AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
335 
How for a General Clearing Up. 
Commence about the buildings. There may 
be the neglected stables which have been used 
while vacant in Summer, as receptacles for loose 
straw, empty barrels, broken implements, and 
all sorts of rubbish .stored there amid the haste 
of' the season’s work, to get them off from the 
barn floor, and “ out of the way for the present.” 
The room will soon be needed to shelter stock 
during cold nights and inclement storms. 
The poultry house may need cleansing. If 
the deposits have not been removed, add them 
to the compost heap. Thoroughly cleanse the 
roosts and give the whole apartment a good 
whitewashing as the best preventive of vermin. 
The barn-yard should never become the dis¬ 
mal swamp too often witnessed toward Spring. 
Arrange drains to quickly carry off falling rain, 
provide eaves troughs and leaders to conduct 
the water from the buildings away from the 
yard. If water for stock can not be‘ conven¬ 
iently brought to the yard from other sources, a 
cistern to receive that from the roofs will give 
a large supply of the best quality. Raised walks 
will greatly add to comfort in the daily visits 
to the different departments during the Winter. 
Many meadows are disfigured and the grounds 
worse than wasted by scattering thickets, bush¬ 
es and stumps. These, and hedge-rows along 
the fences and in the corners, are the magazines 
of weeds which send out their marauding forces 
yearly. Take them out by the roots; acres 
may be added to many farms in this why. The 
roadsides should be cleared of such nuisances. 
A large stock of firewood may be gathered on 
many farms by collecting broken rails and half 
decayed fencing materials which lie scattered 
about the premises. There are also fallen trees 
and branches broken off by storms in the woods 
which may be turned to good account in the ; 
woodpile, if gathered before covered with snow. 
In short, let there be a general clearing up of 
the premises, so that winter may find every 
thing prepared for its coming, and the farmer 
may have the comfortable feeling that allis^wwy. 
Hardy Trees and Plants. 
No one can take up a nurseryman’s catalogue, 
without seeing certain trees described as “hardy,” 
“ half-hardy,” “ slightly tender,” etc. The same 
thing is seen in horticultural books and papers. 
Now this is all well: it helps one to arrive at an 
approximate idea of the character of the tree, 
but it does nothing more. For experience shows 
that hardiness is quite a relative term, depend¬ 
ing on soil, exposure, elevation, and other things. 
The only way to ascertain with certainty 
Whether a tree is tender, or no, is to try it Give 
it the average treatment of other things; don’t 
nurse and pet it, neither handle it roughly. 
For the first Winter, a little protection may be 
allowed, but not afterward. If it succeeds well 
for two or three years it is probably hardy. 
Cheap Paint for Bough Pences, Out- 
Houses, etc. 
The Scientific American says: “Pulverized 
charcoal and litharge (oxide of lead,) in equal 
quantities, mixed with raw linseed oil, makes a 
cheap and very durable dark-brown paint for 
rough boards of out-houses. It is also a good' 
paint for exposed iron work. The addition of 
yellow ochre makes it a dark-green color.” 
This appears to be a good recipe, if charcoal 
can be conveniently pulverized finely. It would 
need to be passed through a fine sieve to remove 
the lumps of coal. Probably the coal dust with 
the litharge would form a good body, while the 
litharge would make it dry rapidly. For pro¬ 
ducing black color merely, it would be cheaper 
to buy lampblack, which is in reality a very fine¬ 
ly divided charcoal collected from the smoke of 
resin or turpentine. In ordinary times lamp¬ 
black is very cheap and might be used instead 
of the charcoal. The greenish tint given by the 
yellow ochre would be preferable to the dark or 
blackish brown of only the litharge and coal or 
lampblack. Can any one speak from experience 
in regard to the above recommended paint? 
How to Make Handy Farmers. 
We use this heading to denote those men who 
are skillful, and ready in doing whatever is 
needful to be done on the farm. A thorough 
agriculturist ought to be an intelligent man in 
more departments than one. He should know 
a little of Chemistry, in order to understand the 
theory of manures, the nature of different soils, 
the action of the atmosphere, etc., etc., And 
Botany would teach, him the names, the origin, 
and the most scientific mode of managing the 
grasses, grains, vegetables and weeds within his 
domain. Geology would teach him very much 
about the subsoil. The elements of Architec¬ 
ture would help him in building- a house or a 
hog-pen. Philosophy would not come amiss. 
Not that he should be a learned professor many 
of these studies, but a slight knowledge of them, 
and the possession of books treating on these sub¬ 
jects would be very useful to him. With a little 
efiort, he could then easily “ post ” himself on 
any subject requiring liis immediate attention. 
But this is not the precise point we are aim¬ 
ing at. It was a more practical matter, and was 
intended to’urge young farmers to become, skill¬ 
ful, handy, in all the operations of agriculture. 
An illustration or two will show what we mean. 
