r6 ~ 
WHAT WILL PAY BEST! 
One of our correspondents sends the old 
question, “ What crops Bhall I grow !” re¬ 
peated a thousand times yearly to all agri¬ 
cultural Editors. We omit date and name 
because we wish to make a freer comment 
than would be fair to a known person : 
Will you please Inform me what I can raise 
ou two'acres of land for the New York mark¬ 
et with the most profit! Will horse radish 
pay ? What per cent, do you ask for selling 
it ? Please inform me what will pay the best 
in your estimation to raise on this two acres. 
The land is in a splendid condition.-, 
Conn., Oct. 23, 1875. 
How iu the name of common sense does our 
correspondent expect us to answer such a 
question 1 We know nothing of his (or her) 
circumstances. The name scut may be an 
abbreviation for a woman’s name as well as 
a man’s, and the handwriting looks like a 
lady's. Has our correspondent other means 
of support until the two acres can be made 
available, or must it be made immediately 
productive f These questions have an im¬ 
portant bearing in deciding what should be 
done with the land. Is it moist or naturally 
dry i Is it sandy or heavy soil i Js it miked 
or covered with sod ! if we knew all these 
facts we could uot tell what crop would cer¬ 
tainly pay beat on those two acres. The most 
experienced market gardeners around New 
York City—men who thoroughly know their 
business often make serious mistakes in this 
matter. Editors are not omniscient, as some 
people seem to suppose. They sometimes 
pretend to know everything, but when cor¬ 
respondents launch practical questions for 
immediate answer and don’t give a hint as 
to surrounding circumstances, they have to 
own themselves almost as ignorant as the 
average of mankind. Besides, there is a 
more serious lack of information about our 
correspondent. Has he (or she) any expe¬ 
rience in gardening or fruit growing f Above 
all, is he or she afraid of work, or in vulgar 
parlance, ‘‘lazy?” No matter how splendid 
the condition of the soil, hard work will be 
needed to make it productive. Something 
more still is needed. Many farmers who do 
and like hard |work ou straight, large jobs, 
dislike terribly the little “puttering” and 
pestering work iu which market gardening 
so largely consists. Many a sturdy farmer 
would prefer to swing a scythe or heavy cra¬ 
dle all day and see at night a large surface 
laid low rather thau bend his back all day 
pulling tiny weeds from rows of onions so 
sm*ll that it needs sharp eyes to see them. 
Other men will shoulder their axe and chop 
cord wood by the day,but would terribly dis¬ 
like to take a knife or pruning shears to 
prune aud trim grape vines. It isn’t every 
man who is adapted to growing vegetables 
for market. In fact, we suspect that more 
women than men are adapted to it, aud if 
our correspondent’s name stands for a wo¬ 
man, the chance is so much the better. But 
prognosticating success or failure on such 
slender basis of facts, is guess work at the 
best and uot to our liking. We prefer to 
have the facts fully arraj'ed before us to 
give our reasoning faculties fair swing, in 
which case we are very apt to give a decided 
and authoritative opinion. 
■ » 
STOCK ON SMALL FARMS. 
The comparative advantages of large and 
small farms would form an excellent subject 
for consideration by fanner’s clubs. In his 
“Principles of Political Economy,” Mr. Mill 
says: 
One of the objections most urged against 
small farms is, that they do cot and cannot 
maintain, proportionately to the extent, so 
great a number of cattle as large farms, and 
that this occasions such a deficiency of ma¬ 
nure that a soil much subdivided must al¬ 
ways be impoverished. It will be found, 
however, that subdivision only produces this 
effect when it throws the land into the hands 
of cultivators so poor as not to possess the 
amount of live stock suitable to the size of 
their farms. A small farm and a badly 
stocked farm are not synonymous. 
This objection, however, is proved by the 
Flemish farmers to have no foundation iu 
fact. One beast to every three acres of land 
is a common proportion there, and in some 
localities the proportion Is greater. A trea¬ 
tise on Flemish husbandry says that it i 
appears astonishing that the occupier of ten : 
or twelve acres of light arable land should be i 
able to maintain four or five cows, but the < 
fact is notorious iu the Wales country. Next j 
to Flanders, England feeds the greater num- l 
btr of anitnalson a given surface. M. Passay 
OORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
says wherever large and small cultivation 
met in the same place, the latter, though it 
cannot support as many sheep, possesses, all 
things considered, the greatest quantity of 
manure-producing animals. 
In Belgium, the provinces of smallest 
farms are Antwerp and East Flanders. They 
keep, on an average, for every 250 acres, 
seventy-four horned entile and fourteen 
sheep. In the .provinces where there are the 
•a"' 
MONSTER BUNCH OF 1 
largest farms, Numux aud Hainault, are only 
thirty horned cattle, and there are forty-five 
sheep to each acre. In Belgium, stall-feeding 
is continued nearly the whole year, and hard¬ 
ly any of the manure is lost, while grazing in 
the open fields diminishes greatly the quan¬ 
tity which can be completely saved. 
