^An-RY h'.OJA 
PHoro^ENeTco 
(4 
11. 
Ipfj 
VOL. XLVIII NO, 2038. 
NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 16, 1889, 
PRICE FIVE CENTS. 
$2.00 PER YEAR. 
[Entered According to Act of Congress, In the Year 18S9, by the Rura New-Yorker, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
Experiment 6muut.$ of the gLmal 
iJno-TJoriu*. 
Reports on New Potatoes. 
Results of Planting in Trenches of | 
Different Depths—Ten, Eight 
and Four Inches. 
H 4 E MONROE COUNTY 
PRIZE, has been praised very 
highly in several farm journals 
during a month or so past. It 
was sent to us by Sibley & 
Co., of Rochester, N. Y., and 
planted May 9. Eight hills yielded 27 
pounds. There were 81 potatoes, many of 
which were not of marketable size. In how 
far the ravages of the flea-beetle caused this 
we can not say. The yield above stated 
would be at the rate of 816 bushels to the acre. 
In shape it is rather long and elliptical. The 
eyes are somewhat deep and medium as to 
number. Skin buff. Eaten January 11. 
White flesh, quality-fair. It is claimed for 
this potato that it is “enormously productive 
and by all odds the best keeper.” 
Burpee’s Superior Potato. This was 
originated by Mr. E. L. Coy, to whom we are 
indebted for many excellent varieties. It 
was sent to us as No. 88, by W. Atlee Burpee, 
of Philadelphia, Pa. It is said to be of line 
quality and shape, and to yield heavily. The 
vines were killed in the early part of the sea¬ 
son by the flea-beetle, and the yield was in¬ 
considerable 
Minister from Geo. W. P. Jerrard, Cari¬ 
bou, Maine. T wo pieces yielded 8% pounds, 
or at the rate of 1,028% bushels to the acre. 
There were 18 large and tour small tubers. 
Skin light, shape variable,inclining to oblong, 
flattened, eyes rather deep. This was injured 
slightly by the flea-beetle. Eaten January 8. 
Flesh, yellowish-white, fine-grained—a sort of 
crystalline texture, as they say of water¬ 
melons. Quality excellent. 
Gold Flesh, from W. Atlee Burpee & Co., 
Philadelphia, Pa. Three pieces yielded 10 
pounds,of which 24 were and eight were not of 
marketable size. Sum purplish; raw flesh yel¬ 
lowish, deepening to a straw-color when cook¬ 
ed. Rather long, cylindrical; eyes medium as 
to number and depth. Tne above yield would 
be at the rate of 806.66 bushels to the acre. 
The vines were injured considerably, but not 
destroyed by the flea-beetle. Eaten January 
14. Quality fine-grained and very good. 
Tonhosks (?) from Theron E. Platt, New¬ 
town, Conn. Two pieces yielded 10% pounds, 
28 marketable, 19 small. This is at the rate 
of 1,270.50 bushels to the acre. Medium as to 
length, somewhat flattened. It is about the 
shape of the Beauty of Hebron. Eyes medium 
in number and depth. Skin light-buff. 
Slightly injured by the flea-beetle. Eaten 
January 6. Flesh white and mealy. 
White Early Ohio fromT. C. Davenport, 
124 Dock street, Philadelphia, Pa. Four 
pieces gave 13% pounds—46 large, 20 of un¬ 
marketable size. Rather long; cylindrical. 
Eyes medium as to number and depth. Skin 
rosy-buff. A fair-looking potato. Eaten 
January 4. Mealy and good. Flesh nearly 
white. Vines died early on account of flea- 
beetle injuries. 
This trial plot has received at the rate of 
from 1,000 to 1,500 pounds of the Mapes pota¬ 
to fertilizer each season for many years. It 
has also received stable manure, lime, kainit, 
etc., as stated in previous reports. The R. 
N.-Y. potato trials during 1S88, were , for the 
greater part, partial or total failures owing 
to the depredations of the flea-beetle which 
we were unable to subdue or control. The 
season was a wet one throughout. 
RESULTS OF PLANTING POTATOES IN TRENCHES 
OF DIFFERENT DEPTHS. 
The soiljof these plots, naturally variable, 
was^made'exceedingly so by grading, the soil 
from_the.higher.parts having been carted to 
the lower places. It is in some parts a sandy 
loam, in others a clay loam, and in still other 
parts a stiff, brick clay—all impoverished by 
years of cropping without any manure of any 
kind. It will be remembered by older readers 
that the R. N.-Y.’s potato experiments pre¬ 
vious to last year were made on plots of nota¬ 
bly uniform soil, so impoverished that any¬ 
thing short of a “ complete ” fertilizer failed 
to materially increase the crops. 
