If a good crop of well flavored potatoes 
is wanted, plow at least ten inches deep. 
An error that many farmers fall into is 
that of planting too shallow. The seed 
ought to he covered deep, not by piling the 
soil on, hut by making the furrows deep. A 
potato will come up from an incredible 
depth. This I know from experience. Last 
fall, in September, I dug a cellar, and some 
parts of rows were covered up with a stiff 
yellow clay to the depth of three feet; and 
to-day I dug some of them and found pota¬ 
toes at the depth of eighteen inches, and 
very fine ones. My other potatoes were all 
dead ripe three weeks ago; but those in the 
clay bank are as green to-day as they were 
in June. 
Another error that, farmers have heretofore 
made is using too much seed ; but it is diffi¬ 
cult to convince some of them of this fact. 
I tried some experiments with dilferent 
amounts of seed this season. With a single 
eye to the hill, planted in rows three feet 
apart and twenty inches in the rows, I 
found five and six good, stout stems yielding 
very line large potatoes; two eyes to the 
hill same distance, gave from ten to twelve 
stems which were not so strong and healthy, 
and, while there were more potatoes to the 
bill, they were not so large, and yielded less 
and less as 1 increased the amount of seed— 
that is, more in number but less in weight. 
I found, also, that small seed would yield 
more small potatoes and the. large seed more 
large ones, no matter how they were cut 
Potatoes are, as a general thing, worked 
too much. One harrowing, after they are 
about two inches high, with the hack of the 
harrow, to level the ground and destroy 
we6ds, then two plowings, is enough; but 
they should not he hilled up; it injures the 
vine and, in my opinion, causes the rot many 
times when it. might he avoided. Keep 
them clear of weeds. 
I shall plant some Early Rose this fall to 
try the experiment of tall planting, and will 
give my experience next year, Providence 
permitting. Geo. W. Idner. 
Cumberland, Ind., Oct. 5th, 1869. 
time it is required to crib Indian corn. Two 
acres of broom com may be stowed away to 
dry in a crib that will hold five hundred 
bushels of corn. The modm operand! is, pro 
cure lath for the purpose, and tack horizon¬ 
tal strips on the inside of the crib, beginning 
at the bottom, and so up to the top, one every 
three inches, on which the lath can he placed 
as fast as required. Begin at the bottom at 
one end; till to the desired height; then 
start another tier as before. 
The seed to he saved should be spread on 
the barn floor, say two or three inches deep, 
and stirred every day till cured. It is usually 
worth about the same price as oats for com¬ 
mon purposes, as it may he ground for 
cows, horses, pigs, &e., and makes good feed 
for poultry. I would not teed it to any¬ 
thing witli young. For seed to plant, the 
best way is to select that which the cylinder 
knocks the furthest on the ham floor, as 
that is the heaviest and plumpest. That 
designed for planting should never be kept 
stored in tight boxes or barrels; but alter it 
is thoroughly dried, it may he kept in a bag 
and hung up out of the way of mice. Fifty 
to seventy-five bushels of seed is the usual 
yield per acre; five hundred to eight hun¬ 
dred pounds the usual yield of brush. 
It. requires no great skill or capital to raise 
broom corn successfully. The great wonder j 
is, that during the high prices of the last 
three or four years for brooms there has 
been so little grown. Peter Wykoff. 
Romulus, Seneca Co., N. Y. 
Remarks. — This is a valuable, concise, 
and practical statement of what is required 
in broom corn culture, and will, no doubt, 
meet the wants of many of our readers. 
EVER IMPROVING. 
arm i&tommn 
The above should be the watchword of 
all farmers, no matter what their circum¬ 
stances are in a pecuniary point of view. 
Improvements and repairs about, the farm, 
though small and insignificant as they may 
appear, add greatly to the comfort and con¬ 
venience of attendants and domestic animals. 
Look about you and strive to find how and 
where you may host improve your barns, 
stable, fences, etc. In your barn perhaps an 
extra grain bin is necessary for holding the 
threshed products of the farm, or a plank floor 
under the bay would he a great improve¬ 
ment over the one of rails or poles, through 
which dirt is constantly sifting, and the la¬ 
borer is is danger of falling through spaces 
between the same. 
In the stable, another board added to the 
height of the division between the stalls, 
would prevent vicious animals from injuring 
each other when placed in adjoining stalls. 
The. feed box may be situated so low in the 
manger as to necessitate being cleaned from 
hay, chafT, etc., each time it is desired to feed 
grain—or the stall floor may he level or de¬ 
scend toward the manger, which should at 
once be obviated. Arrange your stable in 
such a. manner that the animals may he fed 
without carrying the fodder behind them, 
thence at their side to the manger ;no words 
are required to show the danger of this prac¬ 
tice, and yet there are hundreds of stables 
arranged in such a manner that such feeding 
is necessitated. 