It is stated, in the report of the French 
minister of commerce, that in the Depart¬ 
ment of the Nord, the smallest farms sup¬ 
port the greatest number of animals. While 
the small farms of Lille and llazebrouck, be¬ 
sides a greater number of horses, maintain 
equal to fifty-two and forty-six head of horn¬ 
ed cattle, t he larger farms of Avesues sustain 
only from forty to fifty head. But the small 
farms caunot support as many sheep in pro¬ 
portion as the larger, because sheep require 
frequent chauge of pasturage. 
Borne later statistics prove the point more 
clearly that small farms are capable, and do 
sustain a larger proportion of manure¬ 
making animals. In the department of the 
Buy de Dome, Dr. Jusserand says the com¬ 
mune is divided'.into 4,600 |>areelles, owned 
by 501 proprietors. In 1700, seventeen farms 
occupied two-thirds of the whole, and 
twenty others the remainder. Since then 
the laud has been much divided, and the sub¬ 
division is now extreme. What has been the 
effect on the quantity of cattle t A consid¬ 
erable increase. Iu 1790 there were about 
<800 homed cattle, and from 1,800 to 2,000 
sheep ; there are now 07(5 of the former, and 
only 538 of the latter. Thus, 1,800 sheep 
have been replaced by 370 oxen and cows ; 
and the quantity of manure has increased in 
the ratio of 490 to 720,or more than 48 per cent, 
not to mention that the animals being now 
stronger and better fed, yield a much great¬ 
er contribution than formerly to the fertili¬ 
zation of the ground. Such is the testimony 
of facts on this point, and it will be found, 
we think that if all the facts bearing upon 
the subject of large and small farming, are 
once collated and estimated fairly, the ad¬ 
vantages will turn in favor of the small 
farms every time,— Colmun'a Rural. 
@he teprd. 
MONSTER BUNCHES OF GRAPES. 
At the recent International Fruit Show iu 
Edinburgh, Scotland, two monster bunches 
of Grapes were exhibited, probably the 
largest ever produced. The London Garden¬ 
ers’ Chronicle gives engravings and descrip¬ 
tions of these wonderful specimens. We 
give an illustration of one of them (that of 
the White Nice), and copy what the Chroni¬ 
cle says of both bunches, as follows : 
The bunch of Raisin deCalabre was grown 
and exhibited by Mr. Curror, gardener to G. 
Douglas, Esq., of Eskbauk, Dalkeith. This 
was a handsomely-formed bunch, the ber¬ 
ries closely aud solidly packed so that the 
shoulders stood out firmly in all directions, 
aud the bloom was perfect. It was, in fact, 
shown in first-rate condition, and was very 
properly awarded the 1st prize in the class 
for the heaviest bunch of white Grapes, and 
received besides the Veitch Medal and Prize 
WHITE 
NICK 
GRAPES. 
the Eskbauk bunch. The Arkleton bunch 
was a specimen of the White Nice, and was 
a much looser one than the former. It had 
also unfortunately traveled badly, and was 
much rubbed aud bruised. The weight, when 
tested iu the exhibition room, was 25 lb. 15 oz. 
The Chronicle adds :—“It is uo little credit 
to the gardeners of Scotland to have thus 
produced the two largest bunches of Grapes 
upon record ; and truly Ihe evidence furnish¬ 
ed by this show indicates that the North is, 
in the matter of Grape growing, in uo way 
behind the South.” 
miunt 
Slrticlpfi. 
THE EXCELSIOR CLOTHES WRINGER. 
One of the many ways in which the Rural 
New-Youkep. makes homes happier is in 
urging the introduction of labor-saving ma¬ 
chinery. in the house. W e also offer these 
household helps as premiums for agents 
whereliy husbands and brothers may make 
cheap and pleasant presents to their friends, 
or our lady readers may secure one by their 
own efforts with less time and labor th an 
would be needed to earn one in any other 
way. Of these the cheapest and most ne¬ 
cessary is a good, reliable Clothes Wringer 
—such an one as is the Excelsior Wringer, 
made by the Bailey Washing and Wringing 
Machine Co., 10(5 Chambers St, N. Y., which 
is fastened,directly to the bench, avoiding 
the inconvenience of a tub machine. With 
this machine the operator can stand erect, 
and, having a tub on each side, can wring 
from one or the other, using one hand to 
place the clothes, instead of being compelled 
to use it to keep the tub from tipping over. 
The rubber rolls of the Excelsior are warrant¬ 
ed unsurpassed iu quality, and are protected 
from wear by cog-wheels on both ends, thus 
insuring the greatest durability, while a 
patent flange on the wheels holds the cogs 
firmly in place. With this machine the tub 
.6 
for the most meritorious bunch of white 
Grapes, not being Muscats, produced in the 
show. Its weight was 26 lbs. 4 oz., which it 
maintained within an ounce or two when 
weighed in the exhibition room. 
