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Vot. XLIII. No. 1811 . 
NKW YORK, OCTOBER 11, 1884. 
PRICE FIVE CENTS, 
*1.00 PER YEAH. 
[Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1881, by the Rural New Yorker In the oiTlco of the Mbrarlau of Congress at Washington.] 
ftuml topics. 
©xpcviment Ground* of the jftwtal 
^ew-3yorhcr. 
NEW POTATO TESTS. 
SOIL, CULTURE, ETC. 
True soil is a moist, mellow loam, Inclining a little 
to clay, and this Is the fourth consecutive year In 
which potatoes have been raised on It. It has re¬ 
ceived liberal quantities of potato concentrated fer¬ 
tilizer* and occasional dressings or salt, kaltilt.bone, 
etc . perhaps at the rate of l,2l)U pounds to the acre 
altogether. Trenches two spades wide, five Inches 
deep and three feet apart, us In past seasons, were 
dug. The soil In the bottom was raked mellow, the 
pieces ((wo eyes each i, placed one fool apart upon 
this, and then cover, d with an Inch Of soil. The 
fertilizers were then, evenly strewn, and the trench 
filled to the surface. The cultivation Is done be¬ 
tween the rows entirely with w heel cultivators, and 
between the plants with the hoc. Very little hoeing 
Is required, since the plants meet before I he weeds 
start. Tile soil I* never MIU‘d-up about the plants, 
but kept at the same level over the entire plot. In 
testlug new potatoes here, our object Is lo ascertain 
their quality, growth of vine, time of maturity atul 
the greatest yield of which they are capable In a 
rich soil specially prepared Tor them. 
Dklmonioo (Fig. <100, p. 067).—Received from 
O. 11. Alexander, of Charlotte, Vfc., and planted 
April 7. The tops were upright growing—i. e., 
not spreading. They were dug August 15, being 
an intermediate us to timo of maturing. The 
yield was at the rate of 363 bushels to the acre. 
Among the best, fire weighed two pounds nine 
ounces. There was an average of 5 1-5 to a hill, 
all of fair size, as shown in our illustration. 
The shape is cylindrical, skin buff-white, eyes 
somewhat deep, especially toward the seed- 
end. Of the entire yield 85 per cent, in num¬ 
bers were marketable. It is a showy, clean 
potato. Eaten September 11, it was found to 
be moderately dry and mealy—the flesh white. 
Not named, —This is a sport from a red po¬ 
tato—a cross between an unknown kind and 
the Early Vermont—sent to us last year by 
Mr. M. L, Heltzell, Colfax, Whitman Co., 
W. T. It was planted this year April 15, and 
matured August 15. The yield was at the 
rate of 998.85 bushels to the aero. Among the 
beat of the lot, live weighed two pounds 10}^ 
ounces. There were very few large tubers 
and few small ones. Seventy-live per cent, 
(in numbers) were marketable. The average 
hill gave 18^ potatoes. The vines were widely 
spreading. The ghape is oblong, a little flat¬ 
tened, one eud beiug usually smaller than the 
other. Theskin is variegated (asshown in Fig. 
38(1, p. Ml), pink on bull’, ofUm in bunds. The 
eyes are of medium depth. Eaten September 
19, the flesh was found to be white and very 
dry, mealy, and agreeably nutty. It promises 
to be a valuable potato. 
What’s the Uke ok it?— One of the edit¬ 
ors of a prominent New England paper made 
us a friendly little call a fe w days ago, in the 
course of wliich he said:—“Why do you make 
reports of those immense yields of potatoes# 
I should think that your readers would not 
believe them, and that they would do your 
paper harm#” We replied that we reported 
the yields precisely as they were. He said he 
did not doubt it, but added: “Farmers all 
kuow that such yields caunot be produced on 
large areas, and that by your method the po¬ 
tatoes cost more tbau they will sell for.” 
How do farmers know that# By actual test? 
Have they tried the Rural's method upon 
land well adapted to potato culture, and in 
this way ascertained that It does not—can not 
be made to pay? Have they tested 500 differ¬ 
ent kinds of potatoes (as the Rural has) to 
find out which will succeed best in their soli# 
During the past seasou some varieties have 
yielded less than 150 bushels per acre, while 
next to them other kinds have yielded over 
1,000 bushels per acre—while two kinds, (seed¬ 
lings not yet introduced) yielded at the rate 
of over 1,300 bushels per acre. 
Suppose we select, this particular variety 
and plant it upon an acre prepared as our 
little plots are, and treat it in precisely the 
same way: does any farmer know that the 
yield would not pay the cost of the labor and 
manure# We want our method of potato cult¬ 
fertilizer must be evenly spread; the trenches 
must be filled as loosely as possible with the soil 
and heaped up so that rains will settle them 
to the level of the land. Hero the tubers have 
a mellow medium in which to grow. The 
tops soon cover the trendies anil preserve the 
moisture. 
