CORNELL UNIVERSITY. 
Experiments with Potatoes Detailed. 
On visiting Cornell University, last week, 
I inquired, with some interest, into the 
I present condition of the Agricultural Col¬ 
lege which forms an integral part of it, and 
was gratified to find that it was slowly, 
though surely, growing into a position which 
will satisfy the expectations of Its most ar¬ 
dent friends. It lias always, from the very 
first, given the most, ample instruction in 
the collateral branches of agricultural sci¬ 
ence, but until last year it was unable to 
procure a professor of scientific and practi¬ 
cal agriculture. 1 luring the preceding year, 
W. A. Benham, a most successful farmer, 
and a large taker of the State agricult ural 
prizes, had charge of the farm, which he has 
much improved; but it was conducted with 
reference to the improvement of the land, 
and not expressly for the inst ruction of the 
students, although it has given much em- i 
ployment tostudeutsin necessitouseircunt- I 
stances, having paid out $1,601.82 for stu¬ 
dents’ labor expended on the farm, and $3,- 
156.49 for labor on t he buildings, roads, and 
other services not. performed on the farm, 
making $4,758.31, in all, during the last nine 
months. 
Last September, Prof. II. H. McCandless 
joined the faculty, and commenced his in¬ 
structions, having been elected Professor 
of Agriculture in June, 1871. He was edu¬ 
cated in tlm Glasnevin Agricultural School, 
in Ireland, and was a successful teacher and 
superintendent in that and other Institu¬ 
tions in Ireland. He came to this country 
with a view of being a professor in the agri¬ 
cultural school projected in Ohio; but as 
the opening of that institution has been 
postponed, his services were secured by the 
Trustees of this University. 
He has lectured daily during the past 
year, With much success and acceptance, 
and has imparted to the students a rich fund 
of agricultural knowledge. Tbo trustees 
design to set off forty acres for a model and 
experimental farm, with buildings, stock I i 
and implements, which will be in full oper- I 
ation during the coming year. The most 1 
complete instruction will he given on this < 
farm of the most advanced methods of cul- I 
tivation, draining and Irrigation, Grains, ( 
roots and grasses wilt be tested by the most 
rigorous methods; exact accounts will be \ 
kept, and the methods for the most exact t 
experiments will be taught and practiced, 
so that all the disputed questions of agricul¬ 
ture may bo settled on the most stable basis, [! 
Prof. McCandless has been assisted by 
some of the most eminent agriculturists in U 
the country, who have given lectures to the ^ 
students on subjects with which they were 
specially familiar. SVe had the pleasure; of J 
hearing while (here t wo lectures from Mr. ^ 
L. A. Stewart of Lake View, on the feed¬ 
ing of cattle, which contained a rich store 
of information upon the subject, founded a 
on experiments conducted with great care 
through a long series of years. 11 
of 
Potato Experiments. |i( 
Dr. Hexamer delivered a very valuable ;; - 
Course of lectures on the potato in 1871. and (li 
presented to the University samples of l td 
dillerent varieties o! potatoes which wore ' 
planted by Mr. Benham, the director of the f,„ 
farm, They were planted on tlm 13th of otj 
May, 1871, and were dug on tlm 21st <.r Oc- j v 
lober. The soil was a light, sandy loam and ar< 
the season was uncommonly dry and the t j,, 
slope of the land toward the West. One t p, 
potato of each kind was planted, and was so o 
divided as to make three hills. The result 
was as follows: I u 
_ I tes 
Potatoes Yielding One Pound and Less. I 
-Seventeen varieties, vizEarly Indiana, ma 
lb.; Seedling from South America, % lb.; acc 
Jto.val Ashland Kidney, X lb.; Caster,' 1 lb.; hnv 
Michigan Red, 1 lb.; Central City, lb.; you 
Nutmeg, }4 lb.; Mona’s Pride, 1 lb; Wild Aei 
South American, 1 lb.; Early Shaw, 1 lb.; {) f 1 
Ohio Mercer, 1 lb.; Jones’Seedling, ’lb.; , na j 
Granite State, X lb.; Mountain Pink Eye, j ng 
1 lb.; Coppermine, y. lb.; Phiebrick’s Early 1Min 
White, 1 lb. pup 
Potatoes Weighing Five Pounds and I 
More than One Pound. — Twenty-two va- I 
rieties, viz: — Western Chief. 4 lbs.; Seed- I la 
ling Mercer, 3 lbs.; Ash-leaf Kidney, 2 lbs.; I pub, 
Early Snowball, 4 lbs.; Black Kidney, 2 the 
lbs.; No Blow, 4 lbs.; Dykeman, 5 lbs.; I trie! 