When by the action of the wind or any 
other cause, a board is detached from the 
fence, or building, re-arrange it immediately, 
before it should fall to the ground—perhaps 
split.—Or otherwise rendered unfit for use, or 
unsightly, which a moment’s work at the 
right, time would have prevented. Gates 
should supersede the bars of the past gener¬ 
ation. 
A thorough system of underdraining should 
be practiced instead of injuring the appear¬ 
ance of your fields by a multitude of deep 
and destructive dead furrows, which but im¬ 
perfect ly drain your land,and are so detrimen¬ 
tal to mowing or reaping machines when 
used upon its undulating surface. 
A page of the Rural could he devoted to 
this Ever Improving subject, with perhaps 
much benefit to its readers, nevertheless, if 
the before mentioned suggestions are heeded, 
any farmer will see how ho may he able to 
improve other portions of his farm. Observe 
the conveniences about your neighbor’s farm, 
and if adapted to your case, at once adopt 
them. l. d. s. 
NEW JERSEY DUMP-WAGON, 
ABOUT BROOM CORN, 
We present herewith engravings showing 
a form of durup-wagon which has been used 
the past thirty years in Monmouth county, 
N. J., and adjoining counties. No farmer 
there thinks his stock of implements com¬ 
plete without, one. They are regarded indis¬ 
pensable labor-saving contrivances in hand¬ 
ling marl, lime, muck, manure, etc. Espe¬ 
cially in accumulating material for compost 
they are useful, since the construction of the 
box is such that the wagon may he turned 
short, and the load dumped in almost any 
situation. With the body of the box is made 
a hind axle, (a. Fig. 2,) to fit the hind wheels 
of the ordinary bolster wagon; and the front 
part (axle and wheels) of the ordinary farm 
wagon are used for the dump when neces¬ 
sary, thus diminishing the cost thereof. 
Having seen several inquiries in relation 
to broom com, 1 herewith otfer what I con¬ 
sider the best practice for the common farm¬ 
er. The land may be anything but a heavy 
clay. It may be raised successfully on any 
ground that will grow a good crop of Indian 
corn. A small patch is sometimes marked 
out one way, ns for corn, and the seed 
dropped along continuously, at the rate of 
three quarts to the acre, and then harrowed 
in lengthwise of the rows. 1 prefer a good 
seed drill, like II. L. Emery’s, manufac¬ 
tured at Albany, N. Y., one of which 1 have 
used upwards of twenty years. It is better 
than hand planting, for the reason that it 
marks out, drops, covers and rolls the seed 
in the ground in a proper manner in a drill 
one inch wide; whereas hand planting, many 
times, leaves the drill eight or ten inches 
wide, making it expeusive to cultivate, if 
naturally weedy. The smaller the seed of 
any kind, generally speaking, the more care¬ 
ful we should he not. to plant too deep; one 
inch is deep enough for broom corn. 
In this altitude, Central New York', it 
should not he planted before the 13th of May. 
The reason is that some seasons, if planted 
earlier, the stalks have side shoots, emanating 
from dilferent heights along the main stem, 
which produce small, worthless heads which 
absorb much of the nutriment t hat would 
otherwise belong to one good head; also the 
seed is liable to rot if too long in the ground 
during cold, wet weather. 
To prepare the seed ready for the planter, 
1 take a small punch that will make a hole 
a trifle larger than the largest broom seed, 
and with it punch a six-quart- pan full of 
holes, from the upper side; put the seed in 
this, and rub or grind it through with a piece 
of inch board about four inches square. 
With t his simple arrangement, seed enough 
may he prepared for one hundred acres in a 
short time. 
Planted the loth of May it will he ready 
Use a eulti- 
Figurc I. 
Figure 1 shows a side view of the dump 
body complete, with the dump (d) drawn in 
the position it appears when the load is 
dumped. Figure 2 is a vertical view of the 
dump-wagon, looking from above it. 
ALSIKE CLOVER, 
During the recent Illinois State Fair at. 
Decatur, we attended a meeting of the North¬ 
western Bee Keepers' Association, from 
which we gleaned the following in relation 
to Alsike clover;—Mr. Dunlap of Cham¬ 
paign, stated that in his neighborhood it had 
been grown the past season, and that, in 
seeding about ten pounds of seed had been 
used to the acre. 
