1895 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
the maker for bad results. A ready-mixed paint may 
contain only a trace of lead ; but if scientifically cor¬ 
rect as to its composition, it will beat pure lead evei'y 
time for durability. The very constituents incorpor¬ 
ated for the too-often express purpose of defrauding 
the pui-chaser, are usually the very things that go to 
make up the perfect paint. The only question is a 
pecuniary one—a dollar should not be charged for a 
50-cent article. Farmers and rural citizens generally 
use the bulk of all the mixed paints manufactured in 
America (in fact, none appears to be made in any 
other country), and it is important for them to know 
something about the subject. Many thousands of gal¬ 
lons are used annually ; many thousands of dollars 
are spent for them. Some are good, some indifferent, 
some bad. Some bad ones sell at a big price, others 
at a low price. Some good ones sell high, as they 
should, while others sell at a moderate price, as they 
should. Two good paints may vary considerably in 
cost of production. It all depends upon the stuff of 
which they are made. A. asiimun kelly. 
ARE BIG POTATOES BEST? 
Last fall, we had quite a discussion about the value 
of large potatoes. Are they of as good quality as 
smaller ones? Should judges at fairs award premiums 
to the largest tubers, or to those most suitable for 
family size ? What should a farmer keep for family 
eating ? Some of these questions are discussed in the 
following notes : 
Big Specimens Attract Attention. 
Having exhibited vegetables and farm products for 
upward of 10 years, I have learned that anything very 
large is the most pleasing to the crowd, who do not 
stop to test the quality, or even to look at such speci¬ 
mens as may be seen on the general market. I am 
of the opinion that this class of exhibits would attract 
much more attention, if it were known that the best 
specimens for the fair would be considered rather than 
the market value or eating quality. At the Inter- 
State Fair, held at Elmira, N. Y., a number of years 
ago, the chief attraction in the vegetable department, 
was a Mammoth pumpkin, entered for stock feeding ; 
the judge awarded it second premium, because it was 
too large. “ How are you going to handle such pump¬ 
kins?” was the question put to the superintendent. 
That was the last Mammoth pumpkin exhibited. 
Potatoes were passed upon in like manner, until the 
general manager decided to leave out the vegetable 
list, as their fair was too early for this class of ex¬ 
hibits to mature. w. B. 
The Shape and Size of Potatoes. 
The tendency to grow “lean-tos” and “ bay win¬ 
dows ” under certain conditions, is not limited to long 
varieties. For several years, I raised Peerless and Bur¬ 
bank potatoes side by side. The Peerless was a round 
potato, but grew snaggy in shape much oftener than 
the Burbank. The White Elephant and Monroe Seed¬ 
ling are both long varieties, but the Elephant is much 
more given to misshapen growth than the Burbank. 
There is another objection that is more serious. One 
end of the large, long potato often protrudes above 
the soil, and becomes green, and the whole tuber is 
rendered unfit for market. Such potatoes are very 
liable to be ruined by an early frost. I have had 10 
or 15 bushels of long, large Burbanks to the acre 
spoiled by frost before they were well ripened. The 
yield of sound potatoes, however, was large, being 
double that of a round variety grown in the same 
field. Better have a long variety that yields well, and 
is of good quality, than a round one yielding much 
less, or of inferior quality. The White Elephant, not¬ 
withstanding the tendency to scraggy growth, has 
been as profitable and as good in quality as any 
variety ever raised on my farm. 
A potato that will weigh one-quarter of a pound, is 
about two inches in diameter, and is of the smallest 
size allowable in sorting for market. When potatoes 
of this size are used for cooking, there is far more 
waste than with larger ones, and the quality is no 
better than that of two-pound potatoes of the same 
variety. The model potato is kidney-shaped, has few 
eyes, and those nearly even with the surrounding 
surface, and it weighs three-quarters of a pound. 
Such a potato is salable, but for use in a farmer’s 
family, there is not the least objection to those that 
weigh two pounds if of a variety not liable to be hol¬ 
low. To prepare potatoes for cooking is no very 
small part of women’s work. If 10 pounds are used 
per day, it will require five two-pound potatoes, or 20 
half pound, or 40 weighing only one-quarter of a 
pound. It will require less than half the time to pre¬ 
pare five large potatoes that will be necessary if 20 or 
40 smaller ones are used. This is confirmed by ex¬ 
perience, and the saving of one-half or three-quarters 
of the labor is of more practical importance than 
satisfying fancy as to size. Large potatoes can be cut 
to any desired size for boiling, or they can be baked 
whole. As fine a potato as I ever tasted, was one 
nicely baked that weighed two pounds. Potatoes 
stored for summer should always be of large size, as 
they do not shrivel to the same extent as smaller 
ones, and the quality is better. I hope that nothing 
that I have written will be construed as an objection 
to three-pound potatoes, if of good shape and not 
hollow. C. s. RICE. 
