44 
AMERICAN AG-RICULTURIST. 
[FEBBtiART, 
Some Notes on Potatoes- 
Fig. 1 —COTTAGE, 
potatoes as uuwortliy 
Of late years new varieties of potatoes have 
multiplied with a rapidity only equalled by 
that of new grapes. Some of tlie varieties of 
comparatively recent introduction have been 
sufBciently tested to sliow that they possess de¬ 
cided merit, and deserve to be widely known. 
There is, perhaps, no crop more affected, in 
both quality and quan¬ 
tity, by the character of 
the soil and climate 
than the potato, and no 
kind can be said to be 
equally good in all lo¬ 
calities. The first re¬ 
quisite in a potato is, 
that it should cook dry 
and be of good flavor. 
If for marketing, it 
should be white-fleshed. 
There are some who dis¬ 
card all yellow-fleshed 
of cultivation—a con¬ 
clusion with which we cannot agree. Though 
potatoes of this character will not bring the 
highest price in the 
New York market, yet 
there are several hav¬ 
ing yellow flesh which 
are valuable for the 
table, and on account 
of their large yield, 
profitable varieties. The 
size and depth of the 
eyes are of importance, 
as in sorts with deeply 
set eyes there is great 
waste in peeling. The 
keeping qualities and 
freedom from disease, 
as well as the produc¬ 
tiveness, are all import¬ 
ant, and any variety Fig. 2— eakly shaw. 
deficient in these is unfit for a field crop, al¬ 
though a moderate bearer may possess other 
qualities which make it desirable as a garden 
sort. With potatoes, 
as with fruits, there 
is much confusion as 
to names,—a very 
widely disseminated 
variety often has sev¬ 
eral local names, and 
a well established 
name is frequently 
used to aid the sale 
of indiflerent sorts. 
As it is difficult to 
describe varieties in 
a way that will allow 
them to be identified with any certainty, we have 
had engravings made which will give a much bet¬ 
ter idea than could be conveyed by any descrip¬ 
tion, however carefully written. The figures,from 
average specimens, are one half the natural size. 
Early Cottage, Fig. 1: This is said to have origi¬ 
nated in Albany County, about the year 1858. 
The vine is very strong and vigorous. The 
yield is large, early, and the tuber keeps well. 
Early Shaw, Fig. 2: This was introduced to 
the cultivators around New York by one of our 
editors, who obtained it in Michigan. It is said 
to have originated there, in Lenawee county, 
and to be a seedling of the Mercer. Perhaps 
some of our Michigan friemls can give the true 
Fig. 3— SAMARITAN. 
account of its origin. From the fact that there 
is an English potato known as Shaw’s Early, 
which is a favorite early kind in the London 
market, we had sup¬ 
posed that the story 
of their Michigan 
origin was an error, 
and that the English 
variety had been in¬ 
troduced into that 
State by way of Can¬ 
ada. As two Eng¬ 
lishmen, both of 
whom were familiar 
with the English 
sort, assure us that 
our Early Shaw is a 
Fig. 4 —.lACKSON WHITE. 
very different potato from theirs, it seems prob¬ 
able that the variety did originate in Michigan, 
and that it unfortunately received a name which 
had already been bestowed upon another potato. 
The vines are not very vigorous, nor is the yield 
large, but the tubers are very uniform in size. 
For earliness and e.xcellence, we have not seen 
its equal. Even when taken very young, the 
potatoes are of good quality. The skin is 
wholly or partially covered with a characteristic 
roughness. While its moderate yield will pre¬ 
vent its being a popular market sort, it is an e.x- 
cellent variety for the family garden. Fig. 2 
gives the shape and also the comparative size. 
Early Samaritan, Fig. 3 : This originated in 
the western part of New York. Is early and 
of good quality : does 
not yield as abundantly 
as the Early Cottage. 
