MM 
©SHE’S BUBAL NEW-YOBKER. 
Afield flfvop. 
SEEDLING POTATOES vs. “SPORTS. 
BV GEO. W. CAMPBELL. 
I nAVE been for some years experiment- N 
ing with potato seedlings, without, however, la 
producing any specially interesting or valu- m 
able results until throe years ago. I planted d< 
a quantity of seed from seed-balls of the hi 
Early Rose. I then raised forty seedlings, q 
which were grown In a siugle row in my gar- tl 
den, in soil of ordinary fertility, entirely d 
without manure, if I except a little muriate w 
of lime sprinkled about the collar of each o< 
plant to protect from cut-worms. They g 
were all planted at the same time, in as 
nearly a? possible the same soil, and had the v 
same treatment throughout the season. s < 
Perhaps the most interesting feature In this 1 
experiment was t he extreme variableness of $ 
its results. The plants, while growing, pro- t 
' seated a great diversity in appearance in <J 
foliage, and especially in size, vigor and c 
strength. The product was not less varied, t 
One plant gave two potatoes, each about the 4 
size and shape of a pecan nut; weight, half 9 
an ounce. This was the smallest yield. 8 
More than half tho others produced quite i 
small potatoes, from three or four to per- ^ 
haps a dozeu tubers to a bill, in size from a i 
filbert to that of a pullet’s egg. Of t hose re- t 
maitiiug, some produced mare and larger 
potatoes, the product Varying, with one ex- , 
ception, from one pound to t wo and a-half , 
pounds to a plant. These seedlings wore : 
also as diverse in form and color as in ot her , 
respects. Nearly all colors common to po- ( 
tatoes, from white to dark, rusty red, and , 
nearly every variety of form was ro-pro- j 
duced, but in a majority of cases a family , 
likeness to tho parent Early Rose could be 
traced. 
The one exception above indicated stands 
out so prominently from all the rest, by rea¬ 
son of its wonderful productiveness, as to bo 
worthy of special notice. Its yield the first 
year, from the seed, was twenty potatoes of 
marketable size, the largest tuber weighing 
twelve ounces, and ranging from this down 
to the size of a hen's egg—tho aggregate 
weight being six and a-half pounds. This, 
it will be observed, was four pounds in ex¬ 
cess, and nearly t hree times greater than 
the yield of any other of the seedlings. The 
quality was fairly tested and found excel¬ 
lent; by nearly all who tried them, pro¬ 
nounced equal to the While Peach Blow, or 
any of our best varieties. The next season, 
about three pounds were cut into single 
eyes, and planted in common garden soil, 
where corn had grown the previous year, 
once plowed, and lightly top-dressed with 
leached ashes. The yield was almost three 
barrels, or nearly a barrel to euch pound 
planted; and upon measuring the ground, 
was found to be at the rate of 380 bushels to 
the acre, which was four times the yield of 
Early Rose, and ten times as much as tho 
White Peach Blow yielded the same season. 
This enormous productiveness still con¬ 
tinues. The past season it was fairly tested 
iu a parallel row with Peerless, in the same 
soil, planted at the same time, and with ex¬ 
actly the same culture and treatment 
throughout the season. The result was, 
four bushels or the seedling, against one 
and three-fourths of Peerless. Others to 
whom it was 3cnt for trial last spring, re¬ 
port even greater results than my own. Dr. 
Warder raised sixty-three pounds from 
half a pound planted, notwithstanding se¬ 
vere drouth all summer. Planted near by, 
Peerless gave but five pecks for four pounds 
of seed planted. 
(\>1. D. C, Richmond of Brie Co. reports 
three bushel* from one small potato and a 
piece from the end of another—not over 
half a pouud weight. The Colonel says he 
expected about half a bushel, and was 
greatly astonished when he found the yield 
was three bushels. 
F. R. Elliott described this potato last 
season, and gave it the name of “Late 
Rose,” which was adopted without knowing 
there were any other varieties of that name. 
The following is extracted from Mr. Elli¬ 
ott’s description: 
“In May last we received, through the 
courtesy of Mr. Campbell, two potatoes, 
one of which we cooked and ate, findiug it 
mealy; and taking ten as perfection, this 
ranked at nine, and probably had it been iu 
better condition, for it was a little shriveled 
by drying in the mail carriage, it would have 
ranked the full ten. However, we give it 
as we had it. The tuber is much in form 
like the Early Rose. The upper end is of 
rich, pale-red, while the lower end is a piuk- 
1 ish white. The eye i3 nearly level with the 
k surface, deep, rich, pinkish red, and with 
an average of five germs to each eye or clus¬ 
ter of eyes.” 
