MOOSE’S RUSAL NJEW-YORKER. 
aso 
APRIL 48 
il 
POTATO PLANTING. 
A CORRESPONDENT sends us the following, 
which ho clipped from the Toronto Globe, 
wherein it is credited to the Pen and Plow, 
and seems to be a statement of the remits of 
experiments in planting potatoes ; 
CLOSE AND WIDE PLANTINO. 
Mr. May’s experiments in close and wide 
plantingshow “an advantage in planting the 
smaller sets at intervals closer than 12 inches 
in the row ; bat the results are not very de¬ 
cided, and in one or two cases the gain in the 
gross crop does not make up for the extra 
weight of the sets planted.” 
Tenor twelve inches apart in the rows, was 
found to be tho most profitable-distance for 
full-sized potatoes from 4 oz, to 8 oz. in 
•weight. At a less distance there was a slight 
increase of crop from seta below 4 oz. 
Mr. May sums up his elaborate and valua¬ 
ble experiments as follows: 
“ Firstly—Every increase in the size of the 
set, from 1 oz. up to 8 oz. in weight, produces 
an increase in the crop much greater than 
the additional weight of the set planted. The 
net profit, over and above the extra weight 
of the sets, in planting 4 oz. sets in lien of 
the 1 oz. sets, amounted on tho whole series 
of experiments, to be between three and four 
tons per acre ; and the further profit on the 
increase of the size of the set fi'om 4 oz. to 8 
oz., averaged about five tons per acre ; all 
the intermediate steps partaking proportion¬ 
ately of the increase, 
“ Secondly—Tiie advantages in favor of 
the large sets is more marked in the late than 
in the early varieties. 
“Thirdly—In the use of small sets, from 1 
oz. to 3 oz. in weight., a larger balance is se¬ 
cured over and above the weight of the sets 
obtained by planting from 6to 9 inches apart 
in the rows, than at wider intervals. 
“ Fourthly—Increasing the intervals at 
which the sets are planted, even of the largest 
size in the rows, to more than 13 inches, di¬ 
minishes tho crop ; and tho widor intervals 
induce no increase in the weight of the pro¬ 
duce of the individual set. 
“ Fifthly—It may be broadly stated that, 
the weight of the crop is proportionate to the 
weight per acre of the sets, and that small 
sets will produce the same crop as an aijual 
weight per acre of large sets. Tho fact is, 
however, of limited application, as a weight 
of very small set-*, equal to a weight of lull- 
sized potatoes could not be got into the 
ground, except by planting them so close, as 
to bo prejudicial to the crop. The advan¬ 
tage, therefore, of the large sets remains 
practically unimpaired. 
“ Sixthly—Weight for weight, cut sets pro 
duce, as nearly as possible, the same weight 
per acre as whole potatoes ; but for the rea¬ 
sons given above, the weight of the sets 
should not be reduced by sub-division. 
“Seventhly—Smaller sets give a larger 
proportion to their weight than the larger 
sets. 
“ Eighthly—When the intervals between 
the sets in the rows are diminished to less 
than a foot, the produce of each individual 
set is proportionately diminished. Though 
tin's is not necessarily accompanied by the 
diminution of the weight of the crop, no in¬ 
crease in the produce of each individual set 
is caused by placing sets at intervals wider 
than a foot. 
-♦ - 
AN ACRE OF POTATOES. 
I am tempted to give you the result of 
planting one acre of Pcaeli Blow potatoes in 
a seven-acre field—the balance planted to 
corn. Thu soil was a gravelly loam with an 
old sod, plowed 6 inches deep, in May. The 
potatoes were planted on the 2nd ol June, 
jn hills, three feet apart each way ; onepiuco 
with two or three eyes in a hill. Tho pota¬ 
toes were dropped by two men and covered 
with a coverer drawn by two horses, and on 
each side of the row, throwing the soil in a 
ridge. Just as the potatoes were coming up, 
the coverer was again nui through tho lot, 
breaking the crust and destroying the weeds 
on t.he surface. The ground was then lightly 
dragged, which partly broke down tho 
ridges. The coverer was used each way 
again, and oil the after cultivat ion was dune 
•with the cultivator. Not a hoe Was used 
during the growing season on the potatoes, 
while the six acres of corn required fully ten 
days’ work hoeing, besides as much work 
with the cultivator. 
The potatoes were dug in October—a fine 
crop of large, smooth and remarkably even 
tubers—two hundred and twenty bushels of 
which were sold at 50 cents per bushel. 
--- - ---— 
About ten bushels of marketable potatoes 
were put ip like cellar, and about twenty 
bushels of sinall potatoes w ere put in pit for 
seed. 
