J38 
.MOORE’S BUBAL NEW-YORKER. 
FEB, 
J}ield %op. 
A “GREENHORN'S” INQUIRY ABOUT 
POTATO PLANTING. 
I AM anxious to grit some reliable informa¬ 
tion as to the best si/e and the number of 
ej os to cut potato sets to produce the great¬ 
est yield per acre. The present potato mania 
seems to be how to get the greyest number 
of pounds from one pound of sets without 
any regard to how much land is occupied or 
whether it is done to profit or loss. Practi¬ 
cally, I run a “greenhorn” in potato grow- 
ing, as well as what is termed a “green¬ 
horn” in Castle Garden. I came to this ooun- 
try to got a garden of my own, and am 
happy to tell you that 1 bought one last spring 
(31 acres) but found it pretty well grown out, 
none of It yielding much more than the seed, 
I had some notions of my own^jathered in 
the old country, about plowing under grass 
crops for manure, which were greatly con¬ 
firmed on reading Mr. Compton’s prize essay 
on the potatoes ; and as barnyard manure 
could not he had in my neighborhood, 1 
plowed under the second crop of clover on a 
two-acre patch eight inches, sowed rye im¬ 
mediately, plowed Chat six inches under late 
in the fall, intending to plant potatoes on it 
this incoming spring. This I think, with five 
to ton tons of green sand marl, which 1 can 
get pretty reasonable, or a little super-phos¬ 
phate, -will be potato land—if not. A 1, per¬ 
haps A 2, when the decomposed clover and 
rye is plowed to the surface and a subsoiler 
run on the trench or furrow beneath. 
Now, having got the land into something 
like a fair, growing condition, 1 am a little 
puzzled about tho best set to put in. B. K. 
Buss says, in his Catalogue, cut to single 
eyes ; one eye is as good as two, and 1 should 
think he is a high authority. An English 
gardener, twelve years in America, tells me 
he gets by far the greatest yield by simply 
cutting each potato through the middle from 
the crown to the lieel, making only two sets. 
Mr. Compton Bays it will take twenty bush¬ 
els to set an acre well—see prize essay. I 
remember reading some years ago, 1 think 
in the Royal Agricultural Spe.ety's Journal, 
of a number of experiments that were tried 
to determine this point, the result being that 
Vi oz. sets yielded more than double what 
the H oz. did ; the 1 oz. double the 1 oz., 
and the 2 ozs. double the 1 oz., or S times the 
yield of the % oz sets. 
Now, as 1 am in a strange land and a" 
strange climate and only a “greenhorn” in I 
agriculture, even in my own country, I am < 
very anxious to know what size of set and j 
what number of eyes per set will produce i 
the greatest yield per acre, without anv 1 
regard to the number of bushels required to 1 
plant it. t 
Again, I presume cut sets have proved ' 
best from tho fact that I have not soon whole 1 
sets recommended in any publications that t 
I have read since my arrival here, though 1 t 
have seen them advocated in the old as being 1< 
a much surer crop, the cut sets bleeding to 
death in wet seasons and killed with the dry 
rot in drouthy weather. I am aware, cutting 
the sets beforehand, to give the wound time 
to slciu over, is more, or less a preventive, ii 
Would the sets take any harm by being cut s< 
five or six weeks previous to planting, to get e: 
them out of the way '{ Is there any green w 
crop that could be grown worth the plowing R 
in by the lime of corn planting in Salem Co., \v 
South Jersey, m the spring i I think. Mr. tr 
Editor, you will be able to gather from my til 
crude remarks, that I simply want to got on Ei 
the right track at the commencement, and T' 
not be blundering on year after year, doing T1 
no good and getting discouraged with Aracr- ai: 
ic-an agriculture and afterwards with every- tli 
thing American, ‘ tu 
I am told in b(i!em Co,, where my place is, I 
that 100 bushels of potatoes is a very good lai 
crop. My expectations may probably be an 
extravagant , but with laud up to A 1, I would thi 
be looking for three times this amount. Rows tin 
feet apart and sols 12 inches apart on the 
rows, require 17,424 sets per acre. If riie Bl) 
roots average one pound each, there will be 
a yield of 230 bushels of tiO lbs. each, and 1 
surely one pound per root is no great yield • wh 
only about three fair, good potatoes. My suj 
notion is, that land that don’t produce this ma 
has got something about, it. which wants it a 
“ fixing,” as you say in America. My object bet 
in writing this is to get my sets fixed on the ear 
best known practice of the country, then if —c< 
the yield is not right, I shall know the “fix- J our 
ing up” required is in some other quarter sect 
and not in the sets. If you, Mr- Editor, or Mr. 
any of your numerous readers, will set me j cou 
right, I will be obliged very much, and prob- acr< 
ably some other “ greenhorns” of my own 
stamp likewise. 
