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PROGRESS AND ISViPR 
CEMENT 
ROCHESTER, N. Y.-FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, SEPT. 28,1887 
ESTABLISHED IN 1850, 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
A* ORIOIHAL 'VKBKLY 
AGRICULTURAL, LITERARY AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. SIOOILE, 
With an Able Corps of Assistants and Contributors. 
Bo*. HENRY S. RANDALL, LL. D., Editor of the Do- 
partmcnt of Sheep Husbandry. 
Ho*. T. C. PETERS, late President N. Y. State AgT 
Society, Southern Corresponding Editor. 
OLEZKN F. WILCOX. Associate Editor. 
Th* Rural Nrw-York*r Is designed to be unsur¬ 
passed in Value, Purity, and Variety of Contents. Its 
Conductor earnestly labors to render the Rciial a Reli¬ 
able Guide on all the Important Practical, Scientific and 
other Subjects connected with the business ol' those 
whose Interests It zealously udvocutcs. As a Family 
Joubnal It Is eminently Instructive and BntortalDlng — 
being so conducted that It can be safely taken to the 
Homes of people of Intelligence, taste and discrimination. 
It embraces more Agricultural,Horticultural,Scientific, 
Educational, Literary and News Matter. Interspersed 
with appropriate engravings, than any oilier journal,— 
rendering Jt by far the most complete AoimtuLrciui,, 
Litsrabt and Family Newspaper in America. 
FALL PLOWING 
Fob Terms and other particulars see last page, 
Opr engraving represent* a potato digger 
which hits been used two years in Saxony, with¬ 
out any material injury to the machine. The 
digging part is made of east-steel. It is operated 
by a man, boy and two horses, and works well in 
the heaviest soils, as well as In light ones. With 
suitable help it digs about four Saxon acres per 
the ground being Hr-t dragged over with novelty In the line of potato diggers, and in the 
ow to loosen the tops. The German paper ! hope that it may prove suggestive to some of 
which we condense the above, (the III us- our fanners and mechanics — at a season when 
La/ndwirttochaI'llirhe ZeUmu/, of Lelpsfc,) the back'aching labor of unearthing potatoes 
that the projector sold twenty machines will be likely to stimulate the inventive faculties, 
i day, at an agricultural exhibition. We ! Though we have several potato diggers a perfect 
h" illustration to show Rural renders a 1 machine is still a desideratum. 
HARVESTING POTATOES, 
Perhaps the greatest want of the farmer in 
the line of agricultural implements which in¬ 
ventors and manufacturers as yet have failed to 
supply, is an efheleut horse-power potato dig¬ 
ger. True, there are some machines in the field 
that promise well, and we have great hopes of 
them ; but none have yet proved themselves 
complete and reliable, though, doubtless, the 
coming potato harvest will give us more infor¬ 
mation, and we hope and expect more confi¬ 
dence, also, in their ultimate success. What 
we want is a machine that, drawn by two horses, 
will throw out four or six acres per day, in as 
good a shape and as clean as can be accomplished 
by laborers with hooks. Large vines should be 
no serious impediment to the working of the 
machine. Farmers would be satisfied with such, 
and it would bring a fortune to those who con¬ 
trolled the sale and manufacture. 
Iu the meantime, although one of the most 
profitable crops which the farmer grows, and 
yearly increasing in Importance, the potato is 
also one that requires great labor, which comes 
chiefly m harvesting. In other respects no more 
is required than to grow the corn crop—if as 
much. Every farmer mutt be guided partly by 
circumstances os to the means he can best em¬ 
ploy to lighten and facilitate this work ; the 
most we can do in this article is to ofifer a few 
hints which may be improved by some. 
It is of considerable advantage to run a five- 
tooth cultivator along the rows before digging. 
The two rear teeth should be of the mould board 
form, and placed so a® to haul away the dirt from 
the hills. This operation, which takes but little 
time, smooths the ground between the hills, lev¬ 
els the weeds and grass and removes some of the 
soil from the tubers. In iurge fields, where many 
hands are employed, the labor should be system¬ 
atized. On fine days the potatoes need little air¬ 
ing-just enough to loosen the dirt on them — 
they are better if gathered without feeling much 
sun. The feebler hands and even children could 
pick them into baskets, which should be emp¬ 
tied and replaced by men. Some find it econom¬ 
ical to provide a large number of baskets, which, 
when filled, are loaded on a wagon fitted with a 
suitable rack, and drawn to the market or cellar; 
this course saves haudling, aud the potatoes look 
better, and are, perhaps, less liable to decay. 
