976 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
use of dry swamp muck as an absorbent of 
the liquid manures of the barn and stable 
can hardly be over-estimated. ' The loss 
throughout the State from the neglect and 
consequent waste of these rich manures, 
which, with a little care, might all be saved, 
is almost incredible. The attention of farm¬ 
ers was but lately called to the subject; but 
the value of the substances is acknowledged 
by some, and efforts are now being made to 
save them by means of the use of muck and 
loam, either properly composted in the barn- 
cellar, or supplied daily to the stalls of cat¬ 
tle. No judicious farmer should neglect to 
save all such substances as tend to increase 
the value and productiveness of his lands. 
It is poor economy and bad calculation to 
buy concentrated manures, or buy any ma¬ 
nures abroad, till everything of the kind is 
saved at home. 
From what has been said, we may infer 
that good swamp muck is worth on an ave¬ 
rage from $1 25 to $1 50 per cord, and that 
it is best on light, loamy, sandy, or gravelly 
soils, and that it is valuable as a compost 
with barn-yard manures, or with guano. 
TEA FOE SICK HOUSES. 
Linseed tea is not only a valuable restora¬ 
tive for sick horses, but it is exceedingly 
useful in diseases of inflammation of the 
membranes peculiar to the organs of respi¬ 
ration and digestion ; it shields and lubri¬ 
cates the same, tranquilizes the irritable 
state of the parts, and favors healthy action. 
We have prescribed linseed tea in large 
quantities during the past month for horses 
laboring under the prevailing influenza; 
they seemed to derive much benefit from it, 
and generally drank it rvith avidity. Aside 
from the benefit derived from the action 
of mucilage and oil, which the seed con¬ 
tains, its nutritive elements arc of some ac¬ 
count, especially when given to animals la¬ 
boring under soreness in the organs of de¬ 
glutition, which incapacitates them from 
swallowing more solid food. In the event 
of an animal becoming prostrated by ina¬ 
bility to masticate or swallow more food, 
linseed tea may be resorted to, and in cases 
of irritable cough, the addition of a little 
honey makes it still more useful. In the lat¬ 
ter form, it may be given to animals labor¬ 
ing under acute or chronic diseases of the 
urinary apparatus, more especially of the 
kidneys. 
To Prepare Linseed Tea. —Put a couple 
of hand fulls of the seed into a bucket, and 
pour a gallon and a half of boiling hot water 
upon it. Cover it up a short time ; then add 
a couple of quarts of cold water, when it 
will be fit for use.—[Amer. Vet. Journal. 
“ Why,” said a country clergyman to one 
of his flock, “do you always sleep in your 
pew when I am m the pulpit, while you are 
all attention to every stranger I invite 1” 
Because, sir, when you preach, I’m sure 
all’s right; but 1 can’t trust a stranger with¬ 
out keeping a good look out.” 
To know everything of something is bet¬ 
ter than to know something of everything. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist: 
I wish some of your numerous readers 
would furnish their experience as to the best 
way of harvesting, or rather securing pota¬ 
toes, especially in years of extreme rot. 1 
will set the ball in motion by giving a little 
of my own experience. 
I have worked a farm over fifty years, and 
have cultivated potatoes more or less every 
year. Fifty years ago little was thought of 
this root. A row or two were planted on 
the outside of corn-fields, or in some corner 
of a lot unfit for anything else. Ten to fif¬ 
teen bushels was an ample supply for a fami¬ 
ly. There is a great difference between 
then and now as regards this crop, for pota¬ 
toes are now one of the most important 
branches of Agriculture. 
But we have lost much of this valuable 
crop of late years by the rot. For a number 
of years I have harvested between four and 
five thousand bushels. Last Fall I lost over 
half of them before they were sold in the 
city of New-York. 
There are different methods of harvesting, 
depending upon the time of digging, and 
mode of securing afterwards. I will notice 
three only. 
First —I commence digging the first week 
in October, putting them in heaps of 30 to 40 
bushels each, and covering them with straw 
and two or three inches of soil. They are 
left in this condition until the first of Novem¬ 
ber, when I commence loading upon boats 
for market. The difficulty experienced in 
this method is that they heat, especially 
when much affected with the rot, and the 
heating hastens the decay. 
Second —They may be left in the ground 
undug, until late in the season, or until near 
the time when the ground closes for the 
Winter. There are two objections to this 
course. The potatoes near the surface or 
partly out are quite liable to get frost-bitten, 
which increases the rot; and then there is 
not time enough left to secure a large crop 
before Winter sets in as far north as lati¬ 
tude 44°. 
Third —They may be dug in September, 
when the rot first makes its appearance, and 
dried well in the sun, and then be spread on 
barn floors or other dry places for four or 
five weeks. This plan, if it prevents the 
rot, is an injury to the potatoe and reduces 
their real value ten or twelve per cent. 
They should be kept from air and light as 
much, as possible. 
Any information or advice that yourself 
or any of your correspondents may give on 
this subject will be of general value, and 
will be thankfully received by 
An Old Farmer. 
Crown Point, Essex Co., N. Y., 
August 11, 1856. 
The above is an important topic. Will 
not a number of our readers who have had 
experience in raising and marketing pota 
toes, please send us their suggestions at an 
early day, so that we may give something 
from them on this subject in our next num¬ 
ber 1 We are glad to hear from ail our 
readers with regard to their farm experi¬ 
ences, and particularly so from those whose 
observations, like those of our correspon¬ 
dent, extend over a long life of agricultural 
labor.—[E d. 
TIM BUNKER ON SUBSOILING, 
It lias been stirring times in Hookertown 
recently, on account of the advent of the 
subsoil plow. Deacon Smith had one last 
spring, and if Barnum’s elephant had come 
along with it, the team would not have made 
half the talk the plow made. Elephants 
they had all seen or heard of at the menage¬ 
rie, as a kind of monster never designed to 
run in opposition to horses or any other 
farm team. But a subsoil plow was “ a 
new fangled consarn that the deacon was 
gwine to poke into the yaller dirt to astonish 
the natives.” It was entirely contrary to all 
well established notions in this venerable 
community, and was looked upon as an in¬ 
truder. 
The deacon’s barn-yard was a scene for 
a painter when the neighbors dropped in to 
examine the new tool. Tim Bunker was 
there of course, and Jotham Sparrowgrass, 
Seth Twigs the smoker, John Tinker, and 
Tom Jones. 
Esquire Bunker’s views were not very 
definite as to the construction of the plow, 
and he wanted to know. 
“ Why, Deacon, where is the mold- 
board 1” 
“ I should not wonder if it screwed on,” 
responded Mr. Twigs, half inquiringly. 
“ Now what do you call that ere article!” 
asked Tom Jones. 
“ It is a mighty lean looking consarn, ain’t 
it ?” says John Tinker. 
“ And I guess the crops it will make will 
be leaner,” chimed in Jotham Sparrowgrass. 
“ You sec, Deacon, I know all about these 
subsoilers. They tried an experiment when 
1 was a boy, over'on the island. You know 
Ben Miller got a notion in his head that the 
fish manure all leached down into the sile 
and that was the reason why we did not get 
any better crops after we had used them 