Calling tho 230 bushels worth 50 cents per 
bushel, (tli^y are now worth 63 cents,) and 
the small potatoes 25 cents per bushel, we 
have a total of $120 gross proceeds per acre. 
This is »>retty good for these “ hard times.” 
I think tho cost of growing this crop. Includ¬ 
ing interest on land at $15 per acre, will come 
within $35. Tlie cost, was certainly less than 
growing aod harvest ing an acre of corn ad¬ 
joining, yielding ninety bushels of ears per 
acre, worth uow 35 cents per bushel, or 
$31,50. If the potatoes cost more than $35 
per aero, there was certainly no profit, on the 
corn, allowing a liberal sum for the value of 
the stalks. The potatoes had to be hauled 
only two miles to market,. Further from a 
market would of course add materially to 
the expense. 
Fanners hereabouts are concluding that 
on such bigii-priced land, and near a market, 
we cannot afford to grow corn. The pota¬ 
toes from t his acre would buy three or four' 
acres of corn. BhipstufT is only $20 a ton, 
which is considerably cheaper than hay. By 
growing wheat to sell and wheat straw for 
manure, buying western corn and other feed, 
when cheap enough, and sowing plenty of 
clover seed, we can keep up the fertility of 
our farms and leave com growing to those 
w ho are too far from market to do better. 
We certainly cannot, afford to grow com at 
70 cents against potatoes at 50 cents per 
bushel. Considering the a mount of water in 
the potato©, corn must be a much more ex¬ 
haustive crop. 
One corner of the above-mentioned acre of 
potatoes was mauured with a light dressing 
of stable manure plow r ed under. Without 
actual measurement of the manured portion, 
I judge that tho yield would have been forty 
to fifty bushels more had it all been manured. 
Western New York, 
-- 
BEAN CULTURE IN IOWA. 
Your correspondent, “ Western New 
York,” ill Rural New Yorker, of March 
21st, seems to conclude from the want of 
success of a “ Western Farmer” with beans, 
that the crop is not adapted to the west; 
and for fear that, this idea may discourage 
some who have no experience in raising 
beans in this large section where the “-star 
of Empire” is said to take its way, I rise to 
explain, that I have not found this to be the 
ease. I have raised beans out here in Iowa 
for several years, and have uo trouble in 
raising good crops on rolling prairie soil ; 
and, us you are aware, we are just nowin 
arms against monopolies of all kinds, wo can¬ 
not allow “Western New Yorkers” to mo¬ 
nopolise this val liable crop. I have found up¬ 
land soil, the second year from the sod, well 
adapted to beans; and my plan has been to 
plant potatoes on sod, either wild or tame, 
and follow the next year with beans. 
The small, white Navy does very well with 
me, and brings the highest price in market. 
Our Iwo-liorse corn planters are well adapted 
to planting beans. Have a good hand to 
drive so as to have the rows straight, and 
let him not. ride, but walk behind, in order 
not to pack the soil too solid over the beaus ; 
plant shallow and drop as fast, as you can so 
as to have the hills from 12 to 18 inches apart 
in the rows. Alter planting the field, the 
common distance of corn rows, (or about 
4 feet) return and straddle every other row, 
and this will make the rows about 3 feet 
apart. Do not. plant until the ground is 
warm, and in good order ; about two weeks 
after eorn-plantiug is about the right time, 
and cultivate with a. harrow-tooth cultiva¬ 
tor. and keep clean. Pull when they turn 
yellow ; let them cure, for a day or two and 
then stack around a firmly set stake about 6 
l'eet high, roots to the center, on a framework 
of sticks, to keep the beans from the ground, 
i and cap with slough hay. If this will do 
“Western Farmers” any good, I shall he 
well paid for any trouble. 
Muscatine. Iowa. John Schoemakbb. 
----- 
FIELD NOTES. 
Going Hack to Mired Crops .—Some of the 
Connecticut farmers, in view of the faiiuro 
to sell their tobacco crop, are advocating 
going buck to the mixed crop system—to 
corn, potatoes, vegetables, &c. Tins J- a 
lair illustrat ion of the advantages of mixeu 
husbandry. The depending on a single 
special crop often brings disaster upon the 
farmer. 
Eureka Wheat .—Borne of the Minnesota 
farmers have come to the conclusion that 
this wheat is identical with the Red Osaka, 
ALLEN’S RANCH. 