Mr. Baldridge 'of St. Charles, said that 
when the land was in good condition, forty- 
one pounds of seed to the acre was a great 
plenty, lie had quite a number of acres 
under cultivation, and he preferred to have 
the seed scattered thinly over the ground, as 
it ,gave a chance for the plants to spread. 
Thu seed of Alsike clover is very small, and 
three pounds of the seed would go as far as 
ten pounds of the red clover seed. In seed¬ 
ing, Alsike clover could he sown with all 
kinds of grai n. The crop was better for any 
purpose than red clover. It is a vigorous 
grower, and soon tills the ground with roots, 
so that it is extremely hard to break up with 
the plow. It stands the winter well, at least 
in latitude forty-two degrees, where he 
(Baldridge) resides. It will grow on most 
soils, and indeed on any other where red 
clover will grow. It is best adapted to 
heavy, moist clay lands. 
Unlike red clover, the first cutting pro¬ 
duces seed, and when employed for this pur¬ 
pose it should be cut from the 20ih to the 
25th of July. When wanted for hay alone 
it should be cut when in blossom, which in 
this latitude occurs about the 25th of June. 
It gives u large yield of hay, blit the after 
crop does not make a high growth, and is 
best employed for pasturage, and it, stands 
cropping 1 well. It is very fragrant, and 
cows prefer it. to timothy or red clover. For 
dairy stock Mr. B. thought it to be one of 
the most valuable plants grown. 
Mr, Marvin stated that, Alsike clover 
yielded a large amount of honey, rich in 
quality, and considering its peculiar adapta¬ 
tion to stock, either for grazing or for hay, 
he thought it a very valuable plant for cul¬ 
tivation. 
Several others spoke of its value for bee 
pasturage; and from the testimony of those 
present who had employed it or seen item- 
ployed for grazing purposes, it would seem 
there can lie little doubt that its introduction 
on dairy farms would be a source of profit. 
BEAN GOSSIP AND INQUIRIES, 
1 am raising marrow beans as a field crop. 
The season was unfavorable to their growth, 
but 1 expect half a crop. What is the best 
manner of curing them V I wish also to 
know the best, variety in all respects, to cul¬ 
tivate in Steuben Co., N. Y. J should like 
to hear from my friend, II. T B., as lie is 
something on trains, as well as farming mat¬ 
ters generally. 
They tell a pretty good bean story about 
him. It runs about thus:—“ Some lour years 
since lie went up into Allegany county and 
purchased a gdod sized farm, planted it all 
to beans, and the first year cleared enough 
from the crop to pay for the farm and the 
expenses of the crop." Now friend, II. T B , 
how is that? If it is so, you shall be next 
Mayor of Beanville; and we need no longer 
to sing ill at “ Uncle Sam is rich enough t o 
buy us all a farm," for we cun buy limns 
ourselves, plant them to beans and pay for 
them. j. li. ii. 
for operation the 15tli of June, 
valor with steel mold-hoard teeth, because 
with it the ground may he stirred nearer the 
row without danger of covering it. The 
first time, turn the dirt from the. corn toward 
the center, going one furrow to the row. 
The next week go two furrows to the row, 
cutting closer than the first time, still throw¬ 
ing the dirt toward the center between the 
rows. If weedy it should he trimmed up 
with the hoe, uncovered, and perhaps in 
some places thinned out The third time 
going through reverse the mold-hoard teeth 
so as to throw the dirt toward the corn. II 
skillfully performed we thus evade hand 
hoeing very much, and cheat the weeds and 
thistles out of their claims. 
Harvesting, if a good, warm, growing sea¬ 
son, may he commenced about lOlli to the 
15th of September, or while the seed is in 
the milk. In this the first operation is 
tabling. It is done by walking between two 
rows, breaking it down about knee high or 
more, first on one side then the other, ami 
laying the tops of one side at right angles 
with the tops of the oilier side, in such a 
way that it forms a resting place on which 
the brush may he placed, when cut, so as to 
dry. Brush should not be left, on the ground 
over night., ms it may change its color. After 
being cut and dried a day or two in the sun 
or wind, it should he spread on the hay mow 
or racks about two inches thick. In cutting 
observe that, the leaf that adheres to the 
stalk should he taken off before laying it 
down to dry. The stem of short brush may 
he eight inches long; of long brush four 
inches is sufficient. 
