<48 
4385 THE BUBAL WEW-YOBKEB. 
value even of the best books, without a good 
index. I have several hundred volumes of 
reports, with much good matter in them, but 
still “practically lost ” for want of indexing. 
O, good secretaries, winnow your reports 
well, and index them carefully. 
Your readers ought to be (and no doubt 
are) very thankful to Mrs. Fisher for her in¬ 
telligent, clear and faithful notes on the 
Pacific coast regions. They coincide per¬ 
fectly with the account given me last Summer 
by my friend C. G. Pringle, who has spent 
several years botanizing through that sec¬ 
tion. 
fwltJ Crops. 
A PREMIUM POTATO YIELD. 
Mr. Alfred Rose, of Penn Yan, N. Y., in 
compliance with our request, has furnished us 
with his mode of culture by which he suc¬ 
ceeded in raising the second largest quantity 
of potatoes from one pound of Dakota Red, 
thus securing second prize offered by the 
Bradley Fertilizer Co. Writing under date of 
February filth, he says: 
“I selected one pound of Dakota Red, eon- 
and transplanted them to prepared rows. 
Not one died or even wilted. In this way I 
obtained from two to five shoots from each of 
most of the bills. 
At the first hoeing I scattered more of the 
same fertilizer in and around the hills. They 
were hoed three times, and soon after hilled 
up slightly. In all, I had 660 hills, and when 
dug and carefully cleaned and weighed, there 
were 2,349 pounds, or 39.9 60 bushels. Many 
of the tubers weighed to three pounds. 
Four of my best hills, with two shoots each, 
yielded 42 pounds, or at the rate of 2,524 
bushels pel* acre. 
From a second pound treated in the same man¬ 
potatoes in every way,select model potatoes for 
another breeding-plot the succeeding year, he 
will find that, as important as is the step al¬ 
ready pointed out, it is but as the tottering 
footsteps of the baby boy to the elastic spring 
of the full-grown man. The rest of the pota¬ 
toes from these plots grown from improved 
seed, can be used for the general crop, and 
after the first year even the small potatoes 
from these will be superior to the Doctor's 
nicely selected seed from the general crop. This 
is no mere theory with me: for I have prac¬ 
ticed it for years, and know its value; so while 
1 advise every potato-growing farmer to 
commence on the Doctor’s plan, I would as 
persistently urge him to go on in the way 
I have pointed out and secure the full advan¬ 
tage to he obtained by this, as it were, 
thorough-breeding. “rustic.” 
WTRE-WORMS AND SCAB ON POTATOES. 
Mr. Alfred Rose writes us that he has 
experimented largely for forty years on po¬ 
tato culture, and he thinks the wire worm 
(lulus) causes scab: that these “worms” are 
more prevalent and the scab much worse on 
rather moist soils than on those light and 
sandy: that where scab prevails the sooner 
the potatoes are dug the better, and that any 
thing that forwards the crop aids in escaping 
the scab. He has found that the use of lime 
slaked with water which has been saturated 
with salt, and in which two pounds of sulphur 
have been stirred for each bush si of lime, has 
effectually driven out these “worms” and pre¬ 
vented scab. Ho thinks that laud infested 
with these worms, should be plowed in the 
Fall and have 250 pounds of kainit and five 
bushels of lime, prepared as above described, 
sown broadcast per acre and well cultivated 
in. We think this is a new idea and well 
worthy of trial 
IjOfticultfifal. 
CABBAGE CULTURE. 
CHAS. K. PARNELL. 
To obtain a profitable crop of cabbage, cer¬ 
tain essentials must be complied with: First, 
good seed must be procured regardless of cost; 
second, a suitable soil,’ properly prepared, 
should be selected; third, the plants must be 
thoroughly cultivated and properly cared for. 
In procuring seed be careful to obtain the 
very best; for, with the exception of cauli¬ 
flowers, l kuow of no other vegetable the seed 
of which has more influence on the quality of 
the produce. The most suitable soil is a well 
drained, rich loam on which no vegetable of 
the cabbage tribe has been grown for a few 
seasons previously. Any goxl soil or a field 
that has been used as a pasture for several 
seasons, if repeatedly and deeply plowed and 
harrowed, well manured and thoroughly cul¬ 
tivated, will produce an excellent crop. 
The most suitable fertilizer is well rotted 
stable manure, that has been properly cared 
for. It should be turned at least twice, and 
all lumps should be broken as fine as possible. 