HOW TEKAS CATTLE ABE 0B0WN AND DISPOSED OF 
There are many of our readers who doubt¬ 
less have heard of ranches, and even some 
few who have seen and enjoyed life on a 
Texan ranch; yet we upline that very few 
indeed, East of the Great River, have more 
Ilian a faint glimmering of an idea m to the 
mode of life, still leas of the enormous ex¬ 
tent, of one of the large ranches lying with¬ 
in the boundaries of the State of Texas. 
The ranch from whence we date our letter 
is on the line of the Galveston, Houston and 
Henderson Railroad, fourteen miles south of 
Houston and forty-six miles north of Galves¬ 
ton. This ranch Is the personal property of 
Mr. Samuel Allen, a king among cattle 
men. Here is a beautiful country residence, 
where the Allen family retire for the 
greater part of the summer months. It 
stands back two miles from the railroad 
station, and the road to it is one mass of 
lovely prairie, verdure, thickly studded with 
wild flowers ; purple verbenas, blush and 
pink and deep red—almost damask—roses 
fill the air with perfume and grow so freely 
as to be used for hedges. With care and at¬ 
tention these same rose fences become strong 
enough to turn cattle. In the matter of his 
other ranches. Mi*. Allen is the head of the 
firm of Allen, Poole A Co., comprising five 
| partners, all eminent cattle men. The herds 
that constitute tho wealth of this firm are 
joint property, and are located chiefly as 
follows: — Allen’s Ranch cost the sum of 
$24,000 in gold; contains 12,000 acres, and is 
used as a pasture lot for the stock selected 
for shipment. For t he year ending the 31st, 
of December, 1873, the firm skipped from 
this point the following head of stock :— 
80,000 calves and beeves for New Orleans, 
30,000 for Cuba, and 20,000 for the Galveston 
market. Since that duto the trade with 
Cuba bos fallen off, war and intestine troub¬ 
les having absorbed the gold necessary to 
pay for Texan beef. This ranch is bounded 
on the south by Galveston Buy, on the west 
by the Brazos River, on the east by Buffalo 
Bayou, while on the north there is no defi¬ 
nite limit. This pasture is capable of sus¬ 
taining 100,000 beeves all tho year round; it 
is well watered and well sheltered by native 
forests. Here tho drovers liv •, and here are 
kept 800 Mustang ponies for the.service ol' 
the herdsmen and drovers, or, as the phras- 
ology of Texas expresses it, the “drivers,” 
us the duty of these meu is to drive up the 
herds when needed for shipment , and also to 
select out the calves at branding t ime. Next 
in importance is the San Barnard Ranch, 
bounded on tho east by the Brazos River, 
on the south by tho Gulf of Mexico, west by 
the Colorado River, and stretching north 
without any closely defined boundary. By 
these frontier lines it will be scon that, tho 
Brazos River separates Allen’s Ranch from 
San Barnard Ranch; yet, though this bound¬ 
ary line is only imaginary (pardon the ex¬ 
pression) to the brain of wild Texan steers, 
its limits are never passed savo when the 
herds intended for shipment are driven up 
and forced to swim its waters. 
Tho Texan cow, though wild, loves locality; 
and year after year she raises her calves 
within a space of a very few rv’os. She 
drinks from the same stream, she shelters 
beneath the same groves, and pastures on 
the same meadows from one year to an¬ 
other; even If driven off with stock cattle, 
she will steadily return about oalving, so as 
to rear tip her young amid her home 
scenes, albeit these same are her native 
wilds; 60,003 cattle and 500 Mustangs pas¬ 
ture from year's end to year’s cud on this 
fertile bottom. 
The Rio Grande Ranch has on its eastern 
frontier a boundary line of eighty miles of 
the Colorado River; on the south it has 
the Matagorda Bay and the La Vaea Bay; 
west, the La Vaea River and the Navadad 
River; north, I he Navadad River and the 
Mustang Creek. These inclose 120,000,000 
acres, is eighty miles long by thirty miles 
wide, aucl feeds 120,000 head of horned cattle 
and 1,000 Mustangs. On this rancli 1,600 
acres are closely fenced in to form a depot 
for lie horses, as it is necessary to have a 
sufficient number always toady for work, 
The company only raiso a few of their 
ponies, for the larger proportion of those 
needed are purchased in Mexico and driven 
in herds across the frontier. A few mules 
are annually imported; these are needed r.s j 
baggage animals. When a herdsman eoes 
out on a long trail he carries with him ten . 
men and seventy-five Mustang penies, the i 
animals not ridden being slowly driven 
along, and allowed to pasture as they go. 
