Lnro«*t quantity of Ruby from one pound of Seed. 
PHIZ£. T U H T>v^trr\ 
C i ^i,rf"?> C 'o P f 4r8C ? J> Mb»irB. N, y.. 1 , 9 * 2 ’ 
S .*U er ' Cloud. Minn. . .1AM 60 (Kl 
"-Al/red Rose, Penn Van. X. Y.. .1.576 4 it oo 
ESSf 0 * £• Ij , Woo<l . Hula boro'. Ill ,...1571 30 00 
Siifh \i itebfrtttJO,Jedl»o r o, beetl'd. 1,534 aj no 
Stxto,...M, M. Rote, Ppnn Yan, X. Y.. ..1,353 10 oo 
But if legislation is one-sided. the interpretation 
of the laws is, in many instances, much more bo. 
Take, for instance, the law in regard to endorse¬ 
ments. If a man obtains goods on credit from 
a merchant in the city, through the recommen¬ 
dation of another, in case cf his failing, the 
second party becomes responsible for their pay 
ment, bnt in the rural districts nothing amounts 
to an endorsement, but the bone fid# signature 
of the endorser, iu black and white, and thus 
the clause of the Constitution that no ex parte 
laws shall be enacted, is virtually set aside. 
Farmers are repeatedly made the victims of 
systematic swindling through a partial interpre¬ 
tation of the laws. The remedy, if thero is 
one, is to bo sought among themkelres. Among 
the means looking toward the attainment of 
NOVELTIES IN POTATOES. 
shovelful of rotted hen manure and two hands- 
fuls of ashes to each hill, besides several sur¬ 
face droasings with other fertilizers. Bnt all 
this must appear but a small attempt at enrich¬ 
ing the land, to our Scotch friend, Mr. Robert- 
son, who would not intrust his seed to a 
black sandy loam, four feet deep, underdrained 
and trenched to probably the entire depth, be¬ 
fore spading, under a coat of well-rotted cow- 
dung, and applying afterward to the hills three 
cart loads of wood-ashes, two of sheep-drop¬ 
pings, and several other fertilizers. 
The dissection of eyes has been still more in¬ 
creased. In one case a pound of Potatoes was 
divided into 290 sets. These practical testB of 
the feasibility of raising large crops from small 
sets, become of much importance in seasons of 
scarcity of Seed Potatoes. For it is shown here 
that, even without carrying the division of the 
eyes to extremes, nine-tenths of the seed may be 
saved. 
The fact that the largest yields were produced 
in the Eastern States, in regions which suffered 
fjotn one of the severest droughts known, wbero 
the general crops failed iilmobt entirely, induced 
ub to investigate more closely the manner in 
which these Premium Potatoes were grown. Ab 
the result w o lind that all these competitors at¬ 
tribute their success to the judicious application 
of water during the dry season. One of the 
competitors had arranged an ingenious system 
of irrigation, by inserting, six inches from’ oach 
bill, two-inch drain tiles, nix inches doopandfiJl- 
iug these with water, twice a week during the dry 
weather. Iu reply to a letter lie writes : “I at¬ 
tribute my success the past season to tlio ferti¬ 
lizers applied, hut more especially to the mode 
of applying water. 1 find that, even without 
manure, this plan gives great reBulls. Give me 
drought and this means of applying water, and I 
can grow a much larger crop than with the most 
favorablo weather and no watering. This I have 
proved by two years'experience.” Many may 
not be fio situated that they can apply as com¬ 
plete a system of irrigation, but thousands of 
HALF AN ACRE OF POTATOES. 
REPORT OF MESSRS. QUINN, THDRBEH AND KEXAMER, 
I send you an account of my success with 
one-half acre of potatoes during the past season, 
as follows: 
Expense, 
Plowing and harrowing. <1 v> 
Marking and plunUne . 1 2] 
5*9.'J n X biisbels. at 25c. per bushel".'.’",’ 2 87 
Plaster and «*he» and applying."‘ l m 
Cnlitvatlng and hoeing twice. . . "am 
Digging. ? 
Harisgreen and applying."I.."". $ 
Interest on land at $125 per acre_4 3, 
Total expense.taTiii 
Receipts. 
Potatoes (large). % ima., at 75c. per bug..$71 25 
Potatoes (small),30 bus., at 25c. per bus 
Total receipts... 
Profit. 
Planted May 15. 
How B. K. Bliss & Sons' Premiums of $500 were 
Awarded. 
Valuable Lessons as to the Cultuke op the 
Potato. 
m size 
le me- 
once in two, and the large 
ones into pieces containing from two to four eyes 
each. Planted two pieces in each hill; covered 
about two inches deep. The rows were 3% feet 
apart, with bills 2 feet apart iu the row. A 
portion of the land received a dressing of plas¬ 
ter and ashes, applying a handful to each hill 
when the tops were 3 or 4 inches high, and )>e- 
foro hoeing. Cultivated and hoed them twice, 
and at the last hoeing hilled them up, making 
the hills 6 or 8 inches high. The drought was 
very severe through the mouth of August. I 
think this diminished the yield fully one-third. 
Jt will be seen that the profit is at the rate of 
over 8100 per acre, and tho cost of raising, 19 U 
cents per bushel. The variety grown was tho 
Peerless, Youno Fashes. 
Augusta, Oneida Co., N. Y. 