_ A South Jichsey “Gkeenhohn." 
, In response to our correspondent’s inquir¬ 
ies, we give the result of our own experience 
and observation, as well as that of some of 
the most successful potato cultivators we 
i- have met:—1. About size of set. Sets cut 
f to single eye may do, and the grower fre- 
/- quently succeeds with them. But if we 
a wanted to be nure of a crop, we would not 
r so cut them. It is not infrequent that so 
t small sets either rot if the season is too wet 
r or periRh with drouth if too dry, and the 
- whole crop is lost. Our experience (and that 
- of others) is that large sized potatoes cut in 
- quarters, medium sized into halves and the 
- smallest planted whole, is the surest and 
i most economical (all things com idored) mode 
; of seeding, taking one year with another for 
, a series of years. This is not- theory ; it, is 
, experience ; and it is confirmed by Dr. T. M. 
i Hkxa-MEK of Newcastle, N, Y., who for a 
s series of years made careful and elaborate 
experiments with seed with the view of sat¬ 
isfying himself on th is very point. He found 
i that planting the hugest potatoes whole gave 
the host results ; but he did not find it eco¬ 
nomical to do so, because of the cost of seed, 
and lie arrived at the same conclusion as that ’ 
given above. 
2. Sets may be cut five or six or even more 
weeks before planting, safely. 8uch lias been 
our experience, if they are kept in a dark 
and not too dry place, 
3. There is but one green crop that we 
know of that could be grown and plowed in 
in spring, to wit—peas. But these should be 
sown late in the fall (and rye might do as 
well). But wo doubt whether the sumo in¬ 
vestment of time, labor and money, in pro¬ 
curing manure or other fertilizers would not 
pay better. A good crop of peas to plow in, 
however, on soil of your character would 
feed potatoes admirably. 
4. We, should advise you to plant in rows 
three feet apart and one foot apart in the 
row ; feet is too near. Judging by the 
testimony we have concerning it, it will pay 
you to have one of True’s potato planters if 
you are going to make a business of growing 
potatoes. It is used by Dr. Hexameh, above 
named, who says he gauges it to cut potatoes 
into any sized sets he desires, puts in the 
potatoes, and with one horse cuts, drops at 
any desired distance apart, and covers the 
potatoes perfectly—much better, bethink , r 
than is ordinarily done by hand. As soon' , 
as the potatoes appear he goes over his , 
potato field with one ol’Thomas' Smoothing 
harrows—going over it three or four times, 
at necessary intervals; then, when the ‘ 
growth is largo enough, goes through the 
rows with a double mole board plow. This ^ 
he does three times. Does not touch litem ' 
with a hoe, but generally finds it necessary 1 
to go through the field once and pull the 1 
weeds. The cost of growing potatoes by this ' 
method is, he says, 75 per cent, less than by 1 
the old method of hand planting and cui- 1 
tme. To reduce the cost still more, lie is v 
looking for a good potato digger. v 
Coming in very early, he shipped it to Balti- 
I more and sold it for a very high price. It is 
still generally cultivated in this section and 
very highly appreciated by our farmers. 
Mr. Houghton dipd some years since, with¬ 
out being himself benefited by what proved 
so valuable to the county. Observer. 
Essex Co.. Va. 
s . FIELD NOTES. 
t - 
) limn Culture. — Will yon please furnish 
t me, through the columns of the Rural Nkw- 
5 Yorker the reliable modus operandi for suc- 
t | cessful bean culture ? Our soil is gravel and 
i | sandy loam, and it generally conceded to be 
; ‘ well adapted for the production of beans, 
I but ax yet, our efforts have not been attended 
s j with any lair degree of success. Is it neces 
• sary to apply fertilizers ? Wliatis considered 
* ] a K f ’°d yield per acre ? Which ki nd is consid¬ 
ered most desirable for field cult ure 1 is there 
any planter or bean drill that you would 
recommend ? How far apart ougUt the rows 
to be i WInch is the best time for planting, 
| and how many beans will it take per acre 
for seed I How many times ia it, necessary 
to hoe them ? Owing to our almost total 
failure in bean culture, wo are very much in 
' nced of a little (perhaps a groat deal) practi- 
I cal advice in that direction, or discretion will 
not sanction a continued production of the 
crop in this section.— D. W. Newcomb. 
We publish the above inquiries with the 
hope and desire that some of our rt aders who 
are practical and successful bean otilturists 
will respond. 