This was proven so conclusively that there 
seemed to be"no reason why the trials should 
be continued upon them. 
Our present report, as might well have 
been supposed from the variability of the soil, 
seems to show that the depth of planting 
should be governed by the character of the 
soil. At the rate of 800 pounds of Stock- 
bridge potato fertilizer was sown in the trench¬ 
es after the seed-pieces were lightly covered. 
Trench 21—4 inches deep yielded 55 pounds. 
“ 23—4 “ “ “ 47% “ 
“ 27—4 “ “ “ 49% “ 
Or, estimated by the acre, we have: 
Trench[21. 403.33 bushels. 
“ 23. 348.33 “ 
“ 27. 363.00 “ 
This gives an average, for four-inch-deep 
planting, of 371.55 bushels to the acre. 
Trench 20—S inches deep yielded 52% pounds. 
“ 22 — 8 “ “ “ 41 ‘ “ 
“ 26—8 “ “ “ 4S% “ 
“ 29_8 “ “ “ 42% « 
Or, estimated by the acre in bushels of 60 
pounds each, we have: 
Trench 20 385.00 
“ 22 ’ , , 300.66 
“ 26 355.66 
“ 29 * 311.66 
This gives an average per acre, for eight- 
inehes-deep planting, of 338.24 bushels. 
Trench 24—10 inches deep— 36% pounds. 
“ 25-10 « “ — 52 ” 
“ 28—10 “ “ — 38% 
Or, estimated by the acre, we have: 
Trench 24 267.66 bushels. 
“ 25 381.33 “ 
“ 28 3S4.16 “ 
This gives an average per acre, for 10-inch- 
deep planting, of 311.05 bushels. 
SUMMARY. 
Ten-inch planting 
Eight-inch planting 
Four-inch planting 
The variety planted was 
Some of the vines were greatly, some slightly 
and a few not at all injured by the flea-beetle. 
This'experiment will be repeated the coming 
season. The question involved is important. 
311.05 bushels. 
338.24 ‘* 
371.55 
the Rural Blush. 
Brownell’s/Winner from E. S. Brownell, 
Essex Junction, Vt. He says it is a cross be¬ 
tween White Star and Peachblow. But two 
pieces were planted. These yielded 15% 
pounds—a yield rarely exceeded in the rich 
garden plot which for years has been given to 
these tests. There were 32 marketable pota¬ 
toes, and but seven unmarketable. Five of 
the largest weighed 3% pounds. The charac¬ 
teristic shape is roundish-elliptical, slightly 
flattened. There are few eyes, and these 
while not quite even with the surface, are not 
deep. The skin is a rosy-pink color. Three 
or four of these potatoes were eaten January 
20. The flesh is white and mealy, of the 
flavor of the Early Rose class. The center of 
the potatoes was a little hard, but this may 
have been owing to insufficient cooking. We 
regard this potato as a most promising 
variety. We shall use some of them in our 
next “Contest plot.” The illustration (Fig. 
33) is from a photograph of the average size 
and may be accepted as a fair portrait. It is 
a late variety. The vines are wide-spreading 
and very vigorous, and were not injured by 
the flea-beetle. 
Dandy, from Geo. W. P. Jerrard. Two 
pieces gave six pounds, or at the rate of 726 
bushels to the acre. Shape rather long, often 
smaller in the middle. Skin white. Eyes 
medium in depth and number. Eaten J an- 
uary 13. Flesh white, mealy and close- 
grained. Quality fair. 
Early Major was so injured by the flea- 
beetle that we cannot make any report as to 
its earliness. It was received from T. P. 
Thomas, Wheeling, West Virginia. Two 
pieces yielded seven pounds—21 of fair size; 12 
small. Cylindrical, color of Early Rose. 
Eyes medium in number and depth. 
Island Red (from T. P. Thomas as above), 
a red potato from J. A. Everitt & Co , No. 79 
from C. E. Angell, 80 High street, Oshkosh, 
Wis., and a seedling from J. H. Woodburn of 
Sterling, Ills., were so injured by the flea- 
beetle that anything like a fair report is out 
of the question. 
THE ORIENTAL SPRUCE. From Nature. Fig. 34. 
' flfl 