The soil remains mellow until the tops begin 
tivator can be run through without injury to 
the tops. As to the fertilizers, we have used 
all kinds. Besides the usual so-called “com¬ 
plete potato fertilizers,” salt, kalnit, lime and 
superphosphate of lime have been used, with 
how much effect, it is, of course, impossible 
for us to state. But wo produce immense 
yields, and the expense is not so moat but 
that if half the quantity con Id be raised in fields 
at the same rate of expense, the farmers’ 
profits would be greater than they now are 
under the usual way of raising this crop. 
But we need not point out at any longtli how 
best to adapt our special potato culture to 
general fluid culture. It is probable that 
most of our experienced farmers can best do 
It fur themselves. 
Tiie Alexander Apple on Paradise 
Stock.— Wo have often alluded to our several 
kinds of apples upon the French Paradise 
stock. The Illustrations (Figs. 387, 3S8) show 
the Alexander oiitire and in a half section as 
grown upon this stock. The tree is about 
eight feet high and the same in diameter, and 
is about nine years old, having borne a full 
crop for the paHt five years. Upon this little 
tree about 75 apples, averaging as large as the 
illustration, ripened the present season. The 
Alexander is stroakod with bright red on a 
greenish yellow ground, lu quality it is sub- 
add and juicy. Mr. Barry considers it a 
“superb fruit.” This may certainly be said of 
its appearance, for we kuow of no apple more 
showy. The American Pomological Society 
rates It as “good.” Its origin is Russia. It 
thrives best in the following Htates: Iowa and 
Colorado. It Is also popular in Now Bruns¬ 
wick. It thrives moderately well in Nova 
Beotia, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New 
York, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Penn¬ 
sylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Kansas, California, 
Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. 
ALEXANDER (RUSSIAN) APPLE. Fig. 387. 
ure tested by our readers who have good 
potato land. They ure not to test it in one 
particular only and then, if an increased crop 
does not follow, to condemn it; but wo ask 
them to test the method precisely as wo have 
explained it, and then to judge of Its value. 
to die. Applying this method to field culture, 
it would only be necessary to plow wide, dead 
furrows and then to mellow the bottom of 
them with a narrow cultivator. The pieces 
are then to be dropped and an inclined-tooth 
harrow, which would cover two trenches ut a 
Fig. 388. 
For Instance, they may try and condemn level 
culture: but that would not prove that our 
system is not a good one. The level culture 
must be tried in connection with wide trenches 
and a mellow bottom besides; the potato 
pieces must be placed four to five inches deep 
—then covered with soil, and on this soil the 
time, might be used to cover the seed pieces 
with an inch or so of soil. We are then to 
sow the fertilizers and turn the soil back into 
the trenches, and no hilling up or cultiva¬ 
tion is thereafter to be given which would 
compact the soil of the trenches, while that 
between is to be kept mellow as long as a cul¬ 
NOTES ON BACK NUMBERS. 
T. H. HOSKINS, M. D. 
Rural, Sept. 6.—Dr. Sturtevant’s reference 
(page 581!) to the Marblehead Mammoth Sweet 
Com, leads me to say that here it has always 
proved the most valuable of all late varieties. 
Though the ears are large, it is not a tall- 
growing sort; but, us Dr. S. says, it has abun¬ 
dant foliage, and is an excellent kind to grow 
for fodder. 
A sweet (or sweetish) white currant is very 
desirable; for white currants are usually pre¬ 
ferred os dessert, though they are some¬ 
times put upon the table mixed with the red, 
making au ornamental as well as agreeable 
and wholesome dish. The new currant, illus¬ 
trated on page 588, will therefore prove a de¬ 
sirable acquisition. Are the plants yet in 
market# [We believe not.—Kns. ] 
It argues little knowledge of chemistry, or 
a cranky way of lookfug ut things, for the 
agricultural editor of the Times, (quoted page 
589) to deny the term “chemical" to fertiliz¬ 
ing materials because they are, or may be, 
natural products. The tenn is correctly ap¬ 
plied to all definite compounds, whether 
natural products or products of art. It is 
calculated to astonish a chemist to say that 
nitrate or sulphate of potash is not n “chemi¬ 
cal” when found naturally, bn! is a “chemi¬ 
cal” when made in the laboratory! Very of¬ 
ten the nuturul cannot be distinguished from 
the artificial. What would the Times man do 
about it then # 
I would suggest to W. F., of Sanborn, N. 