Dover, 3 lbs.; Patterson’s Irish Blue, 3 lbs.; I the 
Michigan White Sprouts, 3 lbs.; London it is 
White, 3 lbs.; Goodrich Seedling, 4 lbs.; I arou 
Mercer, 3 lbs.; Titacaca, 5 lbs.; Ni Moni- by ft 
tor, 4 lbs.; Amazon, 4 lbs.; Early Wendell, hous 
5 lbs.; Early Queen, 3 lbs.; Seedling Rock, I wage 
5 lbs.; Mercer Seedling, 2 lbs.; Chenango, 4 
lbs.; Early Golden, 4 lbs. 
Potatoes Weighing Ten Pounds and 
More titan Five Pounds. —Forty-six varie¬ 
ties, viz: —Michigan Peach Blow, 10 lbs.; 
Cow-horn, 8 lbs.; Western Prince Albert, 
10 lbs. ; Shaw, 7 lbs. ; White Clinton, 8 lbs.; 
f ( * 1 ’ Maine Mercer, 9 lbs.; Lady Finger, 8 lbs.; 
* Peach Blow, 10 1bB.; Western Red, 9 lbs.; 
ol " Now Kidney, 10 lbs.; Early Mohawk, 7 lbs.; 
, Snow Ball, 7 lbs.; Extra Early White, 6 
lbs.; Blue Pink Eye. 10 lbs.; Buckeye, G 
ucb lbs.; Early Cottage., 6 lbs.; Early Victor, 7 
ar ' lbs.; Early Stevens, 10 lbs.; Worcester 
<r - v Seedling, 10 lbs.; Patterson's Albert, 8 % 
1 1,1 lbs.; Pigeon Eye, 10 lbs.; Early Pink Eye, 
qf -‘~ 7 lbs.; Scotch White, 10 lbs.; Rochester 
V° Seedling, 8 lbs.; Jersey Monitor, 10 lbs.; 
.. Pa "°T 8 lbs.; Nova Scotia, 8 lbs.; 
• u ' Blue Mercer, 8 lbs.; Pink Eye Rusty coat, 8 
!rd **■’*•’ Farly Rose, 9 lbs.; King of the Kar¬ 
ins ^s.; Lincoln Red, 10 lbs.; Br ease's 
iU| Prolilio, 6 lbs.; Garnet Chili, 9 lbs.; Early 
nd Purple, 9 lbs. ; Calico, 7 lbs. ; Jackson 
t l 1( ^ White, 7 lbs.; Early Hands worth, 6 lbs.; 
in- ^huker Russet I , 10 lbs.; Cusco, 10 lbs.; Culi- 
ni _ fornia, 7 lbs.; Bulkier Monitor, 7 lbs.; 
tn- White Mercer, 8 lbs.; Nansemond, 9 lbs.; 
..j _ Vanderver, or Mauhassctt, 10 lbs. 
