834 
DES. SI 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
from a cross between them and their own 
short-wooled breeds. This was more par¬ 
ticularly the case about 1864 and 1865, when 
wool became so valuable in the market. 
Enormous prices were made at the annual 
ram sales and lettings, one oelebrated sheep 
belonging to Mr. Kirkham of Bisca- 
thorpe, being let, in five successive years, 
at an aggregate of COO guineas. Naturally, 
however, the flocks of Mr. MABASA1X, the 
Messrs. DuddING, and other noted prize 
takers, were best known to foreign cus¬ 
tomers, and the late Mr. T. B Marshall 
opened a connection with Australia, New 
Zealand, the .Cape of Good Hope, South 
Amerioa, and, indeed, all parts of the 
world, which was continued after his death 
by his brother, Mr. W. F. Marshall, the 
present owner of the Branston liock. The 
improved Lincolns are now spread over the 
whole of Lincolnshire and Rutland, and 
parts of Cambs, Notts, Yorkshire, and 
Norfolk, and in oertain districts of Soot- 
land and Ireland. Indeed, wherever long- 
wools are grown, crosses are usually ob¬ 
tained from Lincolnshire. 
“ As breeders the improved Lincolns are 
wonderfully prolific, and they arrive at 
maturity very early. The mode of manage¬ 
ment is exceedingly simple. The sheep as 
a rule being hardy and healthy, the lamb¬ 
ing season commences the last week in 
February, and closes about the end of 
Match. About one-third of the ewes pro¬ 
duce pairs, triplets are frequent, and fours 
not uncommon. A week after birth it is 
the common practice to turn the lambs 
with their darns on the young seeds, there 
being very little grass on the heath. There 
they remain until they are weaned (about 
the second or third week in July), when 
they are placed on clover eddishes, cake 
and corn being allowed. Good grazing 
lambs, age about six months, are selling at 
the present time at from 50s. to 56s. each, 
which shows that the value of the breed 
has uot been overrated. 
“A grander show of sheep than those 
annually penned at Lincoln April fair it is 
impossible to oouoeive. The number of 
hogs* ranges from 40,000 to 50.000, and the 
best pens this year made from 85s. to 100s. 
each. These prices were obtained for hogs 
only fourteen mouths old. As these sheep 
are bred for both wool and mutton, it la 
necessary that they should not only have 
long and lustrous fleeoes, but that they 
should possess those qualities which indi¬ 
cate an abundance of meat—good neoks, 
broad and even backs, with a firm touch— 
that they should be well sprung iu the 
shoulders, and have good legs. 
“ With regard to the fleeoes, we may 
mention one flock of improved Lincolns, 
which may be taken as a fair sample of the 
best flocks In the county. Mr. Marshall 
of Branston has dipped no less than 26},{ 
lbs. of wool from a shearling, 14 months old, 
and his hogs have this year todded-i 160 
twos and 40 threes. But even this average 
is exceeded by Mr. J. J. Clarke of Wei- 
ton-1 -Wold, whose sheep have, it is said, 
the heaviest fleece In the county. 
“In order to show the relative value of 
Lincolns, as compared with other breeds, 
wo will conclude our notice with a brief 
report of some practical experiments car¬ 
ried out by the Parllngtou Tenants’ Club 
iu 1861-2, as published In the “ Year Book 
of Agricultural Faots for 1861:—‘On the 
4th of October, 1861, six sheep of each of 
the undermentioned breeds were turned 
upon rape, bo that nature might have its 
course with natural food, and without 
stint, until the 11th of November, during 
which time the cross from the Teeswater 
gained 2st. 21b., the Border Leicoatars 5st. 
lib., the Lincolns 3st. 61b., the Shropshire 
Downs 61b., the Leioe.ters 1st. 131b., and 
the Cotswolds 5st. 81b.; while the South- 
downs lost 111b. On the lllhof November 
the sheep Were again folded, the several 
crosses being then in a pretty equal state 
for taking on condition. If a lead could be 
supplied, it might bo in favor of the Cots- 
wolds, from the start this class had made 
in the latter part of the Summer grazing, 
utid the shoot out at the rape. The whole 
of the sheep had as many Swede turnips as 
they could oonsume, and half a pound of 
linseed cake per day, with the exception 
of the Lincolns, and these, for forty-two 
days, had a quavter of a pound extra: but 
this extra cake was placed to their debit in 
like maimer as the various weights of tur¬ 
nips consumed were to that of the several 
olasses. For the comprehensive tables 
giving the result of the experiments wo 
must refer our readers to the Year Book 
in question, but we may mention that the 
Young fheep never sheared. 
