762 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
NOV 45 
a thousand or so of laborers, superintendents, 
etc., to satisfy our contemporaries. 
fit It) Crops. 
A LARGE POTATO CROP. 
I havk a piece of ground 02 by 140 feet, 
which was set last Spring to apple, pear, plum, 
cherry and peach trees—standard trees 24 feet 
each way, with dwarf pear and peaches be¬ 
tween them each way. Red and black rasp¬ 
berries were then set three feet apart in the 
row, the rows being six feet apart, bringing 
every alternate row in a row of trees. The 
peaches will die t ut in six or eight years, and 
the other trees do not grow very large in this 
soil, which is a clean drift sand ridge. The 
land was manured in the Fall of ’83 with barn¬ 
yard manure ut the rate of HO two horse loads 
per acre, and plowed under last Spring, It 
had never been cropped; in fact, it was too 
poor for pasture, and has been “common” 
for 15 or 20 years—ever since the pine was ent 
off. The stumps were dug out in ’82 and the 
ground plowed, there being a thin turf to turn 
under. 
Now in order to get some return for the 
land this year, I determined to try the Rural's 
plan of growing potatoes. With the Gem 
hand cultivator I plowed a furrow about four 
iuches deep, going twice in a row, half way 
between each row of raspberries, f dropped 
Beauty of Hebron potatoes, cut two eyes to a 
piece, one foot apart in the furrow, covered 
about one Inch with the cultivator; then sowed 
Buffalo phosphate in the furrow at. the rate of 
500 pounds per acre, and filled the furrow 
with the cultivator. The ground was culti¬ 
vated once before the vines came up, and 
every 10 or 12 days afterwards, until the po¬ 
tato vines and berry bushes nearly covered 
the surface. The early part of the season w 
moist enough; the latter part very dry. The 
potatoes wore planted the first week in May, 
were up two inches when struck by the frost 
May 20th, which cut them to the ground. 
They were dug Sept 10th, and after drying 
In a shed three days, they measured 42 bushels 
of marketable und three bushels of small po¬ 
tatoes. The average was very large for dry 
ground. The whole piece of ground does not 
measure quite one-fifth of an acre, and the 
potatoes did not occupy quite half of this, as 
there aro 11 rows of raspberries and there 
were only 10 of potatoes; so the yield would 
would be over *150 bushels per acre. 
I have given these details at length for the 
reason that this soil is not considered capable 
of producing any kind of a crop. The yield 
would certainly seem to support the Rural’s 
potato-growing system. s. P. R. 
-* ♦ -- 
A YOUNG CORN PLANT. 
As long as I can remember I have heard 
farmers at different times discuss the com¬ 
parative merits of deep and shallow corn- 
plantiug. Often the discussion has become 
very warm and even quarrelsome, the advo¬ 
cates of deep planting agreeing that deeply 
planted corn will resist drought better, the 
stand will be eveuer, etc , and those in favor 
of shallow planting claiming that for certain 
very clear reasons corn planted after their 
method is better able to resist drought, will 
have an evener stand, etc. 1 do not intend 
here to offer any arguments pro or con. But 
I shall call on the principal witness—the corn 
plant itself—to testify on the subject. This 
question—like many others which people the¬ 
orize about without studying—can t>e made 
much clearer by a little careful observation 
of a coru plant iu Its early growth. To make 
the matter plainer, and to induce criticism and 
' ' 
A 
B 
x V 
A Young Corn Plant. Fig. 466. 
experiment, illustrations of two young corn 
plants are produced at Fig. 466. Here x re¬ 
presents the development at a medium depth; 
y at a greater depth. In both A is the sur¬ 
face line, B the moisture line; at C are the 
the roots thrown out at the first joint, which 
is always carried up to just below the moist¬ 
ure line. The future root system of the plant 
continues to grow from this point; the joint 
below and the few roots sent out at the 
sprouting of the kernel taking little or no 
part in the later work. The function of 
these lower roots, and of the food stored in 
the kernel, is to support the plnntlet until it 
breaks through the soil and exposes its leaves 
to light and air. From this development of 
ihe plant in early life, one can readily see 
what depth of planting is best for the health 
and thrift of corn. L. e. b. 
SCAB IN POTATOES. 
The facts si < m to show that scab in pota¬ 
toes is not always due to the same cause, or at 
least not always due to the use of stable man 
ure. Two years ago, I planted my Early Rose 
Potatoes on land from which a crop of tobac¬ 
co had been taken the year before, and which 
was not within half a mile of any land that 
had ever been manured; but at digging time 
I found the tubers badly damaged by scab. 
Their appearance showed that the injury was 
the work of a worm or some similar pest, and 
I doubt not it was the wire-worm, m, j. f. 