nd Potatoes Weighing 15 lbs. and Over 10.— 
m, Thirty-seven varieties, viz:—Calico, 13 lbs.; 
no Sapstono Kidney, 13 lbs.; State of Maine, 
1311)8.; Merino, 13lbs.; Peach Blow, 141bs. ; 
sss Harison, M lbs.; White Chili, 11 lbs.; Early 
in- Henry, 14 lbs.; (’berry Blow, 131bs.; White 
lor Hock, 13 lbs.; Old Red, 13 lbs.; Utica Piuk- 
u- eye. 13 lbs.; Chili No. 2,14 lbs.; Early June, 
ol, 13 lbs.; Purple Chill, 13 lbs.; Raspberry 
ud Leaf, 14 lbs.; New Hartford, 13 lbs.; Pale 
u- Flush Pinkeye, Dibs.; Rough and Ready, 
ry 11 lbs.; Red Streak. 14 lbs.; Early Prince, 
[>1. 14 lbs. ; Holbrook, 12lbs. ; Willard, 14 lbs.; 
as Early Peach Blow, 16 lbs,; Orono, 13 lbs. ; 
?n Strawberry, 15lbs.; Black Diamond, 13 lbs.; 
ie Sea Beach, 14 lbs.; Prairie Flower, 11 lbs.; 
Purple Mercer, 15 lbs.; Old Kidney, 12lbs.; 
st Mexican, 15 lbs.; Qulmb's Seedling, 11 lbs.; 
e, King of Potatoes, 15 lbs.; Peerless, 14 lbs.; \ 
id Chvnery, 13 lbs.; Concord, 15 lbs.; Blanche , 
, s White-eyed Peach Blow, 16 lbs. 
d Potatoes Weighing 20 II,s. and Over 15 \ 
k //is.—Eleven varieties, viz: — Excelsior, 17 « 
lbs.; White Apple, 20 lbs.; Bermuda, 18 i 
it lbs.; Prince of Wales, 19lbs.; Irish Ameri- s 
is can, 1G lbs.; Great Western, 18 lbs,; White u 
i- Peach Blow, l« lbs.; Climax, 16 lbs.; An- c 
s, deg, 20 lbs.; Monitor, 17 lbs. K 
t Potatoes Weighing Over 20 lbs.—Three f: 
e varieties, viz:—Late Pinkeye, 21 lbs.; Tor- b 
t forshire Red. 26 lbs.; Dyright, 22 lbs. 
’ Although the above weights do not meas- is 
ure the relative fecundities of the several I 
• kinds, except for the soil of the University w 
under the conditions in which they were ti 
| grown, vet they are of great, interest as ai 
' demonstrating the enormous differences In ai 
productiveness that exists among different rt 
sorts. It is of great interest to the prncti- d< 
cal farmer to know t hat there arc seven teen tl 
varieties that average only a yield of 8.88 U 
oz. to one planted potato; 22 varieties of a® 
the 2d class average 3.59 lbs.; 46 varieties of tb 
the 3d class, average 8.H lbs; 38 varieties 
of the 4t.h class average 13.33 lbs.; 11 varie- th 
l ies of the 5th class average 17.(13 lbs., and sli 
.3 varieties of the Cth elass average 33 lbs. as efl 
the prodnoe of a single cut potato divided ho 
into three pieces. gft . 
Those facts explain very clearly why some an 
farmers raise potatoes at a great profit and su- 
ot hers at a great loss. If the latter will on- liti 
ly take pains to select potatoes for seed that wh 
ure exactly adapted for their special condl- eig 
t ions they, too, can raise crops of potatoes cm 
that will be very profitable. q’h 
1 liree pot atoes of each kind will be plant- of 
ed this year, and they will then bo specially tlo 
tested for quality. 
I am happy to say that with a view to me; 
make agricultural education more easily prii 
accessible to farmers’ sons, the Trustees act 
have generously resolved to receive t wenty livl 
younghien, to be nominated by the State 
Agricult ural Society, without the payment 14 
of fees. The foundations of the Sage Fe- tria 
male College are being laid, and the build- at 8 
ing will be in readiness for the reception of j U n 
pupils sometime in 1873. c lb... 
try to improve the condition of the side¬ 
walks so that we can pass from one house 
to another wit hout taking the center of the 
road. Here, within half a mile of the vil¬ 
lage, the walks are very good; but as you 
go farther into the country they are made 
the catch-all for all the rubbish of t he farm. 
If there is a load of stone to remove from 
the meadow, they are thrown by the side 
of the road; If there are trees to trim, the 
brush and broken limbs are thrown on the 
sidewalk. They are allowed to grow up 
with bushes, weeds and thistles until they 
become Impassable. 