Jaclcson White, Pig. 4: 
Supposed to be a seed¬ 
ling from the Carter, 
and to have origin¬ 
ated in Maine. It is one 
of the standard market 
varieties, and though 
not as early as either of 
the preceding, its good 
quality, fair yield, and 
good keeping, make it 
deservedly popular. The 
form is more irregular 
than in the varieties al¬ 
ready enumerated, and 
its eyes are more deeply 
sunken. Though the 
flesh is slightly yellow¬ 
ish in the raw state, it 
is white -when cooked. 
Fluke, Pig. 5: This 
is a remarkably neat-looking long potato, some¬ 
what flattened ; has a smooth skin, and eyes not 
deeply set. It is late, yields largely, and keeps 
well. A friend, who tries every variety of po¬ 
tato he can ob¬ 
tain, says that the 
Fluke “is the best 
potato in e.xist- 
cnce.” It has 
not been grown 
as yet extensively 
enough at the 
East for us to 
recommend it for 
general cultiva¬ 
tion, but at the 
„ „ West it is highly 
Fig. 6—DOVER. , , T, . 
valued. It is dif¬ 
ficult to see how any potato can be better than 
a properly baked Fluke, as we have eaten it at 
the West. All potatoes have their quality more 
Fig. 5.— FLUKE. 
or less injured by exposure to the light and air, 
but this variety is very delicate and more rapidly 
deteriorates from this cause than almost any 
other. It has been confounded with both the 
Prince Albert and the Mexican, both of which 
it resembles in form. Its eyes are less prominent 
than those of the Prince Albert, and the skin 
smoother than in the Mexican. 
Bover, Fig 6; A very marked variety, its large 
and deep-set eyes serving to distinguish it from 
all others. Where several eyes come together 
at the “ seed,” or “ blossom end,” the depres¬ 
sion and irregularity are even more striking 
than is shown in the figure. The other potatoes 
noticed above are white, while this has a light 
red or pinkish color. It is of excellent quality, 
but is late, though it may be eaten whenever 
the tubers are of sufficient size. As it is not a 
large cropper, and its form is not pleasing, it is 
not a good market sort, but by many it is pre¬ 
ferred to all others for their own family use. 
Driving Horses and Oxen Together. 
S. Edwards Todd, writes to the Agriculturist: 
“ In many parts of the country, horses are 
often hitched forward of oxen, when plowing, 
subsoiling, trenching, or performing many other 
kinds of farm or highway labor. Whether the 
driver be by the side of the oxen, or behind 
them, the horns and head of the ox on the 
near side, will often interfere with the reins; 
and if the driver is small in stature, the difficul¬ 
ty is increased still more. Moreover, a man can 
not drive horses as well, while he is traveling at 
one side, as he could if his reins were to go di¬ 
rectly back from the horse for a few feet. Aty 
practice has been, when accustomed to drive a 
yoke of oxen and a span of horses together, to 
fasten a piece of board, to the front of the ox- 
yoke, with four wood screws—as shown in the 
accompanying engraving—through the holes 
near the top of which, the reins are allowed 
to play. The board is about one foot long, 
and six inches wide; and the holes for the lines 
not less than one and a fourth inches diameter, 
and reamed out so that the lines would play 
easily back and forth through them. When a 
man uses only one horse in front of a yoke of 
oxen—as many fiirmers are accustomed to do— 
this simple contrivance for holding the lines in 
place, will always be found very convenient; it 
can be easily removed, when it is not needed. 
“ An Important Discovery. 
A New Era in the Manufacture of Sugar—A Prom¬ 
ised Revolution in Commerce—A Golden Road 
to Wealth." 
Such is the heading of an article, which orig¬ 
inated in Buffalo, and is copied into papers in 
various parts of the country. The article goes 
on to tell how one Prof. F. W. Goessling has 
discovered a process for obtaining sugar and 
syrup from Indian corn, that at least three and 
a half gallons of syrup are obtained from a bush¬ 
el of corn, with “an equivalent amount of gran¬ 
ulated first quality sugar,”—if any one can tell 
how much this is. We learn that a conqianj 