It is applied in the hills, a forkful to each.and 
covered with the hoe, Another method, and 
one that is being generally adopted in this 
vicinity, is to spread the manure either iu the 
Spring or Fall, and plow it under immediately, 
A thorough harrowing is then giveu, and the 
ground marked out in rows three feet apart. 
Some commercial fertilizer is scattered where 
the plants are to stand, and m’.xed with the 
soil with a hoe. This Is an excellent method 
for a late crop, if the ground has been occupied 
by an early one of peas, spinach or any thing 
else. The best time for transplanting is just 
after rain. Take the cabbage up carefully, 
and in replanting use a dibble, and set the 
plants In the grouud up to the first leaf, no 
matter how long the stems may be. Be care¬ 
ful to “firm” the ground well about the roots. 
Transplanting can be quickly done if one per¬ 
son drops the plants and others follow to plant 
them, provided the hills have been prepared 
before the last rain. 
A3 soon as the plants have taken hold and 
begun to grow, they should be cultivated as 
often as possible, as success depends largely 
upon this, the ground being stirred deeper 
each time. They should also be hoed fre- 
qeutly, a little earth being drawn up to the 
plants each time until they begin to head, 
wheu they should be well hilled up. If a good 
dressing of lime or bone dust be given and 
harrowed in before plauting, it will improve 
the quality of the crop. 
To oreserve cabbages during Winter, they 
should be pulled up on a dry day, turned with 
their heads down, to drain: then placed to¬ 
gether as closely as possible with their heads 
down, and buried, the heads and a part of the 
stumps being covered. If they are to be used 
early in the season, a slight covering of leaves 
or straw should be given to prevent the ground 
from freezing hard. Do not bury them too 
Your New Orleans correspondent (p. 93) 
speaks of apples there from “the lean bill- 
sides of Vermont and Maine” 1 Does he really 
believe himself? Central and Western New 
York have a hard time to compete with 
Maine and Vermont where their apples are 
sold in the same markets. Can such fruit be 
grown on “Jeau bill sides?” If so, what is 
the good of your rich valleys and plains? 
There is plenty of good land in New England. 
This talk about barrenness and poverty of 
soil is a mere poetical license. Good frnit, 
and plenty of it, is grown in New England, 
and no fruit grower will believe that such 
fruit grows on “lean hill sides.” One half of 
Maine is as good land as any part of Ohio, 
and Vermont’s valleys are not exceeded in 
permanent productiveness anywhere. 
I cannot understand the violence of some 
men’s prejudice against Russian apples, as ex¬ 
pressed at the New Orleans meeting (p. 93). 
Why, several of the apples popular all over 
the country and double-starred in the Am. 
Pom. Society’s fist for more than two-thirds 
of the States, are Russians^ In many “select 
lists” you will find Red Astracban, Duchess 
and Alexander recommended. There are now 
in bearing in this country more thaD a dozen 
Russian apples, of more recent introduction, 
that are better tbau those three. Longfield, 
Switzer, Yellow Transparent, Prolific Sweet¬ 
ing, and many more maybe cited, that will 
average to possess as many good qualities as 
the some number of American apples, besides 
beiug growable in perfection where these will 
hardly survive the first Winter. Perhaps this 
fact is the secret of some of the hostility to 
them. 
Rural Feb. 14. I misdoubt (though I am 
most sorry to do so) Mr. Dougall’s hybrid 
gooseberries. Like the grapes, the less of the 
European strain in them the better. Down¬ 
ing’s Gooseberry is a hybrid, and it mildews 
here. The best pure American, in quality, is 
Smith's,which does not mildew, but it is a weak 
grower. The Houghton is the only variety 
we jet have that is healthy, hardy, produc¬ 
tive and easy to pick—all essential elements 
of a market berry. But we want something 
that yields a larger berry, without, abatement 
in the other points. A Downing berry ou a 
Houghton bush would be a boon. The Down¬ 
ing bush is so short-joiuted, stiff and thorny, 
that nobody will work long at gathering 
them. The long, slender growth of the 
Houghton enables the picker to take hold of 
the end of a branch with thumb and finger, 
lift it up and strip off the berries with the 
other hand, safely, neatly and expeditiously. 