The rival clust3r (see engraving) was shown 
by Air. Dickson, gardener to John Jardine, 
Esq., of Arkleton, Langholme, Glasgow, and 
a very formidable rival it proved, since the 
weight was within a few ounces of that of 
is free from encumbrance, and can bo emptied 
with ease. It is also free from the wrench¬ 
ing and stlain incident to a tub-wringer. 
We send one of these wringers, price 810, for 
8 subscribers at $2.05, or 18 at $2.15 each. 
■-- 
OVERCOATS AND SUITS OF CLOTHES. 
The establishments of Geo. L. Burr (late 
Freeman & Burr) Nos. 138 and 140 Fulton 
St. New York, through judicious and liberal 
advertising, is known all over the country. 
It has long made a practise of sending out 
clothing to order from rules for eelf-measure 
sent out by the house. Probably many 
Rural readers have purchased clothing thus, 
and all may do so with the. certainty of get¬ 
ting as good bargains as if they were here 
personally. These are among the Rural’s 
Premiums to which inclement weather is 
now directing public attention. Wc are 
able to offer an overcoat costing $20 for a 
club of 20 subscribers at $2.(55, or 30 at $2.15; 
and a suit made to order, worth $25, for 25 
subscribers at $3.65, or 40 at $2.15. Samples 
of the goods will be sent to our agents to 
select from, on application to Mr. Burr ; al¬ 
so, full directions for self-measurement. 
<d§ieltl (Ui[oj)5. 
POTATOES IN DRILLS. 
Whether the potato produces better in 
hills than when drilled, that is when the 
pieces are planted from a foot or so apart, is 
again discussed. Here, in this section of our 
State, planting in rows is, we believe, uni 
versally adopted, as making a bolter yield 
than hill-planting ; and as often as the two 
ways hove been tested, the result was always 
in behalf of the rows. An acre has been 
known to yield from twenty to forty bush¬ 
els more, aud never falls below ten bushels.— 
Germantown (Renn.) Telegraph. 
Admitting that this extra yield from plant¬ 
ing in drills may be secured, it is generally 
dearly gained l>y move thau its value in la¬ 
bor and expense. Hence, iu all localities 
where labor is scarce, and especially where 
land is abundant and cheap, planting in hills 
is the preferable mode. Drill planting is only 
suited to very rich, higli-prioed land uear 
cities, and even there “ large enough ” crops 
may be grown by planting in hills with good 
culture. Some varieties with large tops, as 
Peachblows and Peerless, yield better in 
hills than in drills, for they need all the space 
which three feet by three feet will give. 
The thorough cultivation insured by having 
rows both ways will increase the yield, de¬ 
crease the labor, aud, what .is quite as im¬ 
portant, will keep the land clearer and leave 
it in better order for succeeding crops than 
is ordinarily done by drill culture. It is pos¬ 
sible to keep potatoes in drills as clean as in 
liilis, but even then the soil is not cut up and 
pulverized so thoroughly. 
The variety most suited for drill culture is 
Early Rose. It has small tops, and the 
tubers lie all in a heap, occupying not more 
than a square foot of soil. It is possible on 
rich soil, and with good season end plenty of 
moisture to make much larger crops of Ear¬ 
ly Rose in drills thau in hills, but it does not 
pay even with this variety where laud is as 
plenty and cheap a3 with most farmers. Bet¬ 
ter plant a little more ground, and run the 
cultivator between the rows both waj s. 
POTATOES-GOOD AND FOOR. 
A correspondent of the Boston Cultiva¬ 
tor discusses the difference in quality of po¬ 
tatoes of the same variety as follows : 
The question is frequently asked, What 
makes such a difference in the quality of po¬ 
tatoes of the same variety, planted in the 
same field, at the same time, aud, apparent¬ 
ly, subjected in every respect to tue same 
treatment! Potatoes, when thus treated, 
will very frequently produce some tub* is 
which Mill cook white and mealy, while 
others will be heavy, bitter, and of a black 
color. There are probably several causes tor 
the difference, but 1 propose to notice but 
One or two. Tubers to be sweet and good 
require to grow in a rather moiEt place en¬ 
tirely away from the light. Those which 
appear above ground, or partly so, acquire a 
green color, which makes them unfit ft r 
cooking. Varieties which ure poor yielders 
are generally the best for tLe table, as they 
grow more *n the ground away from the 
tight. Potatoes which yield large crops fill 
up the hills aud throw off their covering so 
as to admit the air and light, and thus spoil 
the flavor. Heavy rains, also, wash away 
the dirt and leave the tub?rs exposed to the 
noxious influence. Great yielders require to 
be well hilled up about the time the tubers 
are growing the most rapidly, and all crev¬ 
ices should be filled up so as to kec-p out the 
gun and air. As soon as possible after the 
crop is hauled out of the ground it should be 
stowed away in some dark, cool place. Po¬ 
tatoes are too often allowed to remain in a 
light cellar, where they become injured. 
One farmer observed that potatoes may be 
kept a long time by being packed in sand. 