The sooner threshing is done after cutting, 
the better. It is generally done by horse 
power. A cheap way is to take an old 
threshing machine cylinder, and if the teeth 
are thin, use them; if not, remove them and 
insert teetli that you can make of steel wire 
three-sixteenths of an iuch; cut the teeth 
three inches long, so as to drive them in 
about midway; space off the rows in which 
they are inserted about three-fourths of au 
inch apart. They may he about four inches 
apart in the rows, and the tips may have the 
roughness filed smooth; some make them 
fiat. Nail a thin strip up near the end of the 
teeth, so that, in holding a handful of hnish 
on the cylinder, the fingers need not be 
drawn in. It requires one boy to drive, one 
to “ handful,” (or size the handfuls,) one to 
hold the brush on the cylinder, and one to 
take care of the brush. It should not be 
held on the cylinder more than a second; 
then turn it. over. If held on too long it de¬ 
stroys the whisk. The brush should, after 
thrashing, be taken to the dry-house and 
spread out, if not already dry. If perfectly 
green it may be cured in twelve or fifteen 
days ready for baling, of which process 1 
know nothing, as I have worked up the corn 
in broom. 
To make a cheap dry-house, a common 
corn crib may be used, and emptied by the 
Figure 2. 
The inside measure of the dump body 
or box (e) is. — Length, seven feet; front 
width, two feet; rear width, three feet two 
inches; height, ot box, one foot five inches. 
Tli is body is made with two side sills (one 
of which, M, is shown in figure 1) seven feet 
six inches long, five inches wide and two 
and a half inches thick. Tnc hind ends of 
these sil-Js arc mortised and pinned in the 
hind axle, os shown in Figure 2, at h, h. A 
cross-piece is framed into the front end of 
these sills; (o, Fig. l s ) flush with the bottom 
of the sills; this cross-piece Ls eight inches 
wide and two aiid a half inches thick. Up¬ 
rights, (x, x, x, x,) one and a half inches thick 
by two inches wide, are framed in the sills, 
supporting a rail (r) one and a half inches 
wide. This top rail is set. back from the in¬ 
side of the sill so as to allow the sides (of 
box) to be riveted on and be flush with the 
insides of the sills. This forms t lie body of 
the box, without the dump bottom, (d.) 
The bottom of two side sills (s, s, Fig. 2, or 
e, Fig. 1) four inches wide, two and a half 
inches thick and seven feet long, with cross¬ 
pieces (c,e, c, Fig. 2,) framed in flush w itli the 
top of the side sills, to support the board bot¬ 
tom which covers the whole dump body, 
and which are laid lengthwise. Frame into 
these side sills (», a, Fig. 2, or d, Fig. 1,) two 
pieces of inch plank (n, Fig. 1,) at the front 
end to carry the seat. Board tip on the 
back side of these plank as high as the sides 
of the box, to form the front end of the 
dump bottom. Let the two front Corel's of 
these uprights extend six inches above the 
rail, to form standards to hitch the lines to, 
and frame iuto the outside sills (m, Fig. 1,) 
two stakes (o, Fig. 1,) or standards, one inch 
from the rear ends of the sides of the body, 
to hold the tail-board. 
A heavy iron rod or bolt runs through the 
center of the sills (d, Fig. 1,) which support 
the sides of the box, and the sills of the 
dump (s, s, Fig. 2,) supporting the center of 
the dump. The rear end of the dump works 
onJj r extends to the inside of the hind axle, 
and is flush with the top thereof, so that 
when it is desired to shovel out of the hind 
end of the wagon without dumping the load 
it can be done with as little inconvenience 
as from a common wagon. The dump is 
held in position while loading by a key bolt 
with a staple projecting through the forward 
cross-piece of the body, and a strong Avood 
or iron key, as seen at k, Fig. 2. The front 
end of the body is made narrower than the 
hind end, that the wagon may he turned, and 
in order to distribute the weight of the load, 
so that it may dump itself readily. 
S. Barker. 
CARE OF FARM IMPLEMENTS 
A avriter on tli is subject assumes a de¬ 
gree of attention to it that is far in advance 
of the examples I have seen among farmers. 
His remarks suggest the hope that there are 
some places in the country where things of 
this kind are nicely and duly regarded. 
First, he assumes that there is a tool-house. 
Certainly there ought to be, on every plan¬ 
tation. But how often is it the case that 
there is no special provision made for the 
protection of the utensils! Plows are thrown 
carelessly against an out-house; mattocks 
arc set against the fence; hoes are hung in 
the trees, or lie about w here they chanced 
to he left; shovels stand rusting in the chim¬ 
ney corner, or lie “ about the j'avd,” while 
even carts and wagons have a poor shelter, 
if any at all. 
