1385 
root3. If, therefore, when and after the 
tubers begin to form, the plants do not receive 
an abundance of food, their further growth 
must cease, or at least be checked. But with¬ 
out moisture the food in the soil is unavail¬ 
able, no matter how great soever may be the 
trenches, as already many times stated in 
previous notes, must be plowed (or in small 
plots, spaded) at least 18 inches wide and six 
inches deep. The land should always be 
plowed in the Fall so that it may be friable 
and light in the Spring. Choose large tubers. 
two or three inches of soil, keeping it as light 
as possible. 
Now, if it is desired to guard against the 
effects of severe drought, a spread of coarse 
marsh hay, or something of the kind, after 
being run through a cutter, is spread over this 
soil in the trenches two inches deep. The 
fertilizers are then strewn evenly over the 
hay, and the trenches filled as lightly as possi¬ 
ble and ridged up with the soil taken out of 
them. A rain or so will settle this ridge nearly 
to a level with the rest. If the land is not 
liable to be affected by dry weather, the hay 
mulch should, of course, be omitted. It will 
be found that the mellow soil of the trench, 
which readily admits even the lightest rains 
which fall, and, mdeed, heavy dews, will ma¬ 
terially help to resist the effects of moderately 
dry periods. 
Hilling-up under this system is not only un¬ 
necessary hut decidedly injurious. The pota¬ 
toes are planted as deep in the soil as they 
ever need to be. They receive at once the 
benefit of rain, which, under the hilling meth¬ 
od, is in great part carried off between the 
hills. The growth of the vines will be found 
so rapid that few weeds ever start between the 
plants; while between the rows, shallow culti¬ 
vation (never deep) may be given as needed to 
free the land of weeds and preserve a mellow 
surface. As with our system of corn culture, 
we hold that plowing destroys many of the 
roots, all of which are needed to feed the 
plants. 
i We have now committed ourselves to a test 
of the Rural’s trench system of cultivating 
potatoes, on a half-acre instead of on smaller 
plots. The land is poor; concentrated fertil¬ 
izers will alone be employed. We shall not 
economize in time or labor; shall keep an ac¬ 
curate account of the entire cost of producing 
the crop; in short, we place ourselves under 
every disadvantage, so that whatever the re¬ 
sults may be, others, with economy and with 
better land, might hope to produce larger 
crops at a much less cost. Had we desired to 
<gxpcfimettt ©minds of thf 
* 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER'S 
TRENCH SYSTEM OF RAISING PO¬ 
TATOES TO BE TRIED UPON A 
HALF-ACRE OF VERY POOR 
HAND WITH CHEMICAL 
FERTILIZERS ONLY. 
. rrr 'wjw Jjjv 
ITS SUPPOSED ADVANTAGES 
ARE SOLICITED TO TRY IT IN A 
SMALL WAY. 
How money is wasted oil 
fertilizers. JlM 
THE KIEFFER PEAR CROSSED 
THE SECKEL OR ANJOU, 
The yields of from 1 000 to 1,31)1}* bush- 
-els of potatoes to the acre (at those rates) 
raised on specially prepared plots in these Ex¬ 
periment Grounds, have called out various 
•comments from our brother editors of the 
rural press. That we have actually raised 
such yields has not been doubted, so far as we 
are aware, since the prtatoes (of the largest 
yield and several others nearly as great) were 
dug aud weighed by several well-known hor¬ 
ticulturists or farmers, who were visiting here 
at the time. But all agree that such yields 
cannot be raised on large areas except at a 
cost exceeding their profitable production. It 
may be that neither 1,400 nor even 1.000 bush¬ 
els of potatoes can be raised upon an acre of 
land But from our persistent tests with 
various methods of culture during six 
-years past, the question is raised whether 
we may not, at least double our potato 
crops without doubling the cost of raising 
"them. The two groat enemies of immense 
yields are, first, drought, and, second, an in¬ 
sufficient supply of available food. Now, the 
Rural's new method is to supply the food in 
abntidauce, and by its trench culture (and 
mulching upon droughty land) to so conserve 
moisture as to carry them through the season 
without a check in their growth—for potatoes 
that are checked iu their earlier growth never 
yield largely, no matter what the subsequent 
weather may be. 
In order to test this question, whether or 
not by our method we can raise a large, pay¬ 
ing crop on an extended area, a half-acre of 
wery poor, worn out land (not capable of 
yieldiug 100 bushels to the acre without 
manure) has received its preparatory fitting. 
The laud is perfectly level and naturally well- 
drained, consisting of a sandy loam quite ex¬ 
hausted by constant cropping, having received 
but at the rate of 15 loads of farm manure to 
the acre in as mauy years. An exact half 
acre was measured off aad plowed eight 
inches deep, ou the 2Htb of November. The 
next day it was harrowed, and on the 28th the 
following fertilizers were spread broadcast— 
we shall use no farm manure whatever: 
6<X> pounds of bone-black superphosphate, 
furnishing 25 per cent, of soluble aud avail¬ 
able phosphoric acid. 
400 pounds of sulphate of potash, furnishing 
.50 per cent, of sulphate of potash aud 40 per 
cent, of sulphate of magnesia. 
400 pounds of kaiuit, furnishing 40per cent, 
•of sulphate of potash, and eotnmou salt. 
The cost of the above fertilizers is $44 per 
■acre, or $32 for the half acre. 
On the afternoon of the same day the land 
was again harrowed, so as to incorporate the 
fertilizer with the surface soil and prevent its 
being blown off iu case of high winds. 
ft will he seen that in the above fertilizers 
there is no ammoniu or nitrogen. Either of 
these would be washed through the soil ere 
plautlng time next. Spring, while it is assumed 
that the potash and phosphoric a -id will be 
rotaiui'd. Iu the Spring we shall sow more 
of bitb potash aud phosphoric aoid, aud also 
a liberal quantity of nitrate of soda. But of 
our proceedings next Spring, it will then be 
time enough to iufortn our readers. 
The object of the Rural’s treueh system of 
potato raising is twofold: first, to give a mel¬ 
low, porous soil for the growing tubers. It is 
-claimed that any considerable pressure upon 
them must have some effect to mar their 
shape aud dwarf their size. The tuber takes 
no part iu the nourishment of the plant, but 
must itself be nourished by the plaut andjts 
■ ■ •. • . ••; 
The Kieffer Pear Crossed with Seckel 
or Anjou.— The Rural Nw-Yorkbr has 
always exerted its influeuce against call¬ 
ing new fruits or grains or tubers “hybrids” 
or “cross-breeds” unless they were known to be 
such. There is not the slightest doubt that 
mauy varieties of grapes of recent introduc¬ 
tion, for which a mixed parentage is claimed, 
a re simply self-seedlings. The writer of these 
EARLY ROSE, 
supply. Hence, therefore, second, the trench 
system, it is maintained, retains moisture dur¬ 
ing periods of dry weather, when the soil as 
ordinarily treated would dry out. The 
cut them to two eyes, giving them all the 
tlesh possible, and place them one foot apart 
and at least four inches deep in the trenches, 
which are three feet apart. Cover them with 