■(•Weighed. 
relative value that one class of sheep bore 
to the other (after deducting the value of 
the food from the value of the mutton and 
wool) when the sheep were slaughtered in 
Feb., 1862, was shown to be:—The Tees¬ 
water cross, lls. 7>£d.; the North sheen, 
12s. 5#d.; the Lincolns, £1 10s. 6d.; the 
Southdowns, 17s. 3d. ; the Shropshire 
Downs, £1 53. 10%d.; the Leiceaters, £1 
2s. fld.; and the Cotswolds, 14s. 9 >£d. The 
whole of the sheep were Bold on the same 
day in the Leeds market. It will from the 
above be seen that the Lincoln sheep show¬ 
ed a marked superiority over the other 
breeds. 
-» » » - 
NOTES AND QUERIES. 
A New Breed of Sheep .—La Belli Pub¬ 
lic, a French journal, says:—“It is well- 
known what great benefit France received 
from the introduction of Merino sheep. 
An experiment of acclimation of a similar 
nature is soon to be made at the park of La 
Teted’Or, at Lyons, from which are ex¬ 
pected results equally as advantageous. 
There are expected at the menagerie of t his 
place several specimens of a breed of sheep 
hitherto unknown in Europe. They give 
almost as much milk as goats, and produce 
in addition as much wool as the Merinos, 
and they' furnish as good meat as any now 
in use. This rare breed of sheep is to be 
found only in some of the Cantons of Al¬ 
geria. An attempt Is going to be made to 
acclimate them in France. The editor of 
the Colon Algerian was the first to men¬ 
tion t his project, and will send the first lot 
for trial." 
jJjictit dfrrrps. 
THE POTATO IN NORTHERN NEW YORE. 
[Extracts from remarks before the Jefferson County, 
New York, Fanners' club, by W, K. Skbels.] 
I have but very little to say upon thi 
cultivation of the potato. My experiencf 
cannot differ materially from that of most 
persons present. I should consider it use¬ 
less to tell a man whose land was composed 
of clay that only a light loam would do, or 
one who had a sandy farm that he must 
have heavier soil. Yet, the nearer we 
meet the mean of these two points the bet¬ 
ter results may we expect; whether the ef¬ 
fect Js produced by uuderdraiuing on the 
one hand or the introduction of vegetable 
mold on the other, depends upon the con¬ 
dition of the soil. * * * * 
Each year adds to my conviction that wo 
waste a large per cent, of our seed. If you 
select good, fair-sized tubers, cut them to 
single eyes; every eye will grow tind pro¬ 
duce a good healthy plant. If planted 
whole, but three or four will ever grow. It 
will take three times the Heed to produce a 
like result. * * * Mj r experience has 
been more varied in varieties then iu culti¬ 
vation. I shall consider the niei i s and de¬ 
merits of those varieties that have beeu in¬ 
troduced during the last five years. 
Early Rose.—In January, 1863, B. K. 
Bliss & Son culled the attention of the 
public to a new seedling called the Early 
Rose, a seedling of the Garnet Chill. They 
claimed for It wonderful points as regards 
earlinees, productiveness and good table 
qualities. No potato ever introduced was 
so generally sought. Cultivated under such 
a variety of condition it Is a wonder that it 
meets with such almost, universal success; 
and, taking all things into consideration, 
it may be safely pronounced “the potato 
for the million." Others exoelit in special 
points; none in all. 
Bresee’3 Prolific.—In January, 1869, 
Messrs. Bliss & Son introduced Bresee's 
Prolific, also a seedling of the Gurnet 
Chili. It is a superior-looking potato, 
smooth, slightly russett, a little lighter 
colored than the Early Rose, from three to 
four weeks later ripening. With me it has 
proved the most successful variety for field 
cultivation of any 1 have tried; it succeeds 
upon a much poorer soil than the Early 
Rose. 
Excelsior,—In I860, J. J. H. Gregory in¬ 
troduced the Excelsior, a seedling of the 
State of Maine potato. It is a white-ekin- 
ued potato, of medium size; for three years 
it has proved quite productive, of excellent 
table quality, and not as healthy as the 
Prolific. 
King of Earlles—Is the finest looking 
potato I have seen; is healthy and quite 
productive. Iu 1870-71 it was a poor table 
quality; this season it has been good, fully 
equal to the Early Rose. I never could 
satisfy myself that it was any earlier than 
that variety. 
Peerless.—The most productive of Bre- 
see's Seedlings. I have never succeeded 
in growing a crop of even fair table quality, 
though I have heard of crops being excel¬ 
lent. Upon our farm it only excels the 
Harison In productiveness. 