Arouni) ik aolorlii 
AUSTRALIA 
second, that a certain mode of applying water_ 
even without manure—should have boon found 
to -‘give great results.” ‘'Give me drought," 
one gentleman says, “ and this means of apply¬ 
ing water, and I can grow a much larger crop 
than with tho most favorable weather and no 
watering. This 1 have proved by two years’ ex¬ 
periment." 
REPORT. 
Over more than one-half of the potato-growing 
territory of the United States, the past season 
has been one of extraordinary perversity. 
Throughout the Eastern and Middle States a 
severe and protracted drought, combined with 
the ravages of the Colorado potato beetle, 
diminished the crop so much, that thousands of 
acres wc-re considered not worth the digging. 
In several Western States, the grasshoppers 
have caused considerable loss, while in others 
an unusually wet season has produced rot and 
small crops. 
The astonishing result?, obtained under so 
unfavorable conditions, make the study of these 
various reports especially interesting; they 
teach us the unmistakable lesson, that informing The Alpha has, by many gr 
as well as in other pursuits, knowledge, industry clam * *’ much the earliest of an; 
and perseverance will accomplish great results was found to bo “lit for nao in 
even under apparently tho most unpromising tho day of planting,” of exeelle 
conditions. The recipients of theso prizes mav coolco<1 in 11 “7 "’ay, and gaining i 
well be considered the Champion Potato Grow- ^7 Rnd ? ield ' In this latter le¬ 
ers of the world. None of them are novices in differs from most new seedlings 
their trado, and nearly all have received pre- P rovc after the third year, wliil 
miums at previous trials. They knew exactly Tftto rapidly. The Alpha, when 
I Uls is a country about which so little is gen¬ 
erally known, that we reprint in full from tho 
New York Times the following, which is full of 
interesting facts in a condensed form: 
In view of the inter-colonial exhibition to be 
held in Sydney, April 10 next, the following 
facts, culled from the most trustworthy official 
authorities on Australia, may ho found interest¬ 
ing. That largest tslaud on tho globo is about 
one-fifth smaller than Euro e, and more than 
three times as large as India, its dimensions 
being 2,400 by 1,900 miles, with 8,060 miieB of 
coast line. It extends over of latitude and' 
40° of longitude. Laid with ifs northern ex¬ 
tremity touching this city, it would reach south¬ 
ward to South America, eastward to the further 
end of Nova Scotia, and westward to tho further 
edge of Nebraska. Including the near-by island 
of Tasmania, or Van Diemau'a Land, its area is 
about 3,000,000 square miles, about the same as 
that of tho belt across this continent from 
ocean to ocean constituting the United States, 
excluding Alaska. The following shows some 
particulars as to tho six colonies, including Tas¬ 
mania, but omitting North Australia, which is 
yet almost unsettled : 
Area In square Population. Acres under 
., „ , mile*. 1874. tillage. 1874. 
New South Wales..25G,4 10 584,278 474 P 57 
Victoria...88.340 808.4U7 1,01 l.’v.O 
South Australia.... SS5.000 £04,883 1,31-0,484 
Queensland.... ... 450.780 JWUGi M 218 
West Australia.978,0(10 27.371 4 . 1 292 
Tasmania.22,029 101,176 320,480 
Total..2,219,823 1.885,276 o,203.230 
THE POLITICS OF AGRICULTURE. 
A whiter under the above beading, alludes to 
the diffidence of the agricultural press in dealing 
with political questions, and especially such 
questions ns affeot tho interests of agriculture. 
I desire to say a few words in regard to the 
courso of tho political press of the country in 
dealing with the same questions. In times past 
the press has been the most potent defender of 
tho people's rights. Through it the masses 
have made themselves heard when Senates and 
Courts, absorbed in schemes of political grandeur, 
have overlooked their interests or turned a deaf 
ear to their petitions. From it have been hurled 
more terrible Philippics against the usurpations 
and oppressions of Tyranny than Lemostbenes 
ever uttered. Corruption iu public affairs has 
been exposed to its blighting criticism, and 
spiritual wickedness in high places withered 
beneath its acathing denunciations. Rut when 
the influence of tho press is lent to the 
-promo¬ 
tion of mere partisan interests, to tho exclusion 
of those that bear upon tho general welfare of 
the masses, it has ceased to be the organ of the 
people, audit not an instrument of oppression, 
it is at least a dead letter in the promotion of 
public good. And such, to a certain extent, is 
tho attitude of the political press of our country 
to-day. 
The columns of our partisan ionrimlu «»•* 
per aero; nor do these immense yields, pro¬ 
duced by the lavish application of manures 
regardless of expense, give a criterion of tho 
profits of tho crops, after deducting the pre¬ 
miums. Many growers, who have produced 
less thau one thousand pounds from one, may 
have produced larger profits per acre than the 
successful competitors, but, fearing the com¬ 
petition of tho Great Prize Winners, have not 
sent reports. Thus tho present Bystem of 
awards deprives the public of much valuable 
instruction which might be obtained by devising 
different systems of competition, from which 
persons who have received premiums at former 
trials might bo excluded. With only two ex¬ 
ceptions, all the premiums had to be awarded 
to competitors who had been successful in 
previous years. 
The Soil and Fertilizers used, the modes of 
planting and cultivating, were, in most in¬ 
stances, the same as nsod and practiced pre¬ 
viously. Several growers planted the same 
pieces of land which produced the premium 
crops of last year. 
The large quantities of Fertilizers used by 
most competitors is something astonishing, and 
may well serve to disprove the general belief 
that heavy manuring is injurious to Potatoes. 
Mi. Pearson added to nn already rich anil ihmi 