Secondly, he assumes that w hen a plow or 
cultivator is not to be used the following 
day it is brought to the proper place—the 
tool-house; indeed, assumes that this is al- 
Avays done with smaller tools when the day’s 
Avork is done. Of course they are not 
brought to a place of security when there is 
no such place provided. Often the plow s, 
hues, &c., are permitted to lie exposed to 
rain and sun for weeks, just as they Avere 
lell Avhen that field Avas left. Sometimes, 
alas! too frequently for the credit of our 
farmers, is such a colloquy as this heard 
upon the farm: 
“ Where is the two-horse plow?” 
“ It Ls down on the road where I broke up 
the turnip patch." 
“ Where is the coulter? ” 
“ It’s at the new ground, where we left it 
when Ave finished breaking up in the spring.” 
“ Where are the hoes ? ” 
“ There’s one over yonder in the cotton 
field, and John left one where he was clean¬ 
ing up ou the branch, and there’s another 
about the barn someAvhere, hanging up in 
the home-apple tree, I believe.” 
“Where are the single-trees?" 
“ There’s one by the smoke-house, and an¬ 
other in the corner of the fence by the gate, 
and, it strikes me, I saw that long new one 
on a stump in the fresh field not more than 
a month ago.” 
“ Where’s that large clevis ? ” 
“ Bob had it the last I saw of it.” 
“ Where is it, Bob ? ” 
“ I gave it to Tom to bring to the house 
Avhen the pin broke, that day you went to 
toAvn.” 
“Where is it, Tom?” 
Raising Brans—A New Way.—The past fall 
showed t he necessity of securing beans properly. 
A very large proport ion were spoiled by the rain. 
In some cases, however, the crop Avas saved, 
though exposed for three tveeks to the rain. 
AVe have, au instance In the case of Mr. James 
Vun Slyke of Frankfort, N. V., w ho hung his 
bCUOS on dwarf hemlocks, the trees of such a 
size as to favor convenience. It took about forty 
to tlie aero, two bushel* of beans to the tree. 
The sapling is sharpened at the foot, a hole made 
Avii lia bar, and then thrust in as one would a 
liop-polo. The beans are hung on (he limbs, be¬ 
ginning at the center, thus forming a cone, the 
top capped with si raw Or grass. The cap and the 
form of the stack shod the rain, and the spread 
of the limbs gives a chance for the air to circu¬ 
late, and being removed from the ground, no 
danger results. The skeleton trees may be con¬ 
tinued for years.- f. g. 
Urenrc'* Seed I ilia Potatoes.—AVc were preseut 
at a dinner in Boston, where a number of the 
members and guostsof die Massachusetts Horti¬ 
cultural Society tested, in succession, the eating 
qualities of several of i Itose seedlings, indicating 
their respective opinions by marking on a scale 
of tcu. Counting the aggregate votes on ouch, 
they stood in (lie estimation of the voters in the 
following order, the first named receiving the 
largest vote:—1. Brosce's No. 6: 2. Early Hose; 
3. King of the Eurlies; 4. Bresee's Pro I i liu; 5. 
Bresee’s No. 7; G. Brosce's No. 5. It is proper to 
state that all of these potatoes cooked well, were 
mealy and palatable; but not one of them 
equaled in flavor, in our opinion, either the old 
Carter, or Pinkeye. 
POTATO CULTURE. 
Potatoes are a crop that is every year 
increasing in importance. More are planted 
and t he best varieties arc sought, no matter 
what the price may be. Have Ave been cul¬ 
tivating them aright? I think not, until 
(perhaps some ha ve done so) this year. The 
soil, if not naturally good, should be made 
so by a liberal supply of manure. Next in 
importance is breaking the ground. Shal¬ 
low ploAving Avill not do. The roots or 
feeders in most potatoes grow some four or 
five feet in length, and if the plowing is 
shallow they are compelled to keep near the 
surface of the ground, and the potatoes, 
when of any size, protrude through the sur¬ 
face, turn green by exposure to the air, and 
become hitter. The potatoes are formed on 
these feeders, hut near the main stem or 
stalk, and not at the extreme end of them, 
The Sweet Potato Bloom?,— Some time since I 
wrote a letter to you in which I stated that the 
sweet potato did bloom. 1 now enclose to you 
a pressed sample of the bloom and bud of the 
common yam potato, which was plucked from 
the vino on October 1. 1 fear it will bo damaged 
in transit, but hope enough will bo loft to con¬ 
vince you of the fact.—T. M. Fort, Bellevue, La., 
Oct,, I860. 
The sample came all right, and we are con¬ 
vinced ; though wo must say that we never saw 
a sweet potato in bloom nort h of the latitude of 
Washington, D. C. 
Many Agriculturist!* in California are turning 
their attention to raising opium. The poppy 
plant will grow there almost without cultiva¬ 
tion. Raw opium is worth about twenty dollars 
a pound. _ 