The present season has marked the intro¬ 
duction of two classes of Late Roses—one 
a sport, the other a seedling. 
Thorburn’s Late Rose—A sport of the 
Early Rose—I planted by the side of the 
Early Rose. It was five dayR later coming 
up, fifteen later to bloom; tops remaining 
green from three to four weeks longer. In 
point of yield there wae no perceptible 
difference; five pounds seed produoed 173 
pounds. I noticed quite a number of hills, 
the tops of which ripened quite early. 
There was no mixture of seed, as I cut each 
potato to single eyes, and dropped all of 
one before cutting another. Where this 
tendency to ripen earlier is noticed, the 
hills should be dug and carefully removed 
before the maiu crop is dug, if intended 
for seed. 
Campbell's Late Rose. — A seedling 
raised by G. W. Campbell of Ohio. Iu 
general appearanoeit resembles the parent 
potato, though not as uniform in shape or 
size. It is deoidedly a late potato, the 
tops remaining gi'een until killed by frost 
late in October. It. is a very strong grow¬ 
ing vine, showing the least erfeot from 
drouth of over fifty varieties growing in 
the same plat. Last season I was inclined 
to cry “humbug" when I read the claim 
that it would yield from two to three times 
as much as any potato grown. I tested it 
iu a small way with the Peerless, seleoting 
one pound of each as nearly uniform as I 
could; divided each pound into forty-five 
pieces, planted in parallel rows. The Peer¬ 
less showed signs of ripening September 
15, and was dug; yield, forty-nine pounds. 
Campbell’s Late Rose was green when 
dug. October 1; yield, seventy-one pounds. 
No attempt was made to force latter kind; 
no mauure used, as I desired to ascertain 
what might be expected in ordinary field 
cultivation. Ten pounds of Campbell’s 
Late Rose produced 317 pounds. * * * * 
What causes the roughness of the skins 
of potatoes, giving them the appearance of 
having been eaten over by some small ani¬ 
mal or Insect? Wo have always been led 
to think it was the angle worm. I am sat¬ 
isfied that it is not; that It is a disease 
oaused by somo chemical action of soil; 
that though the angle and wire worm may 
take advantage of the softness caused by 
the removal of the skin to feed upon the 
the tubers, they are in no way accountable 
for the condition of the potato. 
While the potato rot la destroying the 
crop in Europe, the Colorado Bug is buBy 
with us. Slowly but surely ha6 It been 
working its way East from the Rocky 
Mountains; already it has reached the bor¬ 
ders of this State, and its introduction 
here may be considered as but a question 
of time. Then, eternal vlgilanoe and Paris 
green will be the price of potatoes. 
-- 
FIELD NOTES AND QUERIES. 
Chester County Mammoth Corn.— 
Sometime since I noticed a correspondent’s 
inquiry in the Rural New-Yorker in re¬ 
gard to the Mam moth Chenier County corn. 
Having raised it for two seasons past 1 
think 1 oau give some faots about it. It is 
a valuable addition in our corn growing 
section. The color of the grain is quite a 
good recommendation, it being a beautiful 
golden yellow; kernels of good shape and 
depth; cob of moderate size. It is devoid 
of that, hard flintinesa which characterizes 
some of the new' varieties of corn. This one 
characteristic is such that it will commend 
itself to all stock feeders. Its producing 
qualities the originators have dwelt upon, 
trying to impress the public that it will 
produce near twice as much as theoommon 
varieties. I have not raised auy heavier 
crop of the Mammoth corn than I have 
some of the best yielding varieties of our 
comuioucoru with the same care and cul¬ 
tivation ; yet 1 do not condemn upon these 
facts, for it certainly is better corn than 
one-half of the varieties now grown. This 
I have found out by several years’ experi¬ 
ence with corn.—J. W. M., Oregon, Mo. 
Lucerne In France.— Lucerne is in this 
country regarded a “Providential forage" 
plant, and exhibits a marvelous develop¬ 
ment when irrigated—a process that France 
has much neglected. It is acknowledged 
that artificial grasses can be more profitably 
replaced by lucerne, fir Saxony this latter 
plant works wonders on light soils, when 
plowed in green as a preparation for a grain 
crop. French farmers adopt the same 
plan ; they sow about twelve pounds of lu¬ 
cerne per acre with the barley iu February, 
plowing down the luoeruc after the har¬ 
vest, as preparation for Winter wheat. 
ctfarm Jmjilemcntfi. 
PRACTICAL DITCHING MACHINE. 