John Smith is a hard-working farmer. . From 
January to December, and from morning to 
night, he is ever busy; but he: does, not always 
work to advantage.. He always works in a par¬ 
ticular way, having no skill in adopting new and 
improved methods to save labor. He is not 
handy at all sorts of work. He can hold a plow, 
but can not mend a harness; he can hoe and 
dig like the veriest slave, but can not repair a 
broken tool: whenever such an accident hap¬ 
pens, he-has to stop his most pressing work, and 
go a mile or two to the village to get mending 
done-yvhich lie ought to have been able to do 
himself. He can drive ahorse, or yoke of oxen, 
but can not doctor them for a bruise, or other 
slight ailment. Yes, a good farmer is he, yet 
with certain important drawbacks which add 
much to the drudgery and cost of his labor. 
John Jones is made on a different pattern. He 
is as industrious as John Smith, but don’t work 
as hard. He turns everything to account, and 
makes circumstances favor him. If one method 
will not serve his purpose, perhaps another will, 
and he tries it. He has a knack at doing a little 
of anything and everything. If any of his roofs 
leak, he can mend them; yes, and with the help 
of a few hands, can shingle them complete. His 
awl, waxed ends, and a few pieces of leather in 
his tool-shed, enable him to mend his harness 
quickly. He can repair a bob-sled, and paint it. 
He can grad, and bud, and prune his fruit-trees, 
and do it well; in short, he is a Jack-at-all- 
trades, and, in a good; degree, independent, and 
master of his situation. Such a man is bound 
to succeed, be his avocation whatsoever it may. 
The way to multiply such men is to commence 
early. Let the father and mother teach their 
children to help themselves. Give them a few 
tools to work with at their leisure. Encourage 
them to make and mend, and to become 
“ handy.” Praise their successful experiments. 
Inspire them with the just pride of being inde¬ 
pendent* of being able to take care of them¬ 
selves, of accommodating themselves to their 
circumstances, and of making events bend to 
their will. The seed thus early sown will spring- 
up and bear fruit abundantly in after years. 
Sweet Potatoes Successful at the North. 
Upon our table is a sweet potato worth 
looking at. It is well proportioned, 12 inches 
long, and girths over 13 inches; weight 34 lbs. ! 
-It was grown by Wm. F. Walker, commission 
merchant of this city, at his country place on 
the Passaic River, six miles north of Newark, 
New-Jersey.—We notice this potato more par¬ 
ticularly, to call attention to the fact that Mr. 
Walker's- experience confirms what we have all 
along claimed in the columns of the American 
Agriculturist , viz: that sweet potatoes can be ad¬ 
vantageously grown in this latitude, and further 
north. Mr. Walker cultivates from one fourth 
to a full acre every year, for his own family use. 
He says he can, on his soil, which is sandy, pro¬ 
duce a hundred bushels of sweet potatoes, 
cheaper, and with more certainty, than the same 
amount of mercers. He prepares the land the 
same as for other potatoes, taking that which 
was manured broadcast the previous year, and, 
after plowing it, opens furrows with a plow, 
shakes in a light coat-.of well rotted barn-yard 
manure, and throws back the soil with a plow, 
one furrow from each side, leaving ridges. 21 to 
3 feet apart. The plants are set along these 
ridges, 11 feet apart. A plow is run along- be¬ 
tween the rows, followed by the hoe, before the 
vines get too large. After this, say twice during 
the season, the vines are gathered up and twist¬ 
ed in masses, and laid along the top of the ridges. 
This prevents their rooting at the joints, 7 and also 
lets-the- sun in upon the soil. - The potatoes 
grow large, and are of excellent flavor. The 
variety is what is called the Nansemond; the 
seed or vines originally came from Mr. Murray, 
the well known sweet potato grower ,of Ohio. 
In addition to the above, we will say, that we 
are daily using a full supply of excellent sweet 
potatoes grown- on our own place, where they 
are quite as productive as the common potato, 
and grown quite as readily, with little if any 
more outlay for seed. For our method, see p. 108. 
How to Keep Sweet Potatoes for Winter 
and Spring- Use. 
Contributed to the American Agriculturist by J. 
C. Thompson, Staten Island, N. Y. Select the first 
clear drying day after the frost blackens the vines. 
With a grass hook or scythe cut off the vines and 
roll them out of the way. Use a fork to lift out the 
tubers; lay them on the top of the ridge to dry. 
Dig until noon, then begin to pack, taking those 
first dug. Have dry barrels or boxes with plenty of 
dry cut straw or fine dry straw ready; take straw 
and barrels to the field, put in first a layer of 
straw and then a layer of the sizable potatoes. 
They must be handled as carefully and packed as 
nicely as eggs. When full, coyer with straw,, and 
move carefully to a dry, warm room or cellar^—if 
to a cellax-, keep them up from the floor, and 
away from the wall; don’t move or dteturb them 
in any way; moving brings on decay. Keeping 
dry and warm is the great secret of success. 