Lewis County, N. Y. 
Put “ Market Size ” at the Head. 
How shall potatoes be judged at the fairs ? This is 
a hard question to answer, not knowing who will be 
the judge. If he be a man who knows what a potato 
is for, he will give first place to medium size, always. 
A good, fair-sized potato will sell best in market, and 
any cook will say that she doesn’t want these big 
potatoes. When I judge at fairs, I give the prefer¬ 
ence to those of fair size, and most perfect shape. I 
was taken to task by an exhibitor, because he didn’t 
get first money, when he had the largest. We both 
took our station near the potatoes, and some ladies 
came along. We asked them whether they were 
housekeepers. They said that they were. We handed 
them one of each lot, with this question, “For family 
use, which of those potatoes would you buy for your 
own use, if the whole bushel were of the same size ? ” 
All six said, “ The small one.” I believe that a judge 
at a fair should judge all vegetables for what they are 
at the present time, as to market value or for family 
use. I always aim to take to the fair of each variety 
that would sell the best in the market, but I get left 
sometimes when we have a green or know-it-all 
judge. I believe that there should not be a peck of 
anything named in the premium list. No one can see 
more than 8 or 10 without taking all out of the bas¬ 
ket. Why not take, say, 10 of the most perfect and 
smooth tubers, lay these on the table, then all can 
see the whole lot. i. k. 
Waverly, N. Y._ 
HOW THEY GROW POTATOES IN KANSAS. 
This is the way one Kansas man succeeds with 
potatoes: 
This part of the State is not considered a potato 
country, as the heat gets up to 115 degrees in the 
A KANSAS FODDER CORN CUTTER. Flo. 172. 
shade in August and September, and the fall rains, 
accompanied by the intense heat, tend to rot the 
tubers. Yet we have a variety that was originated 
here from the seeds of the Red Peachblow, 12 years 
ago, that has been found to stand the peculiarities of 
our climate, and to be wonderfully productive ; and it 
is known as the Early Kansas. It is blocky in shape, 
straw-colored russet, with deep, pink eyes, and has 
the peculiarity of growing one or more tubers earlier 
and larger than any other known variety. Then it 
sets another and then another, and continues this 
process till fall, never setting a knob or prong, but 
always putting the second growth into the little 
potatoes. It is an excellent table potato, and a grand 
keeper. 
One grower uses this potato exclusively, lie keeps 
70 head of breeding ewes, and all the manure made 
by the flock, that are well fed on corn and clover, 
is carefully applied to the field in the winter—gener¬ 
ally a clover stubble. After a good harrowing in the 
spring, a team is started with an ordinary plow, fol¬ 
lowed by four big horses with a combined weight of 
6,000 pounds, drawing a new model subsoil plow, 
that does not throw out any earth, but thoroughly 
breaks up and loosens it to the depth of two feet. 
One horse walks on the plowed ground, and he also 
draws a light section of a harrow which passes over 
the soil twice, and pulverizes it while damp. Next a 
cross-harrowing is given the field, using a steel slant¬ 
ing-tooth Eagle harrow, drawn by three horses. Then 
they are hitched to a clod-crusher made of six 4x4 
scantling, eight feet long, bolted one inch apart and 
set edgewise ; the field is planked lengthwise. On the 
back of this clod-crusher are bolted runners 14 inches 
apart, and it is turned over and a tongue put in, and 
the piece is cross-marked by usiDg two horses, the 
driver riding and driving to stakes, the horses’ heads 
being held firmly apart by a steel jockey stick that 
has swivel snaps. The furrowing out is done length¬ 
wise with an ordinary two-horse cultivator with two 
551 
straight shovels braced firmly apart, just 30 inches. 
A weight is put on them, and the driver simply drives 
to stakes. 