Sunflowers as a Crop.—We find in the 
Rural World the following enumeration of 
its values and uses “ In the first place, the 
flowers abound in honey, and furnish food 
lor bees. The seeds contain oleaginous mat¬ 
ter, and yield Oil at tin- rate of one gallon to 
the bushel, which is but little Inferior to 
olive oil. One acre will produce 50 bushels 
of seed. It is also valuable for food for horses 
and poultry. It lias been used for bread by 
the American Indians, and also in Portugal. 
The leaves are excellent fodder for cattle. 
The stalks while growing may be utilized as 
bean poles where they arc scarce and diffi¬ 
cult to be obtained, and when dry may be 
used as roofing, or set up against a fence to 
form a windbreak. They contain a large 
amount of potash, and arc excellent for fire 
kindling, liic seed has also been recoin* 
I mended for fuel. Tho reputation of the 
growing flower to absorb miasmatic vapors, 
and prevent ing fever and ague is well known. 
K now tug Beans.— in Rural New Yorker 
ol Feb. 7, I see an account of a man who 
“knows beans.” Now, as beans have re¬ 
peatedly failed under my management, 1 
would ask you, or the above mentioned gen¬ 
tleman, to give us through the columns of 
ti c Rural a good method of growing- that 
crop, commencing with tho variety to be ’ 
planted, time of planting. &c„ and follow 
through until the crop is ready for market, ' 
with as minute a description as your space 
will admit of.— Western Farmer. 
RAISING SEEDLING POTATOES. 
I read in Rural New-Yorker about rais¬ 
ing seedling potatoes the th st year from the 
seed, as to the yield and size. 1 will give my 
experience in raising them for what it is 
worth. In 1871 1 saved a ball from tho Early 
Rose and one from the Early Mohawk. They 
were planted April 1st, 1872, under glass, and 
transplanted June 1st and allowed to grow 
till late in October. 1 had three, hills from 
Early Mohawk and eight from Early Rose. 
Two hills of the former yielded at this rate : 
The largest tuber from one weighed 11 ounces 
and from the other the yield was IS potatoes, 
the weight of the hill 3 lbs. 5 ozs ; the largest 
tuber 10ounces. From one hill of Early Ro.se 
I got Si potatoes; weight, 3 lbs., 14 ozs.; 
largest potato, !* oz-.; quality very good. If 
any of the realms o. ih - Kuual can beat 
this, I should like to hear from them through 
the Rural. j. w . l. 
Clover with Hungarian Grass.— Jas. Da¬ 
vis asks if it will dcTto sow clover with Hun¬ 
garian grass. No ; we would not sow clover 
with it; nor with sowed corn. (lover show Id 
be sown with the earliest spring grain_ 
oats, wheat or barley ; or wit hout any grain 
! crop which is often better. Or it may be 
sowed in July. Hungarian grass slionld be 
sowed on clean, well prepared land from the 
25th of May to tho 15th of June. 
BOUGIITON OR TAPPAKANN0CK WHEAT. 
1 SEE a great deal said about the Boughtcn 
wheat, commonly called Tappahannock, I 
suppose after our county seat. Mr. B., the 
man who first produced the wheat and called 
it after his own name, was a great public 
benefactor by introducing to the country the 
earliest and best variety of wheat yet known 
—coming in 10 or 15 days earlier than any in 
our country'. Before the war, when in this 
section we could boast of some good farmers, j 
Mr. Geo. W. Dildard, 12 miles from our | 
county seat, sold from a lot of about 10 
acres, 57k£ bushels per acre of this variety. 
I Top-dressing Meadows.— D. U. is informed 
that we had quite as soon top dross a meadow 
early in spring, just as the grass is starting, 
as at any time of year; indeed, we had rather, 
w ith a view to securing the lull benefit of 
the manure, apply it at the time named than 
in the fall. But the question of time and 
labor is involved ; and the farmer, as a rule, 
has less time to do this work than in autumn. 
S» tent ing Sweet Potatoes for Seed. —An ex¬ 
perienced grower says if seed is wanted for 
bedding in spring, it should be selected at 
the time of digging and not again touched 
until wanted to bed out, for it is his expe¬ 
rience that if the sweet potato is handled at 
this season of tho year, be it ever so carefully 
it is very' apt to rot. 
The “Lost Nation ” Wheat.— A writer in 
Arostook Co., Me., says the wheat has been 
grown there three or four years and “Thus 
far promises greater tilings for the country 
than any previous importation of seed.” it 
is a spring wheat. Cannot, some of our Maine 
subscribers tell us something more about it ? 
