THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
acre. Best five, four pounds four-and-a half 
ounces, large and small 68,970 to the acre or 
four-and-tbree quarters to a hill. 
ningstadt, medium; Stone Mason and Pre¬ 
mium Flat. Dutch for late, the best. 
Marblehead Early Sweet Coni leads the van 
for earliness, and has out one fault, a red cob. 
Roslyn s Hybrid pleases me best in every re¬ 
spect as a late variety. Amber Cream disap¬ 
points me in size and productiveness. 
ana tne roots were as sound, and tender, and 
juicy as one could desire. I found it necessary 
to water the bed frequently, as it was at a 
warm season of the year 
Hereafter, I shall plant radishes in the 
warmest, most sheltered spot that I can find, 
make the soil very rich, and surround the bed 
apply to the crop. When ready for planting 
spread this pretty bountifully on the land and 
plow in about four inches deep. a. b. allen. 
POTATO PLOW OR POTATO FORKS, 
WHICH ? 
THE CULTURE OF SHEEP 
Tns fanu hands in the employ of the Agri¬ 
cultural College Farm insisted that they could 
dig and sack more potatoes by the use of potato 
forks than they could by the use of the potato 
plow, and hence 1 greatly desired to determine 
the difference if possible. Accordingly, those 
men prejudiced against the plow were given 
the potato forks and those who doubted some¬ 
what were permitted to work with the plow. 
The following figures were kept with the 
greatest care : 
POTaTO plow. 
_ h’r’s. min. 
Time or one man. 12 37 
Number bushels dug. 64.7 
POTATO FORKS. 
, h’r's. min. 
Time or one man. 24 40 
Number bushels dug. 85.9 
The rows were 450 feet long. The •’ fork- 
ers” dug the Burbank variety, yielding 
bushels per row. The plow men dug the 
White Elephant yielding 5 bushels 27 pounds 
per row. Five bauds used the forks, aud 
three of this number were very quick in work. 
Three to three-and-oue-half hands followed 
the plow, and were not equal in their work to 
the other hands. But as the test is, it will be 
seen that with the plow potatoes were dug 
and sacked at the rate of 51.3 bushels in 10 
hours by oue man, and with the forks at the 
rate of 84.7 bushels. j. n. MUNCEY, 
Farm Expor. Assistant, Iowa Ag'l College. 
This industry is so large an interest in a 
civilized nations that I venture to go ove 
some of the ground already harvested to s< 
cure the gleanings, that nothing may be lost. 
THE COTSWOLDS AND LINCOLNS 
are the largest of the popular breeds. The 
are coarse sheep, coarse in wool, and coars 
in flesh; they are not at all desirable as muttor 
and can only be useful to those whose necessi 
ties will not allow a better fare. They ar 
also delicate in constitution in n plfrtiflb n 
sequence. The wool is long and coarse, and 
was well enough when fashion called for such 
combing staple: but. it is brittle and cold in 
cloths. I hear of no one buying sheep of these 
breeds now as the basis of a future Hock. It 
does not follow that the largest animals are 
the most profitable or desirable; on the con¬ 
trary, the reverse seems to be the general 
Irw, the medium sizes of any genus or species 
being the most serviceable. The way to test 
the matter is to find out what breed will give 
the most wool and flesh to the acre of land in 
grass, or cereals, or roots. By this tost I feel 
sure the South Downs would outstrip all rivals. 
The great-sized, long-horned cattle and the 
Chinese fowls have been superseded by smaller 
and more thrifty breeds, and it is an admitted 
fact that medium-sized horses and mules are 
far the most serviceable, having more activity 
and thrift, 
SHROPSHIRES AND OXFORD DOWNS 
are of fair size and wool, but as they are ad¬ 
mitted to be mixed in blood, few breeders will 
be induced to en er upon building a flock 
upon such sandy foundation. Neither their 
HALL’S EARLY PEACELBLOW. From Nature. Fig. 70. 
uZiniz 1 
pektef y r W T 7 1>eSt , eitte ' f<>1 ' t “ b,e “ e OT “ C01ld PlMHugotS seasoi 
pmkles. [We have said this every year since ably not be quite so tender 
Ive^FoTi 1011 ' iS “ 0t ° Ver ' pr0Ufic ’ how - But t^y would be verypalat 
T . ’ . , b ‘ , r so good as these. 
The salamander Lettuce forms a large, com- [ We have raised fine radis 
withstands 
pact head, 
heat and drought, is 
crisp and tender, and 
remains in edible con¬ 
dition longer than any 
variety I have ever 
raised. It is an acqui¬ 
sition. J 
For an early onion Jj 
try Early Red Globe. || 
It was tit for use several jS 
days abend of other 1 
early kinds the past sea. 5 
sou. For general crop 
I flud nothing that J 
equals the Danvers aud « 
W etbersfield. 