It is emphatically a late potato, the 
growth continuing through the whole sea¬ 
son, the tops remaining fresh and green till 
October. The tubers all grow iu a large 
cluster around and near the stem, render¬ 
ing the diggiug very easy and expeditious. 
Next to its wonderful productiveness, its 
late-keepiug qualities in spring are perhaps 
moEt desirable. Iu the same cellar, and uu- , 
der the same conditions, where Early Rose , 
had sprouts two feet in length, and conse¬ 
quently shriveled and worthless for eating, ^ 
the eyes of this seedling remained perfect!} 
dormant, and the tuber solid and crisp as , 
when first dug. It is easily kept iu good 
condition in spring (ill now potatoes are j 
gi’own ready for the table. i 
To distinguish it from several “sports 
which have been named “ Late Rose, this 
seedling will be called “Campbell’s Late 
Rose,” and is the only variety grown from 
seed of that mime. For two seasons past 
tho Early Rose seems to have shown a ten¬ 
dency to “sport,” or ripen u portion of its 
crop later than its nu!oral period; and in 
two or three instances these abnormal 
“ sports ” have been sought to be perpetu¬ 
ated and introduced as new varieties, and 
all under the name of Lat e Rose. Tho most 
natural conclusion as to those “sports’ 
would seem to bo, that their character can 
be neither reliable nor permanent; but t hat 
they will goon “sporting” no one knows 
where or in what direction. This tendency 
to later ripening is doubtless the result of a 
weakened constitution in certain plants, 
and most probably the Incipient step to¬ 
wards that degeneracy and decay that has 
overtaken and destroyed so many of our 
once popular and valuable, varieties. Ibo 
idea that these degenerate “ sports can 
ever result in anything really useful or 
valuable, would seem opposed to all reason¬ 
able analogy or former experience; and the 
attempt to impose them upon tho public as 
new and desirable varieties must be re¬ 
garded as very questionable. That these 
views are not without foundation, I quote 
from Mr. Gerard C. Bhown of Croton 
Falls, N. V., in an extract from theN. Y. 
Sun ot' Dec. G, 1871, where he thus speaks of 
these "Lute Rose “ sports.” 
He says: — “ The Late Rose (sport) Is un¬ 
doubtedly an ofl'shoot of the Rose. I have 
noticed it carefully for two years; have, 
planted it separately, and am not convinced 
that it will continue to maintain, itself as a 
dist inct variety. Its priuclpal characteristic 
' seems to be its coarse grain and lateness, 
which may arise from some accidental 
weakness or degeneration of t he seed. ’ 
He also states that “it shows a decided 
tendency to dry-rot in winter,” and that 
i the yield was inferior to that of Early Rose 
> or King of the Earlies, and only one-fifth 
I that or Peerless. He regards it as un- 
, worthy of perpetuation. 
> Bearing upon the same subject, Mr. Wm. 
1 TIttnt, in an article upon potatoes in the 
5 Country Gentleman of Jan. 4th, iu speak- 
* ing of these “sports,” says: — “ But let no 
- one suppose that varieties raised in this 
1 way will prove as hardy and as lasting as 
* others raised from the seed-bail. Besides 
* being more liable to rot, they will bo con- 
t tinually given to ‘sport.’ Home will go 
, back to the original; many will be deformed 
i) and scrubby, and in from three to five years 
a all will be worthless. I have made many 
experiments, and know well the facts of 
'• which 1 am writing.” 
a Delaware, O., 1873. 
COLORADO AS A SHEEP COUNTRY. 
FIELD NOTES AND QUERIES. 
Peannt Culture.—I should be greatly 
obliged if any of your Southern readers who 
grow peanuts extensively would give their 
mode. And I should be glad to know if tt 
is profitable to grow for feeding purposes.— 
James (VTIUjkrt. 
We shall be glad if any of our Southern 
readers will respond. It is easily cultiva¬ 
ted, and by some of the Southwestern plant¬ 
ers is regarded an excellent food for stock. 
It requires a warm, rich soil, well prepared 
by deep culture. It should be planted af¬ 
ter the ground is thoroughly warm, In rows 
three to three and a-half feet apart and one 
and a-half feet apart iu the row, and the 
plants carefully kept clear of weeds and 
gradually tilled until in blossom. Some of 
the large Southern planters harvest it by 
plowing out the rows, letting the nuts lie In 
the sun until dry, gathering what may ap¬ 
pear on the surface, and turning in the hogs 
to dig out the rest. 
T. S., Milwaukie, asks our “ impressions n< 
of Colorado as a sheep country—from what Cl 
place and how proper sheep to start flocks 01 
with can be got there — and whether it 
would be best to depend upon enclosures or 
manage the sheep by shepherds.” 
