34*3 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[November, 
When the surface is nearly level, cut the fur¬ 
rows in the direction for carrying off the surface 
water' most readily, or up and down the great¬ 
est descent. But when there is so much slope 
that the water will form gullies by its rapid 
flow, the furrows should always be made along 
the side of the slope, instead of up and down, 
in order to carry off the water slowly, and thus 
avoid washing away soil with it. 
When wet ground is plowed, as it often is, 
without reference to the points alluded to, and 
with wide lands, w'ithout opening the middle 
furrows, the soil often becomes so thoroughly 
saturated with water that it runs together be¬ 
fore spring, like sand and lime in mortar, fre¬ 
quently settling firmer than before it was plowed. 
Thus all the efficacy of the fiill plowing is lost. 
The representation of the manner of plowing 
wet ground in late autumn, which accompanies 
this article, is designed to show how to turn the ! 
ridges, and the way of finishing the middle fur¬ 
rows, at a small outlay of labor, so as to effect 
partial drainage. When the ground is covered 
with sod, the first furrow-slice (J.) must neces¬ 
sarily be turned flat. Beneath it, the soil can¬ 
not be broken up. The second furrow-slice {B) 
may be turned like the first, though it is better 
to run the plow so closely to A, that the slice 
B will lap on J., as represented. Now, in order 
to make the next slice ((7) fall against A, at the 
proper inclination, it must be about half as deep 
as it is wide. The same is true of the slice D. 
Both of these must be shallow furrows. After 
they are both turned, as indicated, run the plow 
again in the same furrows, in order to make 
them as deep as the ground is to be plowed. 
The ridge is now laid out, and the furrow is 
prepared to receive the slices {E, F) of full size, 
at about the inclination and lap shown. Now 
adjust the plow to cut half as deep as the width 
of the slices. This size of slice will turn well. 
The ridges should be formed from 15 to 20 feet 
wide; and when the lands are marked out, the 
distance should be measured with a pole, at 
both ends, so that the plot will “ finish up ” 
evenly, without some furrow-slices running out, 
which would prevent doing the work neatly. 
In finishing a land, leave a strip of unplowed 
ground about nine inches wide, the entire length 
of the middle furrow. Then remove the gauge 
wheel, and adjust the plow to run an inch 
deeper than usual. Always turn this last fur¬ 
row-slice when the team travels down the slope, 
as it will roll over much more readily when the 
plow is going down hill. The same is true of the 
slice i?, which is more difficult to turn than A. 
If a plowman desires to make a neat job, he must 
observe these apparently unimportant rules. 
After the lands are finished, run the plow 
two, three, or more times, as needed, in each 
dead furrow, turning the earth towards the 
ridges, for the purpose of deepening the chan¬ 
nel for carrying off the water. After the plow¬ 
ing is finished, shovel out the loose earth, scat¬ 
tering it over the ridges on each side, like a 
top-dressing. These dead furrows should be 
kept open nntil the next spring; and if the 
ground should be plowed again, plow length¬ 
wise of the ridges. If the sod is not thorough¬ 
ly rotted," use the cultivator only, without at¬ 
tempting to plow the ground. By keeping these 
dead furrows well shoveled out, so that the 
water will settle into them and run off quickly; 
wet ground may be tilled much earlier in spring, 
and cultivated in a much more satisfactory 
manner, than if plowed in the usual way. 
Burying Boots in a Pit. 
The most convenient way to secure turnips, 
carrots, and potatoes during winter is, to make 
an excavation near a good underdrain, or on 
some dry knoll, where no water will stand, even 
at those seasons of the year 
when the ground is very wet, 
and after filling the pit, and 
heaping the roots up in a 
sharp ridge, to cover the 
whole with straw, boards 
and earth. The excavation 
should be about 4 or 5 feet 
wide, from one to two feet 
deep, according to the drain¬ 
age, and of the needed length. 
Our practice has been to 
make the pit parallel, and 
close to a tile drain, which 
will carry away all the wa¬ 
ter. The pit may be directly 
over a tile drain; but, if the drain is made with 
stones, the pit should be so far from the drain, 
that rats and mice can not dig upwards from 
the drain into the pit, and haul down earth 
so as to obstruct the watercourse. If a drain 
is 2^ feet deep, the pit may be dug 2 feet deep. 