Oakland, Ky. 
PREVENTION OF SCAB ON POTATOES. 
In several late issues of the Rural various 
causes have been assigned for scab on pota¬ 
toes, some insisting that it is due to a fungus 
on tuber; others maintaining that it is 
caused by a “wire”-worm; but neither party 
has told bow it may be avoided, to whatever 
cause it may be due. Now Prof. Kedzie, of 
the Michigan State Agricultural College, 
ays: “Potatoes grown on salted land are 
always clean and free from scab.” As an 
insecticide salt is invaluable, and fungous 
growths dwindle and perish in its presence in 
the soil. o. L. F. B. 
the owner is a prosperous farmer. Twenty- 
five years ago his father left him a hundred 
acres of stumps and bush. The log-hut was in 
the most primitive style of rural architecture, 
and the fences were useless, except in so far as 
they served, in a very imperfect manner, to 
mark the boundaries. The mortgage was big 
enough to deprive him of the pride of owner¬ 
ship. Under such disadvantages the first few 
years witnessed a hard struggle with poverty, 
but intelligence and force of character over¬ 
came every obstacle. Gradually the possibil¬ 
ities of the place were developed, until stock, 
crops and buildings were the best in the neigh¬ 
borhood. One by one the adjoining farms fell 
into his hands, to be brought to the same state 
of high cultivation as the homestead; and to¬ 
day he is the owner of one of the largest 
and probably the best managed farms in the 
country. 
A day on his place would be well-spent 
time to many a one who has a farm, if he 
would but con the lessons, which may be 
learnt,in the spirit of a true student. The dila¬ 
tory could note the promptitude displayed in 
taking advantage of even the poorest oppor¬ 
tunities, and the haste, free from confusion, 
with which everything is done. The careless 
would see buildings and fences in faultless 
order, work thoroughly done, no corners in 
fee simple to weeds, “ a place for evertbing” 
from the reaper to the hammer, and every 
thing in its place. It might prove u blessing to 
many boys.could the fathers see the four youths 
who have growu up under such an example 
of pluck and energy, who are self-reliant, 
ready and able for any work, accustomed to 
responsibilities, and interested, not in a few 
fowls or a small truck patch, but in the whole 
farm. The drudge whose only conception of 
farming is a life of unremitting physical toil, 
who never realizes that the master’s brains 
are the most effective labor-saving, wonder¬ 
working machine on a place, should study the 
methods adopted where the proprietor cannot 
afford to do the work of a hired man. The 
BARN. 
farm topics. 
A SUCCESSFUL FARMER. 
About five miles from the county town of 
R-, a row of fine shade trees on the road¬ 
side, attracts the attention of the pa>ser-by. 
The space between the ditch in front and the 
substantial fence behind, is as smooth as a 
lawn, and free from the ordinary road side 
thistle, mullein, and burdock. Every inter¬ 
val between the trees discloses a prospect of 
large fields—pastures with a full bite, roots 
without the variation of a weed, and grain 
giving golden promise of a bouutlful harvest. 
Under the basswoods, a herd of thoroughbred 
and high-grade cattle are standing in the 
stream that crosses the meadow. A flock of 
sheep are lying iu the shade of a grove of sec¬ 
ond-growth maple on the bluff beyond. Iu 
one field the reaper is moving briskly along; 
from another the sheaves are being rapidly 
transferred to the barns; the horse-rake fol¬ 
lowing close ou the busy men and teams, 
while iu the distance the plow is at work, an¬ 
ticipating seed-time iu the midst of harvest. 
Farther along the road stands the substantial 
brick house, neat, bat not ostentatious iu fin¬ 
ish. The close sod of the lawn is broken by 
straight gravel walks and clumps of the com¬ 
monest hardy shrubs. But there is nothing 
commonplace in the tasteful arrangement of 
the vigorous lilacs and Guelder Roses, far ex¬ 
celling in effect the dead-and-alive rarities so 
often seen in shrubberies. House and lawn are 
thrown into bright relief by. the hedge of Nor¬ 
way Spruce, which screens the Idtchen garden 
on the left, and the somber-looking orchard 
of shapely apple trees in the rear. 
The most careless observer must infer that 
Fig. 467. 
bad manager might read the secret of success 
in the evidence of a ruling mind in every de¬ 
tail, system in all things, small as well as 
great, and buying and selling conducted with 
keen, practical judgment, and on sound busi 
ness principles, In such a farm the whole 
neighborhood has an instructive object lesson, 
whose influence, sad to say, is too often nulli¬ 
fied by the envious self-conceit which never 
doubts that luck and accident are the main 
factors of success. 