We have not received detailed Informa- £ 
trcm in regard to the various facts which g 
would go conclusively to -how the relative ri 
adaptability of Colorado to sheep and wool ( 
production, from men experienced in such n 
matters, and who have made their obsevva- 
lions on t he spot. But from all wo have „ 
learned, our impressions, of it in that respect, t 
are favorable. Tt occupies the same Inti- u 
tude with Kansas, Missouri, Southern Illi¬ 
nois, Kentucky ami Virginia. A reliable 
friend of ours was told by fioclt masters not * 
more t han a dozen mill's south of Denver, 
that In that locality snow very rarely lies c 
for twenty-four hours deep enough to pro- r 
vent sheep from grazing. Careful men ' 
make a little liny for their sheep, but ue- 1 
casions for using it, are very unusual. Den- 1 
ver is situated nearly two-huudred miles ** 
North of the South boundary of the terri- < 
tory, so that greatly milder climates exist • 
in It than tho one above mentioned. c 
The native grasses extend over vast tracts, } 
and are highly nutritious and palatable. 
Hlieep J thrive and keep fat on them the year ( 
round. A correspondent of the Chicago 1 
Evening Post, writing from Colfax, Colo¬ 
rado, says:—“The pasture yields double 
the quantity of sheep feed that it does of 
stock feed. The principal grasses are: 
First, bunch grass, which grows in separate 
stools and covers tho smaller portion of t he 
land. A lthough very rich pasture grass, it. 
is as good for sheep as for stock, and if there 
was no other feed, neither would have any 
advantage. Second, buffalo or graimf grass, 
which covers the ground like a well worn 
carpet, is allowed to possess more nutritive 
properties than any other grass, and yet is 
so close to the. ground that our domestic 
cattle can get but little good from it. This 
grass is all leaves, which grow short and curl 
close to the ground. I do not know the ap¬ 
pearance of this grass iu Summer, but at 
the present time, if you press your hand 
"upon it, it feels like a thick mat, aud a 
sheep might standstill and eat. a full meal 
after the hunch grass and weeds were all 
gone.” 
(>f the profitableness of Sheep husbandry 
in Colorado, he expresses the following opin¬ 
ion “ No sheep arc kept iu the valley, and 
owners of stock ranches would prefer that 
none should be brought in, but T think that 
sheep raising will yet take the placo of stock 
growing, except for the dairy business. 
Ranches can be run and stocked with sheep 
with much less capital than with cattle, 
i While stock growing pays fifty to one httn- 
- dred percent, on the investment, sheep and 
> wool growing will pay one hundred to two 
i hundred per cent.” 
i Greatly the cheapest mode of starting 
5 large flocks in Colorado is with Mexican 
‘ ewes. They can be purchased in auy num- 
> bers in New Mexico, which adjoins (Colorado 
1 on the South. They are coarse-wooled and 
* light-fleeced, but can soon be brought into 
\ profitable wool growing sheep by crosses 
1 with pure Merino rums. A portion of them 
have been somewhat improved by grade 
Merino rams. Altogether we suppose them 
to bo superior to the Mexican sheep, with 
which tho late George NV. Kendall of 
Texas commenced crossing in 1983. His 
Y Mexican ewes yielded a pound of wool a 
head. He states (1857) that the produce of 
t these miserable sheep by Merino rams of 
- “ pure and approved good blood," “ gave ev¬ 
ident signs of great Improvement, not only 
u in form and apparent vigor of constitution, ’ 
t- but in weight aud quality of fleece; those 
■- of the first cross producing “ at least three 
pounds (unwashed) of much finer wool”— 
d those of the second cross, “ four and a-half 
f- or five pounds (unwashed) still finer wool.” 
ra 111 I860 he wrote;—“1 this year sheared 
ie many grade sheep, three and four removes 
ic from the common Mexican ewes, which 
,d yielded eight, eight and a-half, and some of 
jf them nine pounds of unwashed wool, and 
\y of wool so fine that it would require a sharp 
in sampler to distinguish it from pure Merl- 
a- no.” Mr. Kendall attributed his rapid 
the cost of moving them so great a distance 
would not be too great. 
The pastoral system of sheep husbandry 
— i. c., herding them by shepherds, without 
enclosures, except at night, iH tho most prof¬ 
itable—indeed, tho ouly system which i3 
now or w ill be for a great many years to 
come, applicable to the production of wool 
on a large scale iu Colorado. 
SHEPHERD’S MEMORANDA. 
Grub in tho Head of Sheep.—The New 
England Homestead says: — “Dr. Martin 
SACKETT of Westfield, gives the following 
recipe for curing grub in the head of sheep: 
One tablespoonful of butter, melted aud 
mixed with a teaspoonful of spirits of tur¬ 
pentine. Turn this into the sheep’s ears 
onoe a day, for one, two, or throe days, as 
tho case may require. lie says that it 
never fails.” _ 
French Merino and South Down 
Cross. — Our friend C. TL RosenStieL, 
Newport, ill., has been for many years a 
champion of the much-abused French Me¬ 
rino sheep. But he has been diluting them. 
