warm, for an airing, 
spreading the hay and turning once or twice for 
two or three hours; then haul to the barn. The 
practice of salting hay, at the time of storing it, 
is quite common, and it is applied the more 
abundantly when the hay is imperfectly cured. 
A little salt, say two or three quarts to the tun, 
can wisely be applied. More than this does lit¬ 
tle good, and on the whole, may be injurious. 
One Cause of Drouths and Freshets. 
It is plain to every observer, that our country 
is now more subject to drouths than it was 
twenty or thirty years ago. Within the last five 
years, we have suffered in this respect seriously. 
The loss to the farming community, and through 
it to the whole population, has been many 
millions of dollars. If they continue for several 
years more, in frequent succession, there is rea¬ 
son to fear that the “ hard times ” will pass away 
very slowly. Is there any natural cause of 
drouths, or are they sent upon us solely as 
special visitations of Providence for our nation¬ 
al sins ? We would not speak lightly of such 
visitations, but we are inclined to think that 
our sufferings in this particular may be traced 
chiefly to our own bad management. The wide 
destruction of our forests doubtless has some¬ 
thing to do with the production of drouths, and 
of these destructive floods or “ freshets” which 
are becoming alarmingly frequent. 
If the country is widely denuded of its trees, 
the land is more exposed to the burning rays of 
the sun, and to the winds which cause a very 
rapid evaporation. Then, too, forest-trees are 
so many pumps to suck up moisture from the 
depths of the earth, and to diffuse it through 
their leaves into all the surrounding atmosphere. 
From thence it falls upon the surface of the 
ground. Perhaps some of our readers have 
amused themselves with making estimates of the 
amount of water evaporated from the leaves of 
a single tree, and then of a large forest, in a 
single day. To one who has never thought 
about it, the subject is one of great interest. All 
readers of history know that many of the rivers 
and streams of the old world, which once were 
