376 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[October, 
rCOPYRIQHT SECURED.] 
WEIGHT.—PrOJI A Sketch BY Thomas Worth .—Drawn and Engraved for the American Agriculturist. 
when the crop is harvested, makes many a dol¬ 
lar’s difference in the labor of digging, and in 
the number of potatoes left in the ground. We 
have made some careful experiments upon sev¬ 
eral varieties, with a view to ascertaining how 
much scattered the tubers lie, and would be 
glad to hear from any who will make similar 
ones. The questions to be answered are:—How 
far, on an average, from the center of the hill do 
the great majority, say five-sixths, of all the po¬ 
tatoes lie ? and, How far is it, on an average, 
from the center of the hill, or the main stalk, to 
the outside of the outmost tuber ? At least ten 
hills should be dug to get an average. 
When potatoes are plowed out there should 
be plenty of hands, and each one should have 
just so much space assigned him as he can 
clear up between the times the plow passes. A 
large, double-mould-board plow, drawn by two 
horses and run deep, does good work, and the 
various potato diggers which are on the princi¬ 
ple of double-mould-board plows with the 
mould-board slit so as to form fingers, are not 
very great improvements upon it. However, 
when one has many potatoes to dig or much 
ground to go over, they will pay. We don’t 
believe it will pay to get any other kind. Cer¬ 
tainly we have never seen one work which we 
regarded as a success. If land is in a condition 
for winter grain (rye), and a sufficient force of 
diggers can be secured, the potatoes may be 
taken out and the land left thoroughly plowed 
at one operation. In this case we would take 
a 10-inch or 12-inch furrow, eight inches deep 
through the rows, and plow, following the rows 
to the end, and carry ing the plow across the ends 
of the lands. If there are many weeds or much 
haulm upon the field, it should be mowed over, 
and the rubbish raked up and carted off before 
the digging commences. And in whatever way 
the potatoes are dug, the field should be thor¬ 
oughly harrowed afterwards. It will usually 
pay to cross-plow and harrow a second time, 
especially if winter grain is to follow. 
Should the tubers be found more or less de¬ 
cayed, they should be put upon a barn floor or 
spread out somewhere under cover, and care¬ 
fully sorted. The partially decayed ones, if the 
worst spots of rot be pushed out with the thumb, 
may be boiled for the hogs. Potatoes will heat 
if placed in large piles, before they have thor¬ 
oughly dried and lost some moisture. Tiiey may 
be put not more than two feet deep in bins 
or in pits as soon as dug, if the weather be dry. 
Guessing at the Weight. 
It takes but little to make an excitement in 
some obscure country towns, where the old style 
of spending more time at the tavern and grocery 
than on the farm is not yet done away with. 
The artist, Mr. Worth, has sketched a scene 
that he has frequently witnessed in - 
well, we will not say where, but it could only 
occur in places where the mail takes few or no 
agricultural papers. The Squire has fattened a 
pig, which he intends to take to the county 
fair the next day, and all the wise men of the 
neighborhood have come down to inspect the 
animal and guess upon its weight. There are 
some people who seem to have very little talent 
at anything else, who are very acute at guess¬ 
ing at the weight of a pig. In some parts 
of the country guessing at the weight of pigs 
even takes the form of gambling, and bets are 
made upon the result. The sharp ones contrive, 
in some way, to get at the weight beforehand, 
and their guesses are often to the discomfiture 
of the others. It is a harmless amusement to 
guess at the weight of a pig; but we heartily 
despise “pig-guessing,” as it is carried on in 
some localities — when betting is involved. 