Before being closely 6tored for the winter, the 
crop should be under light cover until the sweat¬ 
ing stage io passed. This may take place in light¬ 
ly covered pits provided with ventilators, on the 
bam floor, or in some out-building. After this 
process is completed they may be placed safely 
in dry, cool cellars, or covered with an air-tight 
present crop of potatoes will rule high. In the 
large portion of the country which has been seri¬ 
ously affected by dry weather, the crop will prob¬ 
ably fall below the usual average. In other ex¬ 
tensive potato growing districts disease prevails. 
The Northwestern States are great,sufferers from 
the ravages of the Colorado bug. Taken alto¬ 
gether, circumstances indicate high prices for 
this important staple. 
depositing fifty seeds at the depth of eight 
inches; a like number, seven, six, five, four, 
three, two aud one inches, ami fifty grains 1 
raked in on the surface. Of Jhosc deposited 
eight inches, two eume up, but formed no 
heads; of those deposited seven inches, about 
one-fourth came up through the ground, but 
formed no beads. Ten of the fifty seeds covered 
five inches deep, made defective heads. A few 
perfect heads resulted from the four-inch plant- 
ing. All the three-inch ones germinated, but 
the two-inch row was beat, and came up sooner 
than, the Another witness: — *’1 should 
prefer to deposit the seed at the depth of one 
inch—certainly not deeper than two. It is a 
mistake to suppose that deep seeding is any 
security from winter-killing. The roots of plants 
form at the surface, whatever may be the depth 
of the seed. But, from frequent examinations, 
1 am satisfied that wheat, not planted deeper 
than two inches, will start out better than that 
deposited at a greater depth — that is, will pro¬ 
duce more plants and grain.” 
requiring hot.-house development, and but 130 
for those ripening in the open air, and $49 for 
apples. Green-house plants get $34, and pota¬ 
toes $17. Maple sugar gets two premiums, one 
of $0 and another $3, while, for floral designs for 
the dining table, the premium is #30. For grow¬ 
ing root crops, #9 are offered iu these premiums, 
while llowerB get $330. Wheat, rye, barley, oats 
and corn get each $10, while the premium on a 
single trot exceeds the amount assigned to grain, 
vegetables, fruits, grapes, butter, cheese, maple 
sirup, cranberries, swine, poultry, fat cattle and 
native stock ! For butter the premiums aggre¬ 
gate $50, cheese $30, while for trotting horses 
the sum offered is $5,700! This method of 
making premium lists, the Reflector justly ar¬ 
gues, if persevered in, will do much towards 
destroying, or rendering unpopular, the Agricul¬ 
tural Fairs of the. country. The subject is wor- 
S0W TIMOTHY GRASS SEED 
the autumn. So if you wish to lay your field of 
winter grain down to grass for meadow, without 
running any chance of failure, sow the seed lib¬ 
erally as soon as possible. The cool, moist 
autumn weather will enable It to make root 
enough to endure the winter well, and the 
same kind of weather in the spring will place it 
far enough ahead to bid defiance to any summer 
drouth. Sow thickly, and repeat the operation 
j wit b clover seed next spring. One cannot grow 
STONE ON LAND, 
CUT - WORM-FALL AND SPRING PLOWING, 
The New England Farmer, of recent date, had 
an article on the stone found on many sections 
of farming lands. The point considered was 
whether the small stone, dotting a field, were 
injurious to cropping or the reverse. This is a 
question we have often pondered on with the 
general result arrived at by the N. E. F., to wit: 
that these small stone aided the fertility of the 
soil, and hence increased the quantity of its pro¬ 
ducts. They are “ living stones ” —that Is, they 
prevent the ground from parching while keeping 
it in a lively state, whereby food is supplied 
more readily and in greater profusion to the 
plants seeking nourishment from the soil. Lund 
that is to be used for meadow and the small 
grains, harvested by machinery, will require to 
be disburdened of its stone, but, in all such 
cases, a fertilizing power, of which the soil read¬ 
ily avails itself when under cultivation, departs 
with the Btone removed. The stone, to the 
mower and reaper, are a nuisance, to be re¬ 
moved, but to the soil a friend whose retention 
in It would be a blessing. 