Thanks to cur good correspondents, we 
have many excellent and interesting articles 
for this department which will appear as we 
can find space. 
ith ‘ I DOES FARMING PAY ? 
ved | _ 
R ill 
This question is again asked. I can but 
say it is the same with farming as it is with 
religion. It is said one can have all the reli¬ 
gion he lives for ; so I say the former can 
have all the crops he works for if he works 
‘> s h his lands with an eye single to get all they 
EW ' are capable of producing, and looks well to 
tl, e- all his stock and vees that everything is done 
tn< l in time and in order. Then I am ready to 
'be Bay that farming will pay. Now I, being a 
J,s » farmer, have 50 acres that I till. I will give 
led you a true statement of what I have sold and 
:es received cash for hi the last 12 months, 
md Then the readers of the Rural may judge, 
ad- each for himself, if farming does ordoes not 
ere pay. In the first place I will put beef sold at 
uld | * 17 i.GS ; from this take 81001 paid to replace 
M 8 I three cows killed, 868.68 ; pork, 88 ; * two 
ug, three year old colts, $.500 ; from this take 
^re $203 that T paid to replace my t eam ; then 
u y add $55 for one colt, raised from the team, 
rid and it will leave $258 net on sale of colts ; one 
in load of wood, 86 ; from S cows, $55.8.67, after 
)*• taking out milk and butter for the year, and 
■ ill to carry us through until April, 1874 ; pota- 
he toes, >'107,16; eggs and chickens, $5; hay, 
$31 ; wheat, $248.11 ; turnips, $24.20 ; barley, 
he $116.60; buckwheat, $82.30 ; beans, $68.48 ; 
ho clover seed, 8103.10—total, $1,713.00. Beside 
sts the above sides, 1 have plenty of all kinds of 
feed and grain to keep my family and all my 
he stock through until the next crop comes, 
of Now for the land used to grow these crops 
he —I give them as measured by tape line: 
r.d Wheat, 8>f acres, gave me 104 bush.; tariey, 
it- 4 10-160 acres, 145 bush.; buckwheat, 6 acres, 
to 145 bush.; oats, 4 acres, 232 bush.; the beans 
to and turnips 1 grew iu my corn ; 5 acres of 
ds corn gave 481) bush. ears. The beaus I planted 
03 between the hills of corn, ono way, after 
)y dressing the corn out each way with cultiva- 
d. tor and horse hoe. Potatoes, 3 acres, gave 
e. me 230 bush.; in 4 acres of com I grew 31 
as bush, of beans and on 2>; acres of the same 
W- ground 1 grew 300 bushels ol' as nice flat tur- 
>e nips us 1 ever m w ; to fill up the firid to e. full 
to crop, 1 had 10 loads of fine pumpkins ; clover 
; e seed, Z% acres, gave me 18 8S-60 bush.; 2>£ 
■e acres of the 3% acres gave me 13>£ bush, of 
a- the seed. 
ie My land is sandy and clay loam. Mr. Ed- 
f. itor, this statement is true to the letter. If 
i, any one can show anything better from 50 
R acres, let them send it in. 
0 1 overlooked ono small item. I raised ono 
^ hue t ail that took the milk of one cow for 
J two months ; from that time it had butter- 
,_ milk up to the present tinio ; is now worth 
f My milk is sold at the factory—130 
r quarts to the pound of butter. My stock on 
a the farm consists of S cows and 4 head of 
r horse kind. All the grain stated is by weight 
that threshers measure. A. Donald. 
* Horse Heads, Chemung Co., N. Y. 
-♦ - 
FARM LABORERS. 
W hy is it that we so seldom see auything 
in your paper from Seneca County ? We 
i have enterprising farmers hero—men that 
• know how to prepare the soil that it may 
bring in rich returns—in fact, money-making 
iarmers. Act there are some who do not 
take an agricultural paper and some no paper 
| at all. I wish I could persuade every farmer 
to take tho Rural. 
But I was going to sav a few w'ords about 
farm laborer?. I am always willing to pay 
a man what he earns ; but w'hcn a man asks 
$2 a day and board and does not earn half of 
it, begins late and quits early, putters along 
doing the least possible amount of work, I 
| think something must be dono. We farmers 
j cannot afford to be run over in t his style any 
i longer. Are the Grangers doing anything to 
remedy this evil ? We have a Grange within 
four miles of us, but they are so dose-mouthed 
I cannot find out what they mean to do. If | 
they mean to benefit the farmer at: all, they 
, certainly cun. do it by adopting some method 
whereby a farm laborer is paid what he 
earns. Brother farmers, let us hear what’s 
to be doue ! w ar c 
Fayette, Seneca Co., N. Y. 
-- 
Singing Glory !—N. R. D., South Trenton, 
N. Y., writes Feb. 5 I feel like singing,’ 
Glory { this morning, to think that I am 
going to have the dear Old Rural again! 
We have done without it so far because the 
money was not plenty; but now we have 
got it and the first, I said, to be done was to 
send for the Rural New-Yorker ; so send 
it right on from the first cf Januarv. if 
possible.” " ,; 