We have seen his flock, lie has been cross¬ 
ing them with South Downs—a French Me¬ 
rino ram with South Down ewes. The re¬ 
sult of the cross is said to be an improved 
carcass, both in “ points ” and size, a mot¬ 
tled and sometimes a dark face, with little 
change in ohuructer of wool. Further ex¬ 
periments are to bo made. Air. Rosenktiel 
is a practical, shrewd man, who observes 
closely and judges with discretion, aud is 
reported to think favorably of the cross. 
Wool Clip of the United States.—Tho 
following statement shows the wool clip of 
the United States for the year ending Juno 
1, 1870, as returned to the Census office: 
New England Stutes, 0,013,863 lbs.; Middle 
States, 17,091,085; Northwestern States, 17,- 
939,047 ; Cotton States, 4,094,309 ; Paciiic 
States, 13,473,381 ; Territories, 1,261,590 — 
grand total, 101,284,078 lbs. This must not 
be understood as indicating the total pro¬ 
duct of wool iu the United States for tho 
year given. To it must bo added the amount 
pulled from pelts, which, for several years 
past, has been quite large. 
The Wool Clip of 1870.—According to 
the forthcoming census report tho entire 
wool clip of the United States aud the ter¬ 
ritories for tho year ending Juno 1st, 1870, 
amounted to 101,384,678 pounds. The 
amount grown by each of tho States aud 
territories is sliown as follows: 
Connecticut, 354,120; Massachusetts, 400,- 
059; Now Hampshire, 1,121,432; Alamo, 1,- 
774,108; Vermont, 3,103,137; Rhode Island, 
77.33S; Pennsylvania, 0,567,732; Now Jersey, 
330.009; New York, 10,599,230; Delaware, 
58,310; Maryland, 435, 313; Illinois, 5,739,219, 
Indiana, 5,039,023; Iowa, 2,907,543; Kansas, 
335,205; Ohio, 30,539,643; Michigan, 8,726,146; 
Minnesota, 407,185; Nebraska, 71,035; Ne¬ 
vada, 27,029; Wisconsin, 4,020,617; Ken¬ 
tucky, 2,334,430; Missouri, 3,649,890; Ten¬ 
nessee, 1,389,762; Virginia, 877,110; West 
Virginia, 1,598,541; Alabama, 370,773; Ar¬ 
kansas, 203,275; Florida, 37,502; Georgia, 
: 845,917; Louisiana, 140.118; Mississippi, 288,- 
1 285; North Carolina, 799,007; South Caruli- 
• na,156,314; Texas, 1,251,328; California, 11,- 
> 391,743; Oregon, 1,080,038; Arizona, 079; 
l Colorado, 204,925; Dakota, 8,810; Idaho, 
> 8,415; Montana, 1,000; New Mexico, 681,930; 
• Utah, 109,018; Washington, 102,713; Wyo- 
1 min g, 30,000. Total Territories, 1,204,599. 
J Total States, 100,080,088. Total, 101,381,078. 
almmi 
Japan Pea.—W. J. Ewbanic asks where 
he can obtain the Japan Pea. We do not 
know who has them for sale. Perhaps some 
of our seedsmen can answer in advertis¬ 
ing columns. 
success greatly to the uso of purc-blood and 
choice rams. (In his letters in Texas Alma¬ 
nac, 1857, i860.) We understand mixed 
Mexican ewes can be purchased of the In¬ 
dians on the northern borders of New Mex¬ 
ico for 81.25 to 81.50 a head. Fair grade 
Merinos from Missouri or Illinois would of 
course be much preferable, if their cost and 
NOTES FOR HERDSMEN. 
Trouble with Cows. —Will some one 
jjlease tell me the disease and what to do 
for two of ray cows. They commenced 
scratching around their eyes, and the hair 
commenced coming off, and extending until 
the circle around the eye is six inches in 
diameter, and splotches all over tho face. 
The skin after the hair comes off, looks 
rough and scaly, somewhat resembling a 
person’s skin that lias a good crop of “ salt 
rheum.”—O regon Subscriber. 
Cow with a Swelling Under her Ear. 
_ l have a cow that has a swelling as largo 
as a goose egg under her ear, and discharges 
matter freely from her ear; have lanced it, 
but it did no good; have tried to clean it 
by syringing blue vitriol in her ear; it did 
no good. Have given her sulphur, when 
tho discharge would almost stop; but as 
soon as discontinued was as bad as ever. 
Tho cow eats heartily and thrives well. 
Would like some information through tho 
Rural.—A Subscriber. 