The illustration represents a transverse sec¬ 
tion of a pit of carrots, piled as steeply as they 
will lie conveniently. A layer of straw about 
4 inches deep has been spread evenly over 
the roots, and then the whole covered with 
boards, as shown. Another layer of straw and 
a thin covering of earth are put on to secure 
them till the ground freezes, after which the 
earth should be increased to not less than 6 
inches deep over the entire pit, to keep the 
roots from freezing in our latitude. In some 
localities, the earth should be hot less than one 
foot deep. If animals of any kind disturb the 
earth on the pit, cover it with pieces of old rails, 
etc. “We cut the boards, nailing them at the 
top as indicated by the figure, so that all the 
roots may be I'emoved at one end of the pit, 
one load at a time, in winter, without exposing 
those til at remain to the frost. "We formerly 
placed ventilators 6 feet apart, in the tops of 
long pits, and also made pits without ventila¬ 
tors, but were never able to perceive any 
difference in the vegetables when taken out. 
---i ■ —- 
Potatoes Planted under Straw, in both 
Autumn and Spring.—The Crop doubled. 
In a letter containing many good hints for us 
and our readers, Mr. Isidor Plaquet, of Madison 
Co., Ill., makes some very interesting statements 
about his method of raising potatoes, which we 
translate from the French, in which our cor¬ 
respondent writes most conveniently: 
“ I have devoted myself,” he goes on to say, “ to 
the culture of potatoes for the past ten years, and 
for the past three years have grown them only 
under straw and with great success. We in the 
West have a great deal of straw which we have 
been accustomed to burn, and I have found this 
means of using it profitable. I plant a part of 
my potatoes late in autumn, in November if 
possible, and the rest in spring. When I thresh 
my wheat, I do not stack the straw, for the 
moister it is the better, even if decayed, and draw 
it near the place where I shall plant potatoes. 
Those planted in autumn and those planted in 
spring are side by side, separated sufficiently to 
allow a wagon to pass between. I Tiever burn 
straw. When I plant in autumn, I have only to 
draw the old straw to one side; if it is too rot¬ 
ten, I plow it in, as it is good manure. When 
there is not sufficient old straw, I add new. In 
autumn I cover the potatoes 2 to 4 inches deep, 
never less than 2, and I place over them two 
feet of straw, well trodden down; then some 
sticks are put here and there npon the straw to 
keep high winds from blowing it away. 
“ Planting in spring, I cover the potatoes 
about an inch, and put on one foot of straw, as 
is done b\'' H. Holbrook, whose report was giv¬ 
en in the Agriculturist for January, 1865. I 
choose for my potatoes a field with a gentle in¬ 
clination, so that they will not rot, and a south¬ 
ern exposure, if possible, for those planted in 
autumn. I plant in beds only 3 or 4 yards wide, 
the beds separated sufficiently to allow a cart to 
pass between them. This is in order not to be 
obliged to pass over them with teams, as that is 
very injurious to potatoes planted under straw. 
I pulverize the earth thoroughly, and then plow 
furrows as close as I can and not have them 
interfere. I drop the potatoes about 6 inches 
apart and cover with the hoe. It is not well to 
delay putting on the straw ; a rain may come 
and harden the soil, and the lighter this is kept 
tlie better for the potatoes. In autumn we only 
lift the straw with a fork and fill the baskets. 
“What are the advantages of this method? 
Quantity and quality vary with me as well as 
with those who follow the old method, but to 
say I get regularly about as much again as by 
the old plan, is not an exaggeration. In times 
of drouth one is certain to have a crop, if he has 
not been too sparing of the straw. Last year 
(1864) almost all my neighbors who did not 
plant under straw had no potatoes on account 
pf the drouth, while upon about half an acre 
(a part of which were planted in November, 
1863, and the others in the spring of 1864) I 
harvested 80 bushels of the finest potatoes, not 
counting those which had been used for the 
table, from the middle of June until autumn. 
Those of this year (1865) are doing well, not¬ 
withstanding the rain. In fall planting there 
are two causes of failure: under an insufficiency 
of straw the potatoes will freeze, and they will rot 
if planted in low ground. Last fall I made an 