The most productive 
very early pea on my 
grounds was Burpee’s 
Extra Early, although 
it. was three days later 
than Tom Thumb. For 
the main crop 1 prefer 
American Wonder. 
Among all the -andidatei 
in the line of new potatoes 
will be some time before 
that combines more good qi 
use than the Burbauk 
As a grand failure, in my garden, the Per¬ 
fect Gem Squash is entitled to all the gems in 
the casket. Boston Marrow aud Hubbard are 
the best here. 
If I had to confiue myself to oue varietv of 
PICKLE FOR SEED WHEAT AND CORN. 
In addition to the excellent recipe given by 
Mr. Stewart on page 35, I will add another, 
which I ha' T e generally used for a long time, 
and found to answer the desired purpose. 
Make a brine about hot enough to bear the 
baud in it, aud strong enough to hold up an 
egg ou the su rface. Steep the wheat or corn 
inthisteuto fifteen minutes, stir it up well, 
aud skim off all the foul stuff' that rises on top 
of the brine. Then take out the gram and 
spread it on boards out-doors, or on the barn 
fl°°r, nnd dry the seed by sprinkling slaked 
liine, plaster-of-Paris, or ashes over it. suffi¬ 
cient to give a white coating. This prevents 
the kernels from sticking together when sowed. 
Plant or sow the next day or two if possible, 
because if suffered to dry too hard, the grain 
might uot germinate after being swollen iu the 
brine. The brine kills the smut, and aside 
from assisting to dry the seed, the lime, etc., 
sprinkled ou it act as a slight fertilizer. 
A. B. ALLEN. 
to those of the South Down in quality N 01 
can their superiority iu any one special t> 
over other sheep be sustained. 
the welch and hiohLanders 
of Wales aud Scotland, though making fine, 
gamey mutton, have not been thought worthy 
of general culture, as they do not excel iu 
wool or early maturity, though their hardi¬ 
ness well tits them for high, bleak and moun¬ 
tainous regions. 
THE MERINO, 
of which there are several varieties—the Sax¬ 
on, the French, ami the Spanish—came origi¬ 
nally from Spain, and were uo doubt known 
to aud appreciated by the Greeks and Romans. 
They have the finest wool of the whole genus, 
and a great quantity 10 the weight of the car 
cass. As mutton they are quite nice in flavor, 
though interior to many other breeds as flesh 
bearers, being deficient in the fine points of 
the carcass. “The finer the wool the finer 
the mutton, an old saving, dees not -com tn 
NEW ENGLAND BEAUTY. Fr 
•om Nature 
horticultural 
GARDEN NOTES, 
The seedsmen are now issuing their annual 
catalogues, aud l would urge the readers of 
the Rural to seud for them as soon as they 
are announced iu the advertising columns, 
Study them *ell, aud then send for their gar¬ 
den seeds early Do not wait for planting 
time, and then go to the grocery store und 
buy ‘‘commission" seeds, that, as a rule, are 
not pure, aud often fail to germinate, thereby 
losiug time, mouey aud confidence in the 
huuesty of humanity in general, aud of seeds¬ 
men iu particular. Plant varieties tliut have 
been well tested for the vegetable garden. 
Experiment with as many uew varieties as 
you can afford to buy aud give proper care 
to; but do not depend on these alone for a 
guideu, for while some of the highly praised 
introductions each year are Improvements ou 
older varieties either in size, earliuota, quality 
or Productiveness, u portion of them at least 
will be a failure iu your locality. 
Oue of the best iuvestmeuts a farmer can 
SUCCESS WITH RADISHES, 
I have many times attempted to grow early 
radishes in the opeu garden, but have never 
been successful I have tried mixing coal 
ashes with the soil to lighten it. and preveut 
its baking, aud though this improved my re¬ 
sults somewhat, the roots were always tough, 
atriugy and worm-eaten. Despite my applica¬ 
tions of tobacco water, the cabbage flea 
the south down. 
It may be thought, if not 
Fig. ~1. said, that as I make the 
breeding of South Down a 
specialty I can hardly be an impartial umpire 
upou its merits. But. on the other baud. 1 was 
a breeder for years, as was my father before 
me, of the Merino, w hich I abandoned for the 
South Down, so that it might be «ud that the 
merits of the latter made them my favorites. 
I think thru the South Down excels all sheep 
BLISS'S TRIUMPH 
From Nature. 