Testimony to the ability and energy of the 
owner is written in plain characters on every 
rod of his laud. The farmer must be judged 
from the condition of his farm. His fields 
proclaim to all the world, in a language uot 
to bo misunderstood, his industry or idleness, 
intelligence or stupidity, wisdom or folly. 
The thorns and briars are more than symbols 
of sin—they point with unmistakable direct¬ 
ness to the individual sinner. Ou many a 
once fair homestead is written the sad story 
of the drunkard’s life. The garden of weeds 
marks the sluggard whose “poverty comes as 
one that traveleth ” Whether neglected or 
tended, the farm is the visible sum of the 
moral and mental qualities of the man, indi¬ 
cating his position in the scale of humanity 
with equal precision, whether he be a semi- 
brute, or that noblest specimen of mankind— 
a farmer worthy of bis calling. 
Norval, Canada. j. mcn. m. 
A BARN FOR A FARM OF 160 ACRES. 
The barn, the plan of which is here pre¬ 
sented at Fig. 467, is large enough to hold all 
the hay and grain, except corn, commonly 
raised on a farm of 160 acres, and it_also has 
stables for all the stock, except hogs. Fig. 
2, in illustration 468, is the plan of the base¬ 
ment, where the stables are located. It is ?4 
feet wide and 64 feet long, and contains about 
1,500 square feet of stable room. The corn- 
crib is over the stairway, and is built about 
2% feet higher than the door of the stair-way, 
opening on the floor of the barn, leaving au 
opening of about two feet above the stair-door, 
for the purpose of throwing corn into the 
crib. The bottom of the crib extends back 
Plan of Farm Barn, 40x64. 
1 
Mow. 18*16 
Granary, i® 
II 
Mow, 18x40. 
Fig 1. 
Plan of Baiemanl, 34x64. 
Barn Plan. Fig. 468. 
horizontally, about two feet; then down, at 
the same slant as the steps, to the foundation 
of the crib. The foundation should be about 
three feet in bight. The dotted lines adjoin¬ 
ing the corn crib, A, represent a box project¬ 
ing from the bottom of the crib about ten 
inches, und extending the whole length of the 
foundation. The dotted lines in the passage 
between the horse-stables, represent a box 
with a partition, and t he small squares within 
the lines represent grain spouts from the bins 
directly above the box (see Fig. 1), down into 
the box. The grain and ground feed are put 
into the bins above, and pass down through 
the spouts into the box in the basement. The 
spouts should have slides, so that they may be 
closed when necessary. 
Fig. 1 is the plan of the floor, and explains 
itself. The mow which is shown as 18x16 In 
the plan, is 18x40 above the granaries, pro¬ 
jecting over each. A barn constructed ou 
this plan w ill cost from f 1,500 to $8,000, ac¬ 
cording to the style in which it is built, the 
price of materials and of the labor required. 
Of course, it is hardly to be expected that any 
of the numerous plans of farm buildings 
given in the Rural, will be copied exactly 
in the designs of such buildings erected by its 
readers; but as all those I have seen lately 
are sketches of structures which in actual 
use have been found very convenient und 
desirable by their practical owners, it is 
hardly possible that anybody who is thinking 
of erecting such buildings cannot get some 
valuable hints from the plans presented, 
from week to w'eek, in the columns of this val¬ 
uable paper. 
Montgomery Co., Ohio. s. P SHULL. 
RAYS. 
Some Choice Grapes —If I had accommo¬ 
dation for only one grape-vine, I would grow 
the Concord, as it is hardy, vigorous and, so 
far as my experience extends, the most cer¬ 
tain cropper of all sorts. If I could have but 
two vines, I should add the Salem, Delaware 
and Ei Dorado are delicious eating, neverthe¬ 
less, I would pass them both to partake of 
well ripened Salem, which, with us at any 
rate, is of the most excellent quality. If I 
could have but three vines, I woald add 
Moore’s Early on account of its earliness. It 
is hardy, vigorous, a sure cropper and keeps 
its leaves well, and to most tastes, it is of 
better quality than Hartford Prolific, its con- 
sociate in season. Moore’s Early was fully 
ripe with us in the second week of September; 
Concord about the third or fourth week; 
Salem iu the fourth week. Now, Oct. 18th, 
Moore’s has been over some weeks, the Concord 
is in fairly good condition, but when handled, 
drops many berries on account of being a 
little ever ripe, and Salem is in excellent eat¬ 
ing condition; it does not drop a berry. It 
is the most esteemed grape in our vineyard. 
*** 
Vegetables in a Vineyard.— Our vine¬ 
yard trellises are 15 feet apart,and six feet high 
to the upper wire. In the middle of the space 
between the trellises we crop a six, some- 