The seed is dipped in corrosive sublimate solution, 
cut to one eye, dropped opposite to each cross mark, 
in the furrows, firmly pressed down with the foot, and 
is covered, three rows at a time, with the clod-crusher 
drawn by two horses. This is done about March 20 to 
April 1, and just as soon as the plants begin to show, 
they are gone over each way with one horse and a 
weeder, quite similar to Breed’s, only weighing about 
100 pounds. A boy keeps this weeder going, and a 
deep, mellow cultivation is given with the corn cul¬ 
tivator ; then all after work is with a Planet Jr. 12- 
tooth cultivator and pulverizer, followed by the 
weeder, the horse on which is led by the man holding 
the cultivator, and, of course, goes over the rows twice 
to the cultivator once. As the crop is cross checked, 
the horse will not tramp on the plants in crossing, and 
a boy is kept at work with the weeder most of the 
time. 
The blossom pf this variety resembles a peach blos¬ 
som, and when this field is in full bloom, it is a won¬ 
derful sight. The soil is 24 inches of alluvial mold 
(not sandy loam), underlaid by a water and air-tight 
clay called gumbo, or hardpan. The land is prairie, 
and is almost level, only sloping lengthwise the rows, 
just enough to drain. The heaviest rains do not run 
off, but rapidly settle into the sub-broken land, and 
in a short time the surface can be harrowed or gone 
over with the weeder. The crop is dug about Novem¬ 
ber 1, as it is not cool enough before this, and places 
for cold storage are few in such a level country. 
Morantown, Kan. C. J. N. 
A KANSAS CORN CUTTER. 
I have had quite a little experience with sled 
cutters for corn ; I ran three last fall. One caught 
the fodder, but it was just as hard work to keep it 
raked off the knife as to catch it ; and it was unhandy 
to start the shock row, as the fodder was cut on one 
side and taken off at the other. Another cut two 
rows and pulled rather heavy. The frame is made of 
2x4 stuff, and the floor of inch boards. The back part 
slopes up, carries four armfuls, and six rows make a 
shock row. Each person throws down two armfuls, 
takes the third behind the machine, stands it up, 
spreads the butts, and ties the tops with binding 
twine. As they come back, they stop so that the 
machine will not be in the way, shock the third arm¬ 
ful, pick the others up as they were laid down, and 
they don’t have to be carried at all. 
The other machine, see Fig. 172, I like the best. It 
has but one knife, and cuts one row. It has two 
wheels on one side and a runner on the other to make 
it run straight and steady. Otherwise, it is the same 
as the two-row machine. To use it, give the knife a 
good slant, tip the edge up slightly, and keep sharp. 
Don’t put one hand on each side of the corn row and 
try to grab every stalk, or they will get in the eyes so 
one can’t see, and then pile up, pull up, drop off, etc. 
But sit well ahead of the knife, put both hands out¬ 
side the row, first one ahead and then the other, bend 
the corn before it is cut off, and let it fall on the 
knee. Keep the butts off the knife, and it will be 
easier work than with a corn knife, and you can cut 
three times as much. I tie the saddles by taking the 
third armful behind the machine, spreading the butts 
in a circle about three feet across, and twisting the 
top tight ; then twist it down against the side, and 
throw one of the stalks over to hold it there. It will 
hold a shock up better than one made of standing 
corn, and is not in the way when hauling, m. w. b. 
Morris County, Kan. 
SOME POINTS ON POULTRY. 
Paper and Kerosene. —On page 518, under the 
heading, Some Fowl Matters, Fred Grundy makes a 
good point on the practice of using paper on the walls 
of houses. It really causes houses to be damp. I be¬ 
lieve that it should be used on the outside (on the 
boards), however, where poultry houses are not very 
close, or are not lathed and plastered. I at one time 
believed in the use of paper on the inside walls ; but 
experience and “stern facts” taught me otherwise. 
Regarding the loss of hens by one who used kero¬ 
sene emulsion, and who stated that he tried my kero¬ 
sene emulsion on them, I will say that I have no special 
method of making it different from others. I do not 
recommend dipping hens in the emulsion unless by 
experienced persons as the novice may not churn it 
sufficiently, causing the emulsion to contain too much 
free kerosene. It is excellent for use on the walls of 
poultry houses. Rid the poultry house of lice, and 
the hens will free themselves of the pests. Undiluted 
kerosene on the bodies of hens is, as the writer stated, 
horrible. The emulsion of one part ot kerosene to 
20 parts of water, with no free oil, is harmless on the 
bodies ; but as few thoroughly emulsify the sub- 