Now, I think that if every farmer would 
spend a short t ime to cut the brush, remove 
the stone from the road, and then let the. 
overseer of the-highways take a little pains, 
and take the earth from the ditches for the 
center of the road, instead of from the side¬ 
walks, leaving the edge of the sidewalk 
St might, put. on a little gravel In the low 
places, they will be surprised to sea what, 
an Improvement it will make; and wo shall 
have the satisfaction to know that it will 
add to the value of our farms, and our wives 
and daughters can go from one house to an¬ 
other without being obliged to walk through 
llie dirt or unid in the middle of the road. 
Ask thorn if, next to a nice dooryard, they 
would not prefer a good sidewalk, and I am 
sure they will tell you, “ Yes! ” 
Johnstown, Fulton Co., N. Y. Reform. 
Wk know of no law which prevents the 
Improvement of the sides as well as the cen¬ 
ter of the road. Our correspondent, makes 
a suggestion which has very likely occurred 
to most intelligent people who live in the 
country. And it. is true that such action, 
like good roadways, good fences, roadside 
trees, and cleanliness of the fence corners, 
enhances the value of property in a neigh¬ 
borhood. 
^rkriatliural. 
LARCH AND WOODEN PAVEMENTS. 
5 EIGHT-HOUR STRIKES. 
? —■ 
The farmers, who are the real laborers of 
’ the country, who work from five in the 
e morning until eight in the evening; who 
pay 80 to 90 per cent, of the whole taxes; 
' whose labor mainly Support the go-between 
r and the mechanics, have looked silently 
* u P tm this eight-hour question among the 
sti ileers and labor associations, league*! 
i mid our legislative halls long enough ; espo- 
■ dally when the price of t heir products are 
governed by supply and demand. Tlm 
farmers should now move, not as aggressive, 
but as defensive. 
They have an agricultural society organ¬ 
ized In each State and in every countv. 
Let such organizations resolve that, they 
will not purchase any refined sugar, furni¬ 
ture, sewing machines, boots or shoes, nor 
any articles that are made or prepared in 
any establishment where eight hours is the 
i ule, nor will they purchase or any retail 
dealer who purchases or offers any articles 
thus made. All t he country papers of the 
Union are mainly supported by fanners, 
and they will readily aid in carrying out 
this policy.— a Farmer, 
We publish the above as an illustration of 
the way producers are thinking, and to 
show how clearly they comprehend the 
ellect of the eight-hour system where eight 
hours labor arc substituted for ten at the * 
same price per day. The strike is ended, , 
and there is no need for any action as that j 
suggested above; indeed there would bo t 
little need In any ease; for men will buy ^ 
where they can buy cheapest; and the L 
eight-hour per day manufacturers cannot 
compete with the ten-hour per day class. \ 
Then, again, any increase in cost of n class a 
of products that, go into general consump- 
tion in the end enhances the cost of all 
other products. Eight hours labor not only f ' 
means to the laborer an increase in the p 
price of his labor, but. It means, ultimately, _ 
a corresponding increase in the cost of his 
living. 
The Pendtdus Larch. (Larlx Pendula ,) 
sometimes called Red Larch, has been bigh- 
‘ ly extolled for many uses, as a durable and 
’ valuable timber tree. But I do not recollect 
of much haviug been said about its superi¬ 
ority for wooden pavements. It is hard to 
split, very tough, quite durable, free from 
swelling or shrinking, and will not rot for 
many years. Therefore, if sawed into 
blocks, about ten inches in length, more or 
less, and made either four or six square, or 
round, and set on end, will make a more 
excellent pavement than any other kind of 
wood. The corks of the horse-shoe will not 
chip it, and it will wear longer and keep in 
better condit ion t han any other timber now 
used for that purpose. When green, a cubic 
foot will weigh from 33 to 86 pounds, and 
after being thoroughly seasoned for two or 
three years, will yet weigh from .'Ml to .33 
pounds, showing a very slight shrinkage in 
both size and baft, while most other kinds 
of wood will lose in drying from one-quar¬ 
ter to a third their original weight, and 
considerable in size. On this account it is 
also valuable for floor plank, and all kinds 
of building timber, especially for beam tim¬ 
ber on which to lay the floors. Pine, oak, 
and white wood will shrink so as to crack 
the plastering or draw the base boards away 
from the floors, which is very injurious to a 
tirst-olnss house* 
Jt cjin bo obtaini*d in tbo Northern parts 
of the United States and Canada; is not 
more costly than most other kinds of tim¬ 
ber. I am surprised that so little is known 
concerning its great value and usefulness. 