The question of fall or spring plowing, with 
reference to their comparative influence in de¬ 
stroying the cut-worm on com grouud, is very 
lucidly treated by “Agrieola” in the German¬ 
town Telegraph. His theory is that frost has 
nothing to do with destroying the eggs of the 
cut-worm whether the ground be plowed in the 
fall or early spring, but that, done at either sea¬ 
son, the egge are buried so deep as to place them 
beyond the influence of the sun and air, hence 
preventing them from hatching. If these eggs 
are undisturbed, they will hatch between the 
first and fifteenth of May, and If they are, as is 
assumed, destroyed by being turned under, it 
makes no difference whether the burying is done 
late iu the fall or early iu the spring. This improb¬ 
ably true, still, though both are alike effective, 
it is safer to do the work in the fall, leaving out 
of view the supposed favorable action of frost 
upon ground turned up late hi autumn, because 
there is generally more time to do it then, and 
the soil in better order for the operation. 
PROPER DEPTHS FOR COVERING WHEAT 
As appropriately illustrating the subject of 
wheat seeding, the Canada Farmer refers to a 
suit bronght in Ohio several years since to 
recover damages from a man who contracted to 
sow a certain field to wheat. The field was 
sown, but cither from carelessness or want of 
judgment, the seed was drilled in from six to 
seven inches deep. But a small quantity of it 
pushed plants above the surface, and these were 
of so feeble and exhausted a character that very 
little wheat was harvested from them. Damages 
were claimed on the ground of improper sowing, 
and witnesses introduced to substantiate the 
truth of the complaint. It appeared that on the 
stony and stumpy portions of the ground, where 
the drill could not penetrate deeply, the yield of 
wheat was good, hence the claim for damage on 
account of improper seeding. 
Among the witnesses examined was one who 
said: — “ Eight years ago I made an experiment 
to ascertain the proper depth of sowing wheat— 
Management of Manljuj.—A correspondent 
(W. D. 8., Chester Co., Pa.,) writes sensibly aud 
suggestively to the Practical Funner concerning 
the Impolicy of exposing manures to the action 
of the weather while accumulating in the barn¬ 
yard. He keeps his manure in a pit or cellar, 
where it receives the wash from the stables and 
the suds from the kitchen. This keeps the 
mass moist, aud for the purpose of perfect de¬ 
composition, a quantity of plaster is added. 
The result is a manure so well rotted and mi¬ 
nutely divided that when mixed with the soil 
every young rootlet, putting out in search of 
food, finds a supply which can be readily ap 
proprlafced and absorbed. 
POULTRY-KILLING AND DRESSING, 
AGRICULTURAL PREMIUMS, 
It requires judgment, thought and some resembles the breaking up of a hard winter 
honesty, to make up such Premium Lists, for rough and dirty, while in the bauds of the expo 
Agricultural Pairs, as shall prove incentives to rienced the defunct fowls look as smooth ant 
improvement in the culture ol the more impor- unruffled as though slaiu by touch ethereal. In 
tant farm products. In too many instances pre- GEYLiNa’ Poultry Breeding the following excel- 
miuniB of importance fall to those who supply lent directions for dressing poultry are given: 
the tinsel of the exhibitions, rather than to such “ Open the beak of the fowl, then with a pointed 
as furnish the important or more solid material, and narrow knife, make an incision at the back 
An illustration of this is famished by the Boston of the roof which will divide the vertebrae ami 
Watchman and Reflector lrom the premium list cause immediate death; lifter which hang the 
of the New England Agricultural Society. For fowl up by the legs till the bleeding ceases; 
example, #o3 are offered lor foreign grapes then rinse the beak out with vinegar and water. 
layer of earth to a suitable depth; light should 
be excluded from them. It is also better to 
store potatoes low in a cellar than near the 
ceiling. 
In digging potatoes, the best hand implement 
for universal use is the hook, made of the best 
steel. Round tines draw through the earth 
easier than flat ones with their broadest aides 
at right angles to the handle. In all cases avoid 
injuring the tubers with the implements. 
From appearances, we judge the price of the 