I have repeatedly seen iu the Rural 
NE w-Y r ORKER inquiries respecting an ef' 
feotlve and practical ditching machine; es¬ 
pecially in your paper of Nov.*25, 1872, in a 
communication from E. F. Russell, Port¬ 
land, Oregon. Iu reply to the several in¬ 
quiries made through your paper 1 would 
say that I have had the privilege of exami¬ 
ning, and seeing partially in operation, a 
machine of that kind in process of being 
made by Mr. A braham Spencer, which, I 
think, will be both effective and practical. 
He calls it the “ Looomotive Ditcher,” for 
which he has been granted a patent. It 
somewhat resembles a truck as used on the 
railroad. It rests on four wheels similar to 
mowing machine wheels, with cross-bars 
on the outside to prevent slipping on the 
ground backward. The axles are connected 
by a strong frame of plank on which the 
working machinery is built. 
The machine proper consists of an up¬ 
right shaft of wood or iron, on the upper 
end of which is plaoed a sweep for two 
horses. Near the lower end are placed two 
bevel wheels—one oonueoted by another 
wheel to a shaft running horizontally across 
the frame, in which are inserted four strong 
curved arms, with steel plates or diggers 
attached to the ends, iu the form of strong, 
narrow shovels (old mill-saws make good 
ones). Aa the sweep Is turned the diggers 
work in a curve from the bottom of the 
ditch upward, leaving the bottom of the 
ditch clean und .-moot h; as the arms or dig¬ 
gers reach a horizontal line, the dirt is 
thrown off by a scraper, worked by a spring. 
A starting place is required to be dug to let 
down the diggers. 
For moving forward, one of the bevel 
wheels on the upright drives a shaft run¬ 
ning lengthways of the frame, on which is a 
large iron sorew, connected with a wheel 
on one of the axles of the machine, on 
which the carrying wheels are permanently 
fixed; by this means, as the sweep is moved 
round like the horse-power of a thresher, 
the whole machine is moved forward at the 
rate of four to eight inches for each round 
of the sweep. The wheels are so regulated 
that the diggers come up between the 
sweeps. For ouveriug the ditch lor the 
horses to pass, a plank is attached to the 
hinder end of the machine; aud for guiding, 
the forward axel is movable and can be 
guided by a pole running forward. The 
ditch is made four to six inches wide and 
two feet deep—but may be altered at pleas¬ 
ure by varying the length of the arms, or 
the width of the Bteel diggers.— Elisha 
Fenton, Clearfield Co., Pa . 
— - ■» « » 
PRACTICAL POTATO PLANTER. 
In answer to a correspondent in the Ru¬ 
ral New-Yorker, Nov. 23, we stated we 
had never seen a practical potato plautiug 
machine. The result of that statement is 
that we have received the following from 
correspondents: 
Theodore P. Lukens, Rook Falls, Ill., 
writes:—" Last Spring I used one manufac¬ 
tured by the Keystone Works (of this 
place) aud was well pleased with it. It re¬ 
quires a man, a boy and a hors© to run it; 
plants from Bix to eight acres per day', bet¬ 
ter than it oan bo dono by hand; plants 
from on© to eight inches deep, covers them 
well. A largo wheel presses the dirt over 
them, leaving them a uniform depth. Can 
plant iu rows both ways, or in drills; can 
plant with it on stony, stalky or stumpy 
laud. They will not oust much; wish we 
had so good a machine for digging pota¬ 
toes.” 
E. S. aud A. S. Bunce, Troy, N. Y., 
write:—“The only one we ever saw that 
would work on all kinds of laud is Kent’s 
Patent Potato Planter, manufactured at 
Palmyra, N. Y.; prioe, ?65. It requires a 
boy to attend the feeding and man to drive 
the team. It will plant from 6ix to eight 
acres per day; we planted forty-one acres 
with one last Spring, aud we think they 
yielded better than those not planted by 
hand. It is simple aud durable; one would 
last a man as long as he would waut one.” 
A. S. Nash. Weetport, Conn., writes: 
“Tellyour corre6ponaentof Cooper, Mioh., 
that 1 think if he will write to Dr. Rex- 
a.meh, Newcastle, Westchester Co., N. Y., 
he will find out what he wants to know in 
regard to a * potato planter. 1 I Raw one there 
last Spring w hich 1 thought cut the pota¬ 
toes, dropped and covered them all at the 
same time. I cannot say positively that it 
did all this, but 1 do not think that Dr. 
Hexamkr would be satisfied with a ma¬ 
chine that simply dropped the potatoes." 