I hope that its properties will be fully dis¬ 
cussed by those who are posted in the'mat¬ 
ter, R 0 that the public may receive the ben¬ 
efits of so valuable a timber tree, especially 
when It. is so easily procured. It is also 
better for car timber than oak; it is equally 
strong, much lighter, and will not splinter 
like oak In cases of collision, and It is well 
known that the splinters do much harm on 
such occasions. Isaac Esmay. 
Son lh Rend, I ml., July, 1872. 
ARBORICULTURAL NOTES. 
Dead Evergreen a.—Many of them are 
, seen In this vicinity. In many cases the 
western side is lifeless and the eastern green. 
J’hat this change was entirely caused by 
cohl weather during the past Winter I am 
not quite willing to assort; for I find that 
many evergreen trees are entirely lifeless, 
where there was a protection from the 
winds on all sides. It seems to mo that the 
exceedingly severe drouth of last year, in 
connection with the severity of the past 
Winter, have wrought this change. It is a 
noticeable fact that those trees exposed to 
a long range of westerly winds have suf¬ 
fered most severely. My inference that 
the drouth had something to do with it, 
is drawn from the fact, those trees situated 
in dry soils have a greater portion of their 
verdure ohanged to a pule red.—G. R D 
Pittsfield, N. H, 
A Venerable Black-Heart Cherry 
I Tree,— During a visit to Perry Co., ()., 
while shopping with an old friend, Mr. 
ltiuiN Franks, one of the old pioneers of 
that county, he showed me a cherry tree of 
hlack-lleart variety, which stands oil one of 
his farms in Thorn township, which was 
planted sixty years ago by a German named 
Miller. The tree measures 10 feet 7 inches 
around its body. Its lower limbs (which 
look like great trunks of trees) have spread 
out thirty feet each way, making sixty feet 
from point to point. It is about fifty feet 
high, is thrifty, and bears fruit eveiy year. 
—S. Riddle, Ashland, o. 
COUNTRY SIDEWALKS. 
Is there any law in regard to overseers of 
public highways spending a small part, of 
the time assessed in their respective dis¬ 
tricts to improve the sidewalks as well as 
the wagon track or OCnter of i lie road ? If 
it is the same in other parts of t he State as 
around here, there is almost as much travel 
by foot, to and from the villages, and from 
house to house, as there is wit h a horse and 
wagon; and it seems to me that we should 
Diggers in Ohio.—There was an official 
trial of all earth-working implements, held 
at Springfield, Ohio, on the third week in 
June, under direction of the Ohio State 
Board of Agriculture. The trial occupied 
tour days hard lic-ld work, and was quite 
thorough in all respects, in plows there 
were a large number of competitors, and tho 
judges gave them plenty of work. Besides 
plows, there were grain drills, corn plant¬ 
ers, all manner of cultivators, harrows, corn 
markers, clod crushers, post augers, and a 
mighty stqmp puller which lifted a largo 
green tree by the roots. The tests were 
very thorough and fair. The decision of the 
judges will not be made public until the 
holding of the State Fair in Mansfield, the 
first week in September.—s. i>. h. 
Mulching Trees with Manure. — I 
planted about 03 apple and pear trees this 
season, and was told to mulch with fresh 
stable manure, but was since advised that 
it would rot the roots. Shall 1 remove the 
mulching?— Port Hope. 
If you have not put on manure more than 
a Inilf-foot deep, let It alone, as (here is no 
danger of injury, but a good chance to se- 
cux*e a healthy growth upon your trees. Of 
course, we would not advise putting fresh 
stable manure directly on the roots of trees; 
but upon the surface of the ground above 
the roots it will seldom fail to be beneficial. 
Question About Hedges.—Are Spring 
anil Fall equally good times to sot out a 
hedge?—E. N. A. 
Yes. But when you toll us what kind of 
a plant Is to be used for a hedge we will en¬ 
deavor to answer your question in a more 
specific manner. 