Does not “Stockman” go a wee bit too far 
(p. 103) when he charges the newspaper men 
who printed the reports of contagious diseases 
among the cattle and pigs with a political 
motive? Were the '’vets," upon whose reports 
the newspapers based their statements, also 
“free traders?” 1 do not believe an editor iu 
America would print a report so prejudicial 
to the national interests, unless he believed it 
to be the truth, and one that ought to be made 
public. 
Noting whut you say about growing cab¬ 
bages on light soils (p. 105), I am surprised 
that you did not name the Winniugstadt. 
Another excellent early, hard-heading and 
sure headlugsort, on light soils, is Low’s Peer¬ 
less. It is far better with me than Jersey 
Wakefield. 
Does “Canadian,” who (on p. 110) protests 
agaiust the use of wine as a flavoring for cake, 
never use the flavoring extracts, the bulk of 
which is pure alcohol? Can any one in his 
senses suppose that one who eats cake flavored 
with wine is in danger of becoming a drunk¬ 
ard? There is no more alcohol left iu such a 
cake, after it is baked, tbau there is iu a loaf 
of fresh bread—iu fact, uot so much. The 
flavor comes not from the alcohol of the wine, 
but from the volatile flavoring substances of 
the grape. The case Is oxuetly the same as 
with the ilavoring extracts. When it comes 
to sauces flavored with wiue the case is some¬ 
what different, as much more wine is used 
aud it is not subjected to so much heat. 
North Western Greening. Fig 93. (See page 150.) 
sisting of three tubers. They were cut to 
single eyes, and all that were large enough 
were halved and even quartered, dusted with 
plaster, aud spread on boards in my cellar. In 
time, in the cut flesh part below the eye. a bud 
started, and soon afterwards buds on most- 
other eyes started on either side of the first. In 
time I cut these apart, in many instances 
making seed enough for four hills from one- 
fourth of a single eye. 
The land used was a strip between rows of 
grape-vinea, eight feet wide and fifteen rods 
long. The soil was a sandy loam intermixed 
with marl. 1 plowed it twice 10 inches deep, 
then sowed broadcast 100 pounds of Bradley 
Fertilizer (as the using of this was a part of 
the couditlon of the contest ) aud harrowed it 
in thoroughly and deep. Next, I opened fur¬ 
rows nine inches deep on each side of the cen¬ 
ter, and graded them to eight inches. The 
sets had now started to bud, and I planted one 
ner, I grew 1,9S0 pounds, or33 bushels. In this 
case I failed, ou account of a heavier soil, to 
get as many offshouts, and so, of course, had 
not as many hills. I should be pleased to have 
others try my new mode of cutting seed, and 
culture, believing that for an entirely out of - 
door culture it will produce a yield superior 
to all others.” 
-«»» 
BLOOD WILL TELL. 
In the Rural of February 7, (page 88), 
Dr. E. L. Sturtevant is quoted as saying, 
“They (the experiments he had made) seem 
to indicate very clearly that in order to in¬ 
crease our yield of potatoes, it is only necessary 
in digging our crop.to expose the hills separate¬ 
ly and theu go through and select our seed 
potatoes from those hills which show the most 
abundant crop.” Iu this position the Doctor 
is right so far as he goes, aud the potato grow¬ 
North-Wkstern Greening Half Section. 
to each hill by hand, carefully covering them 
about one iueh deep- Iu time they came up, 
aud soou laterals started; I pushed these as 
far from the main stalks as possible, and drew 
soil to the hills, eovoriug them up. This l • 
continued uutil the main stalks had reached a 
suftlcieut bight, and the soil was drawn about 
them to a level with the surface of the laud. 
Soon the laterals came up from six to ten inches 
away from the main stalk and as these were 
now well rooted, I opened slight furrows near 
the rows, and ran my hand under the shoots or 
branches, cut- them off near the main stalk, 
Fig. 194. (Bee page 150.) 
ers of the country, if they would follow this 
advice, would receive teu times more benefit 
each year than the entire cost of the experi¬ 
ment station. But, the Doctor has only pointed 
out oue step, aud, as it were, a preliminary 
step, to the great improvement of the potato 
crop by obtaining the best seed. If he will, 
next year, plant a small plot with his selected 
seed, aud in mid Summer go through, and se¬ 
lecting those hills that are pictures of health 
aud models of growth, mark them with a per¬ 
manent stake, and then, at digging time, 
from those marked hills, that yield the fiuest 