When those animals under the saddle grow 
weary, the driver dismounts, takes up a 
fresh Mustang, and the tired pony joins the 
ranks of the herd, where, after a few days, 
he is fresh again. They carry on their 
backs, in a rawhide description of ha ver¬ 
sa ck, called a chiacho, maize flour, wheaten 
flour, coffee, sugar and bacon; occasionally 
they kill a calf, and thus thav make out life 
while on the trail. From three to six weeks 
is generally occupied on these drives, and 
the good health and spirits of the party is 
invariable. A first-class herdsman will re¬ 
ceive $200 per month ; second class men 
from $100 to $150 per month, and ordinary 
driving bands frera $10 to $25 per week. 
These latter are generall 3 r negroes; taken on 
the whole, they are a steady set of men. 
Drinking is entirely prohibited ; any one 
given to that vice is entirely unfit for the 
Texan cattle trade. 
Tho firm of Allen, Poole & Co. have on 
office at No. 303 Pearl street. Now York 
City, for the sale of their canned beef; still 
this Eastern trade in the manufactured arti¬ 
cle is a small item—one scarcely regarded in 
the immense trade of the company. Quite 
recently a partnership has been formed with 
an English house in Liverpool to sell canned 
beef, and ( he company are just, closing out a 
contract with the United States Navy for 
which they receive $90,000. The Prussian 
military authorities are uow negotiating a 
contract for a. larger quantity of this canned 
beef to be delivered across the ocean. Early 
in the commencement of their business 
career, this firm perceived that the Eastern 
States were not the localities to market their 
produce in. A Texan steer four years old, 
fat and sleek, ready for slaughter on his 
native ranch, is a different quality of beef 
from what he becomes after a long journey 
by rail. His wild nature is driven to fury 
by confinement, and liis flesh is consumed 
by fever; he refuses to eat or drink; he re¬ 
fuse* to he comforted or tamed. The most 
experienced cattle men of Texas consider 
that the herds of the State are being rapidly 
depleted, and in view of this steady efforts 
ore being made to improve the quality of 
the wild herds by the importation of fine 
bred bulls. 
When foreign stock are brought into the 
State as weanlings, they thrive, and if only 
prevented from herding with the native cat¬ 
tle or •feeding after them for one year, they 
are safe from the ravages of Spanish fever. 
To leave the cattle trade for a moment 
and take a glimpse of Galveston is but just 
to this “sea-born city,” floating on the 
blue waters of the gulf. Galveston Island 
lies low; it is twenty-nine miles long by from 
one to three miles wide, it lias three goed 
streets—the Strand, where all tho business 
is transacted; Market street, formed of re¬ 
tail stores; and Broadway, along which are 
the residences of the wealthy inhabitants. 
This street is laid out like the new avenues 
leading out of Paris; that is, it has two road¬ 
ways—two ways for foot passengers, and 
tasteful garden beds lying between, with 
handsome shade trees and lovely gardens 
surrounding the places that line its sides. 
These gardens are already rioh in blossom. 
The orange grows luxuriantly; the fig is in 
full leaf ; strawberries are ripe and have 
been abundant for weeks past; green peas 
and fresh lettuce and ripe, new potatoes are 
on every table. As a seaport, Galveston is 
rapidly rising in importance. Yellow 
fever has not visited it for six years, and 
even when last there, two miles off from the 
city not one case ever occurred. 
At present Galveston is supplied with 
fresh water from tanks which receive and 
hold the rain falls. These have been suffi¬ 
cient up to the present; but as Galveston 
grows apace, even like unto her sister cities 
of the Union, jt is regarded as necessary to 
provide u public water system, and meas¬ 
ures are being taken to bring into the cif y 
the waters of a lake which is on the island. 
When this design has been carried out, there 
will be every inducement for travelers to 
make Galveston a winter residence. 
The air is salubrious, and the climate soft 
as i,bat of Southern Italy; the skies as blue 
and the waters of the gulf as clear as those 
of Naples or Sorrento. Mldt Morgan. 
■ -- 
Feed for a New Milk’s Cow.— I wish some 
of your readers would say which is the best 
kind ol feed for a fresh cow—oats and corn 
ground together, or corn meal and bran; 
whether it is best mixed with cut hay and 
straw, or scalded and given milk-warm. I 
have been trying both ways, but. I am not 
very well satisfied. She is only giviu" eight 
lou'nds of butter per week; I have known 
ter to give fourteen pounds per week when 
she was on pasture. Do you think that 
grain will make a yearling lieifer cross? I 
am giving mine some and it is pretty cross; 
yet there is one thing sure, that grain makes 
her grow, She is doing very well.—J. N. 
Taylor, 
P - - 
